By the start of 1943, the high risk of night attacks by the Luftwaffe led to the closure of the airfield on 23 January 1943.

[3] Shortly before closure WAAF Margaret Horton had an 'unexpected ride on the tail of a Supermarine Spitfire' while acting as a tailweight: she was sitting on the tail of the plane, as was common practice, in order to stop it overturning while it taxied to the end of the runway, a hazard stemming from design drawbacks, strong wind and bouncy grass field.

The pilot, anxious to be airborne, forgot about her and failed to stop to allow the WAAF to jump off the tail.

The following squadrons were here at some point:[5] The airfield was taken over in 1992 as a parachute centre and has run skydiving courses there continuously since this period.

Army cadet Stephen Hilder fell 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) to his death at Hibaldstow airfield in July 2003, after the risers on parachutes had been cut.