RAF Acklington
| RAF Acklington RAF Southfields RFC Southfields | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acklington, Northumberland in England | |||||||||||
'B' flight, No. 409 Sqn RCAF with one of their Bristol Beaufighters in January 1942. | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force satellite station (1939-44) Forward Sector Station (1945-) | ||||||||||
| Code | AI | ||||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command * No. 13 Group RAF | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 55°17′46″N 001°38′04″W / 55.29611°N 1.63444°W | ||||||||||
| Grid reference | NU230010 | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1916 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1916–1920 1938–1975 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II Cold War | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 37 metres (121 ft) AMSL | ||||||||||
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Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located 3.2 miles (5.1 km) southwest of Amble, Northumberland and 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The airfield was operational initially from 1916 being used by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and from April 1918 its successor the Royal Air Force (RAF) before being closed in 1920 however it was reopened in 1938 being used by the RAF until 1972. After 1972 the site was turned over to Her Majesty's Prison Service for the creation of two new prisons.