RAF Dunholme Lodge

The primary reason for the closure was the end of World War II and the subsequent large-scale demobilization of Allied military forces. With the strategic bombing campaign over, the vast network of airfields built across the UK, particularly in 'Bomber County' Lincolnshire, was no longer needed. RAF Dunholme Lodge, like many others, became redundant to the peacetime requirements of the significantly downsized Royal Air Force.

The site of the former RAF Dunholme Lodge is now a mixture of agricultural and light industrial use. The airfield has been largely returned to farmland, but the ghostly outlines of the three concrete runways and the perimeter track are still clearly visible from the air and are used as farm tracks. Several original wartime buildings survive, including a large J-Type hangar which is now used for agricultural storage. The former technical site to the north-west has been redeveloped into a small industrial estate known as the Lindsey-Court Commercial Centre. The original Dunholme Lodge, which served as the Officers' Mess, was demolished in the 1960s. A stone memorial, dedicated in 1986, stands near the site of the former main gate on the A46 road, commemorating all the personnel who served at the station during the war.

RAF Dunholme Lodge was a significant Royal Air Force station during World War II, playing a key role in RAF Bomber Command's strategic air offensive against Germany. It opened in June 1941 as a satellite airfield for the nearby RAF Scampton, initially equipped with grass runways. The first operational unit was No. 49 Squadron, flying Handley Page Hampden bombers.

Between September 1942 and May 1943, the airfield was upgraded to a Class A bomber station standard, featuring three concrete runways, which allowed it to operate heavier four-engined bombers and become a main station in its own right. In June 1943, it became home to the newly-formed No. 619 Squadron, which operated the Avro Lancaster. In November 1943, the station was transferred from No. 1 Group to the famous No. 5 Group, and the highly decorated No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron moved in, also flying Lancasters.

From this base, crews flew hundreds of sorties on perilous night-time raids against heavily defended targets in Germany, including major industrial centres and cities like Berlin. The station and its personnel made a substantial contribution to the war effort, but at a great cost; a memorial at the site records that 121 aircraft were lost on operations from Dunholme Lodge, with the loss of 591 aircrew killed and a further 131 becoming prisoners of war.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening RAF Dunholme Lodge as a functional airport. The site is now in private ownership, and its infrastructure has been significantly degraded or repurposed over the past 75+ years. The runways are broken up, and the land has been integrated into surrounding farms and an industrial estate. Re-establishing it as an aviation facility would be economically unviable and logistically prohibitive.