RNAS Howden
Aerial view of the remains of the airship station (2005)
IATA:none ICAO:none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	Royal Navy,Royal Air Force
Location	Howden
In use	1916–1930
Elevation AMSL	23 ft / 7 m
Coordinates	53°47′17″N00°51′57″W / 53.78806°N 0.86583°W /53.78806; -0.86583
Map
RNAS Howden Location in the East Riding of Yorkshire

RNAS Howden (laterRAF Howden) was anairship station near the town ofHowden 15 miles (24 km) south-east ofYork, England.

It was opened in March 1916 to cover the East Coast ports shipping from attacks byGerman U-boats during theFirst World War, with its first airship, theCoastal-class non-rigid airship arriving on 26 June 1916. From 1916 to 1918 Howden was aRoyal Naval Air Service establishment, with the base transferring to theRoyal Air Force when it was established on 1 April 1918. While airships flew on patrols from Howden until the end of the war, Howden-based airships never engaged in direct combat with German submarines.^[1]

The station remained operational after the end of the war, with operations continuing to support minesweeping operations over the North Sea.^[2] A new hangar, at the time the largest in the world, was completed in 1919. The No.2 Double Rigid Shed measured 750 ft (230 m) in length and 130 ft (40 m) clearance height.^[3]

In 1921, the rigid airshipR38 was sold by Britain to theUnited States Navy. On completion, it was sent to Howden for trials and to train up its crew before the airship (to be renamedZR2 by the Americans) crossed the Atlantic. On 23 August,R38 took off from Howden on its fourth flight, but broke up in flight over theHumber estuary at 5:37 pm on 24 August, killing 45 of the 49 on board.^[4] The station closed in September 1921, with the RAF having little interest in airship operations.^[5]

The site was purchased in 1924 for £61,000 by theAirship Guarantee Co, a subsidiary ofVickers Ltd to design and build theR100 airship. During this period the authorNevil Shute worked at Howden alongsideBarnes Wallis.R100 made its maiden flight from Howden on 16 December 1929, but the loss of the rival government designed airship, theR101 in October 1930 brought British plans for commercial use of airships to an end, and Vickers closed Howden in December 1930.^[5][6]

• RNAS Pulham

• Andrews, C. F.; Morgan, E. B. (1988).Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam.ISBN 0-85177-815-1.
• Barnes, C. H. (1967).Shorts Aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam.
• Delve, Ken (2006).The Military Airfields of Great Britain: Northern England: Co Durham, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Yorkshire. Ramsbury, Wiltshire, UK: The Crowood Press.ISBN 1-86126-809-2.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHowden airship station.

• 40-second clip of an airship at Howden, hosted on British Pathé

• Royal Naval Air Stations in England
• Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire
• Buildings and structures in the East Riding of Yorkshire
• Howden
• Military airbases established in 1916
• Military airbases closed in 1921

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• Coordinates on Wikidata
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