[3] RAF Scampton stood on the site of a First World War Royal Flying Corps landing field, which had been called Brattleby.

[5] In addition to field boundaries, a number of other features were demolished or used for the airfield, including Aisthorpe House and a farm complex to the east of the site.

[9] All of the buildings on the airfield were temporary, even the hedgerows and trees which existed around the field boundaries were retained, so that between the wars the area was returned to its previous form.

[10][11] By 1936, the Royal Air Force Expansion Scheme had overseen a period of rapid increases both in terms of new squadrons and the development of new stations.

[5] As it developed, RAF Scampton made an increasingly dramatic imposition on the surrounding rural landscape, such as to the Lincolnshire Edge, a Jurassic limestone ridge, which forms the distinctive backbone of the county from Whitton on the Humber Estuary in the north, down to Grantham in the south.

The BDTF operated the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane and Miles Martinet, the flight undertaking fighter affiliation against bombers.

[15] From July 1948, Scampton was home to the 28th Bombardment Group of the United States Air Force (USAF), operating the Boeing B-29 Superfortresses as part of a network of Emergency War Plan Airfields.

With its main runway less than 6,000 ft (1,800 m) in length and a chronic shortage of suitable hardstandings, Scampton was far from ideal as a base for the thirty USAF and RAF B-29 Superfortresses, the latter's known as "Washington B.1".

[31][5] This required extensive new ground facilities, including a high security area for the storage and maintenance of nuclear weapons and heavy-duty hardstandings for the aircraft.

[5] The first nuclear weapons to be delivered to Scampton arrived during 1958 and comprised twenty kiloton (20kt) atomic bombs given the Rainbow Code, Blue Danube.

617 Squadron, who by this time had also taken delivery of the Vulcan, the "Scampton Wing" was formed, the aircraft equipped with the Blue Steel stand-off missile.

[35] On 30 June 1968, Blue Steel operations at Scampton were terminated, as the Royal Navy, with the submarine launched Polaris missile, assumed responsibility for the UK nuclear deterrent.

The buildings are typical of small primary schools built in the 1960s, with a flat roof, large windows and uniformly one storey high.

This role for the station saw the CFS operating such aircraft as the BAC Jet Provost, Scottish Aviation Bulldog and the Short Tucano, sharing the air space with the Hawker Siddeley Hawks of the Red Arrows.

The decision was initially taken to close the base completely along with RAF Finningley, this being confirmed by Nicholas Soames MP in a statement to the House of Commons on 25 March 1995.

[40][41] Opposition to the planned closure was strong and a group was formed called "Save our Scampton" (SOS), backed by the Lincolnshire Echo, the County Council and the MP for Gainsborough and Horncastle, Edward Leigh.

[44] Following concerns over capacity and flight safety at RAF Cranwell, the then current home of the Red Arrows, several other training and flying squadrons and units, the decision was taken to remove RAF Scampton from "Care & Maintenance" status and reopen the base, and initially return the Red Arrows, as well as introduce and relocate over time other functions and units, heightening the importance and presence of this historic base.

The great influx in personnel and units into Scampton demanded a degree of upgrades and modernisation to much of the office and domestic housing, but during in-depth investigations a further report by the Defence Estates Organisation was published, citing the original cost estimate had more than doubled to £4.5Bn as a result of the substantial amount of remedial work needed as significant amount of the facilities being unused since the reopening in 2001, and some since the mid 1980s, forcing a halt to the overall scheme.

[54] On 6 September 2022 a fly past of the Red Arrows and Avro Lancaster bomber aircraft took place in anticipation of the closure of the base in December 2022.

West Lindsey District Council had claimed the government's plans were unlawful but judge Mrs Justice Thornton dismissed the claims for a judicial review saying that the government's use of emergency powers to change the legal purpose of the land to house asylum seekers was appropriate "given its argument that they could become destitute if more accommodation was not found beyond the use of hotels."

1 Group air defence radar unit, with its permanent operations room, Control and Reporting Centre Scampton, providing assistance to the coverage at RAF Boulmer.

Following a re-examination of the viability of the base undertaken following the closure of RAF Kirton in Lindsey and the resulting transfer of personnel, as well as the realisation by English Heritage of the importance of the structure and its association with the Dams Raid, it was decided to convert the block back to residential use.

[71] On 15 September 1940 his aircraft was involved in a raid on a target near Antwerp during which the Hampden received a hit in the bomb bay, leading to an explosion and serious fire.

[71] He successfully prevented the fire from reaching the aircraft's ruptured fuel tanks, despite ammunition exploding and the floor beneath him melting.

[72] Afterwards he circled very low for 30 minutes, drawing the enemy fire on himself in order to leave as free a run as possible to the following aircraft which were attacking the dam in turn.

Wing Commander Gibson then led the remainder of his force to the Eder Dam where, with complete disregard for his own safety, he repeated his tactics and once more drew on himself the enemy fire so that the attack could be successfully developed.

[74] The first airshow to be held at RAF Scampton since 1991 saw participation of 104 aircraft, with 41 taking part in the flying displays and 63 forming the static line-up.

[81] 1993 A special commemorative BBC television broadcast of Songs of Praise marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Chastise was staged at Scampton in 1993, in which Boeing 747-400 City of Lincoln returned to the base.

Presented by Sally Magnusson, the event was attended by 2,500 invited guests, including several veterans of the raid as well as Richard Todd.

RAF Scampton was home to a heritage centre, detailing the station's history and displaying several hundred artefacts including a Blue Steel Missile.