RAF Ripon RFC Ripon
Ripon,North Yorkshire in England
The plaque at Ripon Racecourse. This is affixed to the oldest building at the racecourse.
Site information
Type	Home Defence (HD) airfield
Owner	Air Ministry
Condition	Open as racecourse
Location
RAF Ripon RFC Ripon Location within North Yorkshire
Coordinates	54°07′06.6″N1°29′49.4″W / 54.118500°N 1.497056°W /54.118500; -1.497056
Area	81 acres (33 ha)
Site history
Built	1916 (1916)
In use	1919 (1919)
Garrison information
Occupants	No. 79 Squadron RAF No. 189 Squadron RAF
Airfield information
Runways Direction Length and surface  Grass

Royal Air Force Ripon (also known asRoyal Flying Corps Ripon) was aFirst World War airfield maintained by theRoyal Flying Corps in the city ofRipon,North Yorkshire, England. The airfield was home toNo. 76 Squadron which was employed on Home Defence (HD) in the United Kingdom. The airfield was created when the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) commandeered the southern half ofRipon Racecourse in 1916. After the end of the First World War, the airfield was returned to horse-racing.

In 1916, the southern part of Ripon Racecourse, only 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of the city of Ripon,^[1] was pressed into service as a base for No. 76 Squadron RFC.^[2] No. 76 Squadron was employed on Home Defence duties and had individual flights located atCatterick, Copmanthorpe, and Helperby,^[3] with Ripon acting as the headquarters. Other landing grounds could be used in an emergency (RAF Manywells Height), though in practice, lesser used locations saw very little activity (if any).^[4] As with the other landing grounds in Yorkshire, the site at Ripon was quite compact, covering only 81 acres (33 ha) with basic facilities. The role of 76 Squadron at the base was in countering anyGerman threats from air, most notably theZeppelin airships that would try bombing runs across the north.^[5]

In 1917,No. 189 Squadron formed at RFC Ripon as a night training squadron and its stay at the airfield was short (only 5 months) before moving south toSuttons Farm.^[6] On 1 April 1918, the Royal Air Force was formed from the RFC and the Royal Naval Air Service.^[7] RFC Ripon was changed to Royal Air Force Ripon, though this name would only exist for 11 months.

No. 76 Squadron moved to Tadcaster in March 1919 and was disbanded there just three months later.^[8] The airfield at Ripon was returned to the racecourse owners.^[9] Even after this, the portion of the racecourse to the south was used to land civilian flights includingSir Alan Cobham's Circus in the 1920s.^[10] The site was re-used during theSecond World War as aPrisoner of War (PoW) camp.^[11]

During the Second World War,RAF Dishforth, some 4 miles (6.4 km) to the east of Ripon was also commonly known as RAF Ripon due to its proximity to the town, but this was a purely unofficial name.^[4] The town also had another civilian airfield, due south of the city, that existed briefly in the 1920s.^[12]

• Halley, James J (1980).The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Tonbridge: Air-Britain.ISBN 0-85130-083-9.

• Military units and formations established in 1916
• Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire
• World War I airfields
• Royal Flying Corps airfields
• Ripon
• World War I sites in England

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