RAF Kelstern

The closure was a direct result of the end of World War II and the subsequent large-scale demobilization of Allied forces. With the strategic bombing campaign over, the vast number of airfields built for RAF Bomber Command were no longer required. RAF Kelstern, being a temporary wartime base, was declared surplus to requirements as part of the post-war military drawdown.

The site has been almost entirely returned to agricultural use, with crops growing where runways and buildings once stood. However, the classic triangular runway pattern is still clearly visible from satellite imagery, with sections of the perimeter track and some aircraft hardstands now serving as farm tracks. A significant memorial to the personnel of No. 625 Squadron who served and died has been erected on a remaining piece of the perimeter track and is a site of remembrance. In recent years, a wind farm has also been constructed on part of the former airfield, taking advantage of the open, elevated landscape.

RAF Kelstern was a purpose-built 'Class A' heavy bomber airfield that opened in September 1943. It was a key base within No. 1 Group of RAF Bomber Command during the height of the strategic air offensive against Germany. The primary unit based at Kelstern was No. 625 Squadron RAF, which was formed at the station on October 7, 1943. Operating the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, the squadron participated in numerous major bombing raids on strategic targets, including Berlin, Hamburg, Nuremberg, and the V-weapon site at Peenemünde. The station and its squadron paid a heavy price, with 72 Lancasters and their crews lost on operations before the war's end. For a brief period in 1945, it also hosted No. 12 Squadron. RAF Kelstern stands as a representative example of the many airfields across Lincolnshire—known as 'Bomber County'—that were crucial to the Allied war effort.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening RAF Kelstern as an airport. The site is now privately owned farmland, and the essential aviation infrastructure, such as runways and taxiways, has been either removed or has degraded beyond use. The land is now also partially occupied by a wind farm. Given the lack of demand and the extensive costs required to rebuild an airfield from scratch, its reopening is considered unfeasible.