RAF Snaith - 06/2008

This is my first report, hope you find it interesting!

RAF Snaith is located in Yorkshire between Castleford and Goole near a small village called Pollington. The airfield became operational in 1940/41 and was a primarily a bomber base with three concrete runways, three hangers and thirty six heavy bomber hard standings. At its peak use the station could accommodate 2400 personnel. 150 Squadron were initially based here and flew Wellington bombers on raids over Europe. In 1942 150 Sqn moved out and were replaced by 51 Squadron who flew Halifax bombers. A total of 892 service men lost there lives flying out of Snaith during the war.

There seems some confusion when the base closed but I believe it to be sometime between 1946 and 1950. The M62 was constructed through the north side of the site in the 1970’s cutting through the end section of one of the smaller secondary runways.

The site is still used in various ways pretty much all the hard standings are gone, the WAAF site is still used by the looks of it for agriculture; two of the hangers remain in use in there original state one for storage and the other larger J type hanger is used by a Aggregates supply company. The remaining hanger has been re-clad and appears to again be used for some form of storage. The runways are used by a Straw distribution company of all things. The large majority of the domestic side of the airfield have been demolished but many clusters of buildings still remain, I missed lots of them out but I plan to go back to the site to fill in the gaps sometime. The sergeants mess (inc fireplace) and MT sheds still stand along with workshops, Officers mess and various accommodation huts.

A small well maintained Memory Garden stands on the site with many different plaques of remembrance and monuments including a propeller that had been discovered in The Wash (Which is a larger estuary in Eastern England for those that don't know) after nearly 60 years. There is also a plaque some were on the site remembering the dead from a tragic accident were an explosion in the bomb dump occurred during June 1943.


^ The main runway


^Type J hanger from the main runway


^The Sergeants Mess


^Inside






^Far end of the Sergeants Mess


^Billet




^Unsure what the building was I think it was the Sqn HQ it appeared to have some sort of old radio gear in it.




^Think this is some form of water heater


^Fire place was in what appeared to be a sort of common room at one end of a billet


^M62 that has cut through one of the secondary runways
















^Snaith just after the end of the war.


^How the site looks today


^Sadly only one of these huts near the hanger remains today.

MaBs

Really like this, I love old air bases. Good to see the hangers are still there and still being used, albeit not for aircraft, but being used and looked after all the same. Glad some of the buildings are still there, love the fireplace in one of the billets. Excellent memorials, and the propellor.

Excellent pics and an excellent first report,

Cheers,

Sal

Ps Welcome to Derelict Places, hope you enjoy it here.

Fabulous site and report, MaBs. Enjoyed reading the history. Excellent photos.

Thanks for the comments. I was quite surprised how much of the site remained although disappointed at what had been demolished over the years. For a base that hasn't been used for around 60 years there is a lot still left here. It was a fantastic experience wondering around the site.

I've found that a large decorative fire place in the old sergeant mess still exists so I think a return visit is defiantly in order as well as to document some of the buildings I missed originally.

Great report MaBs, well written and with interesting photos. Look forward to seeing the result of your next visit.

Very nice first report! :yes: Good set of pics & well researched history too! Looking forward to any further pics you may get from here. Keep up the good work! :wcool:

great report fela!
thats only up the road from me!!!

Wunderbar!
I love these old war places.
Great report.

Visited the site again recently only took a couple of pictures before the weather closed in, didn't get chance to see anything new. Defiantly going back when the weather is better still searching for the Sergeants mess fireplace mentioned in my first post.


^Another picture of the memorial commemorating all the service men and women who died operating from Snaith during WWII.

Recenty found a few more pictures of the base!



^Above are two views from nearly the same spot one from 1947 and the other from 1991 that clearly show the changes in the site over the years!

All images below are Crown Copyright and belong to Imperial War Museum!



^The Station Commander of Snaith, Yorkshire, Group Captain N H Fresson, is joined by other officers on the balcony of the control tower as they await the return of Handley Page Halifaxes of No. 51 Squadron RAF from a night raid on Nuremberg. Note the ambulance and crash tenders with their crews standing by below the tower, and the searchlight pointing skywards to show the cloud base. Five aircraft failed to return to Snaith and a sixth crashed on landing.



^The Officer of the Watch in the Watch Office at Snaith, Yorkshire, guiding Handley Page Halifaxes of No. 51 Squadron RAF back to base after a night raid on Nuremberg. The Station Commander of Snaith, Group Captain N H Fresson, can be seen waiting outside on the balcony of the Control Tower.



^ Trolleys loaded with 500-lb GP and MC bombs, and their attendant armourers, are towed by tractors from the Bomb Store at Snaith, Yorkshire, towards aircraft dispersals on the northern side of the airfield, and the awaiting Handley Page Halifaxes of No. 51 Squadron RAF which were operating in support of the Allied Armies in Normandy.



^Handley Page Halifax B Mark II Series 1A, HR952 'MH-X', of No. 51 Squadron RAF receiving a mixed load of 500-lb MC bombs and incendiaries in its dispersal at Snaith, Yorkshire, for a night raid on Germany.



^Squadron Leader Peter Hill, briefs crews of No. 51 Squadron RAF on the forthcoming raid to Nuremberg, Germany in the Operations Room at Snaith, Yorkshire. The Station Commander, Group Captain N H Fresson, sits third from the left in the front row. No. 51 Squadron lost six Handley Page Halifaxes that night (30/31 March 1944), suffering 35 men killed (including Sqn Ldr Hill) and seven made prisoners-of-war.

Presumably you mean 1947 not 1147, we didn't have the ability to fly just then

For reference crown copyright on pictures from WW2 ran out years ago making most of them free domain these days. Always polite to reference their source though

Crown copyright on photos taken before 1989 expires after 50 years.

How fantastic is that? The old pics really help to flesh out the story. Excellent research there.

Nicely done, MaBs, an interesting read about the history of the place, and good to see the original pics from when it was in use.

Didn't realise that was the case with crown copyright. And yes 1947

What strikes me the most is the last picture the Squadron Leader giving the briefing died on that very mission, its really brings it home to you when you see things like that!