Elvington, N Yorkshire - War Time Control Tower, Airfield - postcard

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  War Time Control Tower, Elvington Air Field , 1942 - airfield
• Publisher:  A. Corbett
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one.

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: £1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): £2.75

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Elvington is a village and civil parish situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) south-east of York, England, on the B1228 York-Howden road. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,212. The River Derwent forms part of the parish boundary and an ancient stone bridge connects Elvington with Sutton upon Derwent. The village has three separate large industrial estates including a site for Yara International, a Norwegian chemical company.

Elvington was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire until local government boundary changes in 1974, when it became part of the Selby district in North Yorkshire. In 1996 it became part of the City of York unitary authority.

RAF Elvington was a Royal Air Force station which operated from the beginning of the Second World War until 1992 located at Elvington, Yorkshire, England.

The base was originally a grass airfield within No. 4 Group. In the early 1940s the airfield was entirely reconstructed with three hardened runways replacing the grass. The base was re-opened in October 1942 as a station for 77 Squadron RAF and along with RAF Melbourne and RAF Pocklington was known as ""42 Base"". The squadron had a strength of approximately 20 aircraft and initially used the twin engined Armstrong Whitworth Whitley medium bomber although this was quickly replaced by the Handley Page Halifax four engined heavy bomber which was being introduced. 77 Squadron suffered heavy losses during its time at Elvington with over 500 aircrew killed, missing or taken prisoner and almost 80 Halifaxes lost as it played a major part in the Battle of the Ruhr and the bombing of Berlin.^[1]

In May 1944 77 Squadron re-located to the newly opened RAF Full Sutton and was replaced at Elvington by two French squadrons, numbers 346 ""Guyenne"" and 347 ""Tunisie"" who both played a leading part in the bombing of Germany. Elvington was the only airfield in the United Kingdom used by the remainder of the Free French Forces, they also flew Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers until they moved to Bordeaux in October 1945 where they became the basis for the new air force of liberated France. In September 1957 a memorial was unveiled in Elvington village dedicated to the two French squadrons.^[2] While they were at RAF Elvington nearly half of the squadrons' members were killed.^[3] After the war the 400-acre (1.6 km²) airfield was transferred to 40 Group Maintenance Command until 1952 when it was greatly enlarged and extended for use by the United States Air Force.^[2]

The United States Air Force built a new 3,094 m (10,151 ft) runway, which was the longest in the north of England, and a huge 19.8 hectares (49 acres) rectangular hardstanding apron as well as a new control tower to turn Elvington into a ""Basic Operation Platform"" which would have operated as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) dispersal airfield.^[4] After spending £4 million ^[5] the airfield never became operational as a SAC base and was abandoned by the US Air Force in 1958.

In the early 1960s the Blackburn Aircraft Company, now part of British Aerospace used the runway for test flights of the Blackburn Buccaneer. Elvington retained its status as an RAF relief landing ground and was used by the RAF flying training schools at RAF Church Fenton and RAF Linton-on-Ouse until the airfield was finally closed in March 1992.^[6]

type=printed postcards

theme=topographical: british

sub-theme=england

county/ country=yorkshire

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=unposted