RAF Driffield

Military Conversion and Defence Downsizing. Flying operations at RAF Driffield ceased in March 1977 when its role changed from an active airfield to a ground-based training facility. The RAF School of Mechanical Transport was relocated to the site, and the runways were subsequently altered for driver training. The Royal Air Force fully vacated the station in 1992, and it was officially handed over to the British Army in 1996 as part of the UK's post-Cold War 'Options for Change' defence review, which saw the closure and consolidation of many military bases.

The site is currently an active British Army installation known as Alamein Barracks. It is home to the Defence School of Transport (DST), which is the primary centre for driver and transport management training for all three branches of the UK's Armed Forces (the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force). The former runways, taxiways, and airfield perimeter tracks have been converted into an extensive road network for training a wide variety of military vehicles, from standard cars and Land Rovers to heavy goods vehicles and specialist armoured platforms. While some original WWII-era hangars and buildings remain, the site is no longer an airfield and its primary infrastructure is dedicated to ground vehicle training.

RAF Driffield has a rich and significant military history. It first opened in 1918 as a training aerodrome named RAF Eastburn before closing in 1920. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1936 as a key station in the pre-war RAF Expansion Scheme, becoming part of No. 4 Group, RAF Bomber Command.

During World War II, it was a front-line bomber station, initially operating Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers. Its most notable event occurred on 15 August 1940, during the Battle of Britain, when it was subjected to a devastating low-level attack by 50 Junkers Ju 88s. This raid is considered one of the most severe attacks on an RAF airfield during the battle, resulting in the destruction of numerous aircraft, significant damage to infrastructure, and the deaths of 14 personnel. The station was temporarily non-operational as a result.

After being repaired, it hosted various units, including Polish and Canadian bomber squadrons. Post-war, it was used by Flying Training Command and later hosted fighter squadrons flying Gloster Meteors and de Havilland Vampires.

During the Cold War, from 1959 to 1963, the station took on a critical strategic role as one of the twenty Project Emily sites, hosting three Thor Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) armed with nuclear warheads, operated by No. 98 Squadron RAF.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the site as an airport. Its current, vital role as the Defence School of Transport, a major tri-service military training establishment, and the extensive modification of its airfield infrastructure for driver training make a return to aviation use extremely unlikely.