It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

The area at the extreme western edge of the base was used in the 1930s by local flying enthusiasts.

Part of the buildup of the base included building a decoy airfield at Burneston, some 4 miles (6.4 km) to the south.

6 Group Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) with a sub-station at RAF Skipton-on-Swale.

3 Flying Training School, equipped with the BAC Jet Provost aircraft.

RAF Leeming became the home base for three Tornado squadrons over the next twenty years.

[32] RAF Leeming had been host to a BAE Systems reverse assembly line process (Reduce to Produce (RTP)) programme in which redundant Tornado aircraft were brought into one of the hangars at RAF Leeming and stripped of all usable components.

The squadron is a General Service Support (GSS) unit with many diverse roles such as chef, driver, intelligence analyst and suppliers.

[43] The deployable elements of the station structure form the core of an Expeditionary Air Wing, No.

The station badge was awarded in April 1942 and shows a "sword erect point uppermost Gules hilted Argent".

The sword reflects the fighting spirit of the station, and the motto is Straight and True.

[59] In December 2014 it was announced that Gloucestershire Jet Age Museum had won the tender and purchased the aircraft.