RAF Blyton

Military decommissioning. Following the end of World War II, the UK government drastically reduced the size of the Royal Air Force. As a temporary wartime airfield built to a specific standard, RAF Blyton was deemed surplus to post-war requirements and was closed along with hundreds of other airfields across the country.

The site has been extensively repurposed. The primary user is the Blyton Park Driving Centre, a popular motorsport venue that utilizes the former runways and perimeter track to create a 1.6-mile race circuit for track days, driver training, and club racing. Other parts of the former airfield are used for agriculture and light industrial purposes. While most of the original wartime buildings have been demolished, the layout of the runways and perimeter track is still clearly visible and forms the core of the current site.

RAF Blyton was a significant airfield within RAF Bomber Command during World War II. Opened in May 1942, it served as a satellite station for RAF Lindholme and later RAF Sandtoft, operating under No. 1 Group. Initially, it was home to squadrons flying Vickers Wellington medium bombers, including No. 18 Squadron. The airfield is particularly noted for its association with Polish Air Force squadrons; No. 301 and No. 305 (Polish) Bomber Squadrons were based here, flying Wellingtons on strategic bombing missions over occupied Europe. In 1943, the station was upgraded with concrete runways to accommodate heavier bombers, subsequently hosting Avro Lancaster bombers. Towards the end of the war, its role shifted, and it became No. 7 Aircrew Holding Unit and later a heavy glider conversion unit (No. 271 Squadron) training crews on aircraft like the Short Stirling for airborne operations.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening RAF Blyton as an airport. The site has been privately owned for decades and is firmly established as a commercial motorsport venue. The original aviation infrastructure is either gone or has been significantly altered, making a return to aviation use highly impractical and economically unviable.