RAF East Moor Air Base

Military drawdown post-World War II. The airfield was constructed as a temporary base for wartime operations. With the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, the bomber squadrons were disbanded or relocated, and the station became surplus to the requirements of the peacetime Royal Air Force. The site was officially sold by the Air Ministry in 1946.

The site of the former RAF East Moor is now a mixture of agriculture and industry. A large portion of the technical and domestic sites has been developed into the East Moor Industrial Estate. The three main runways have been largely removed, but their outlines and sections of the perimeter track are still visible on satellite imagery and from the ground, crisscrossing farmland. A large pig farm now occupies a significant area of the former airfield. A memorial dedicated to the RAF and Royal Canadian Air Force personnel who served at the station was erected in 1988 near the original main entrance, serving as a point of remembrance.

RAF East Moor was a significant Bomber Command station during World War II, located near Sutton-on-the-Forest in North Yorkshire. It opened in July 1942 as part of No. 4 Group. In April 1943, it was transferred to the newly formed No. 6 (RCAF) Group, becoming an all-Canadian base and a vital component of Canada's contribution to the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. The station primarily operated heavy bombers, including the Handley Page Halifax, with some use of Vickers Wellingtons and Avro Lancasters. Key squadrons based at RAF East Moor included No. 429 'Bison' Squadron (RCAF), No. 432 'Leaside' Squadron (RCAF), and No. 415 'Swordfish' Squadron (RCAF). Crews flying from East Moor participated in numerous night bombing raids on major industrial targets, cities, and V-weapon sites in occupied Europe and Germany. The station paid a heavy price, with over 116 aircraft lost on operations and hundreds of aircrew killed, reflecting the perilous nature of the bomber offensive.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening RAF East Moor as an aviation facility. The site has been decommissioned for over 75 years, and its essential infrastructure, such as runways and navigation aids, has been removed or has fallen into disrepair. The land has been permanently repurposed for industrial and agricultural use, making any potential reactivation prohibitively expensive and impractical.