RAF Freiston

The airfield was closed as it was deemed surplus to requirements following the end of World War II. Like many temporary wartime airfields built across the UK, RAF Freiston was part of a massive military infrastructure that was scaled down significantly once hostilities ceased. The station was placed on Care and Maintenance in 1945 before being officially closed and eventually sold off for civilian use in the early 1960s.

The site of the former RAF Freiston has been almost entirely returned to agricultural use. The concrete runways, taxiways, and most of the original buildings have been removed and the land reclaimed for farming. Faint outlines of the former airfield layout, particularly the perimeter track, can still be discerned from aerial photography, but there are very few physical remnants on the ground. A small memorial dedicated to the Polish airmen who served at the station has been erected near the site to commemorate its wartime history.

RAF Freiston was a significant Royal Air Force fighter station during World War II. Opened in 1940, it initially served as a satellite airfield for the RAF Digby sector of No. 12 Group, Fighter Command. Its primary role was air defence for the industrial Midlands and conducting coastal patrols over the North Sea and The Wash. The station is particularly notable for hosting numerous Polish Air Force squadrons, including Nos. 302, 303, 306, 309, 315, and 317, flying Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires. These squadrons played a crucial part in the air war. Other Allied squadrons, including those from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), were also based here at various times. Towards the end of the war, it also hosted Air-Sea Rescue (ASR) squadrons, such as No. 277 Squadron, operating aircraft like the Supermarine Walrus and Spitfire to rescue downed airmen.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening RAF Freiston as an airport. The site was decommissioned over 75 years ago, and the land has been fully repurposed for agriculture. The lack of infrastructure and its current land use make any future aviation-related development extremely unlikely.