Catfoss – East Yorkshire
The site of Catfoss airfield as it is now. The village of Brandesburton is bottom left. Bridlington Road A165 runs top to bottom. The site of the Memorial on Catfoss Lane is marked by the red arrow
Situated north east of Beverley and 2 miles west of Hornsea This was one of the early airfields and one of the 14 listed on the 1935 war map for this area. Because of its close proximity to the coast, its site was perfect as a training station and the early Air Gunnery and Bombing Range was sited just out to sea in an area between Skipsea and Hornsea. Situated on the east side of the A165 Bridlington Road. The nearest village was Brandesburton which lay in the south-west corner. On the eastern edge of the airfield was Catfoss Grange from which it was probably named.
Catfoss opened in the early 1930s and, on September 16 1935, No 97 Squadron reformed here from 'B' Flight of No 10 (B) Squadron with a few Handley Page Heyfords; that same month, however, they moved to Boscombe Down, Wiltshire. Catfoss was not to be a bomber airfield and since conception had been earmarked for training, so remained as No 1 Armament Training School until September 1939 when, after the outbreak of war, the unit moved out.
Handley Page Heyford
It was then decided to enlarge the airfield and the next few months saw very little flying activity. During this period it housed only a detachment of Spitfires from 616 Squadron which arrived from Leconfield on October 1 1939 and operated from Catfoss until May 1940.
The station re-opened in August 1940 and, on October 1 1940, No 2 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit formed with five Ansons and 12 Blenheims. Being an early airfield, Catfoss was considered important enough to have two decoys, both being sited to the north-east. Dunnington was a QX site nearest to the airfield, the other was a KQ site at Skipsea a few miles past Dunnington. The decoy at Skipsea had dummy Whitleys installed but by very early in the war both decoys had been abandoned.
While Lissett airfield was being constructed between December 1942 and February 5 1943, it was used as a Relief Landing Ground by No 2 OTU's aircraft. The OTU was responsible for training the majority of Coastal Command Beaufighter crews, which revitalised Coastal operations.
Bristol Beaufighter
The distinguished airman Archie Winskill was OC of this unit for a time and was involved in a nasty crash near the airfield, fortunately without injury to himself or his passengers
For some unknown reason it was decided that Catfoss should have three concrete runways which were laid to the standard pattern and were 5,280 ft, 4,620 ft and 5,100 ft long respectively. Hangars and other buildings were also erected and there was a general expansion of the whole site.
On February 15 1944, No 2 OTU disbanded to be replaced by the Central Gunnery School which moved from Sutton Bridge during the latter part of the month. The status of the station at June 6 1944 was the Central Gunnery School flying Wellingtons, Spitfires, Beaufighters, Martinets and a few Masters as part of No 25 Group.
Supermarine Spitfire I
During this period the CGS Officers' Mess was at Brandesburton Hall in the nearby village of Brandesburton. At the Central School all gunnery subjects were lectured on very profoundly by the Royal Air Force's top tutors. The CGS covered air sighting, Boulton & Paul and Frazer Nash turrets, 0.303 and 0.5-in Browning machine-guns, Hispano 20 mm cannon, aircraft recognition, and Mark Ilc gyro sights—these lectures being given by Professor Hill, ballistic advisor to the Air Ministry. Also included were tactics, navigational and radar aids to gunnery and manoeuvres.
All the training was advanced and featured leadership as well as special training in the control and direction of firepower from groups of bombers on daylight raids. The Central Gunnery School was an advanced training unit and Catfoss had a very important role to play. The Gunnery Leaders' Course at the CGS was designed to produce Section Leaders to take over the Gunnery Sections at squadrons and training units. Gunnery Leaders were commissioned and had the rank of at least Flight Lieutenant. Fighter pilots also came to the CGS to improve their gunnery and flew Spitfires, Mustangs and Thunderbolts. They would have lecture similar to the gunners on appropriate subjects.
From July 1944 until the end of the war in Europe Group Captain A.G. (Sailor) Malan was CO and he had on his staff many famous air fighters—Closterman, Skalski, Kingaby, Jack Charles, and 'Screwball' Beurling. Many American Aces also served at Catfoss. The CGS continued to operate after the war but its role at Catfoss was almost over.
On November 5 1945 the advance party moved to Leconfield and, after the main party had left on November 12, the station closed down. Catfoss lay derelict until, in the spring of 1947, two civil aviation applications were made for the re-opening of Catfoss for landing-ground facilities for charter aircraft bringing fruit to the UK from Europe. The problem was having Customs officials on call and this held up the project.
In July 1947 Lord Natham, then Minister of Civil Aviation, announced that Catfoss was one of the 43 aerodromes outside the London area which was intended to be State-controlled. Catfoss was to be developed to serve the Hull area as an airport. For some time it had been understood that Catfoss would be ear-marked for civil aviation purposes. Representations had by this time been made for the temporary Customs facilities to be installed. However, nothing came of the Hull airport idea and Catfoss was left to fall into decay. The years passed with no further interest until, in 1959, Catfoss re-opened as a satellite of the Driffield Thor missile complex when three missiles were housed here along with 226 Squadron. This phase was very short lived and in 1963 the Thor unit disbanded along with all the others and once again the airfield fell into disuse. Up to the 1970s the control tower, engine and trailer sheds are derelict but the runways are intact and used for caravan storage. An 'A' type hangar is being used by a container firm, two other hangars and buildings also remain. Also, on the technical site the MT shed and para store are intact.
At the time of writing it seems that little remains although part of the 3 runways are still visible and also the perimeter track and a dispersal or two.
There is however a memorial on Catfoss Lane at the entrance of Robinson’s Builders Merchants
Catfoss memorial
Compiled by David Fell. Photos from my archive
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