MIDDLETON ST GEORGE
The most northerly of all Bomber Command stations, Middleton St George was an expansion scheme development on which work started in 1939. Located five miles due east of the centre of Darlington, the airfield took its name from the Middleton St George Hall estate, which provided most of the land. With the outbreak of war the specification was amended and only one of the planned Type C hangars was built together with a single Type J on the technical site, behind which the camp stretched up to the A67 Darlington to Saltburn road. Several of the planned barrack structures were cancelled and utility buildings substituted on dispersed sites. Although a grass surface had been prepared for the landing ground, an ash and hard core perimeter track was put down in the winter of 1939-40 and later in 1940 concrete runways were laid. These were OS-23 and 09-27 at 1,333 yards and 01-19 at 1,100 yards soon subject to extension. Before the work was completed, OS-23 was lengthened to 2,100 yards and 09-27 to 1,400. A total of 40 pan hardstandings were provided with two loops added later. The bomb store was positioned on the south east side of the airfield between runway heads O1 and 05. Later, additional hangars were also erected, a B1 and two T2s on the north side of the technical site.
Allocated to No. 4 Group, Middleton St George received its first flying unit in April 1941 when No. 78 Squadron with Whitleys arrived from Dishforth. It was joined in June that year by No. 76 Squadron with newly acquired Halifaxes. No. 78 was transferred to the satellite airfield at Croft in October to give more space for conversion activities but it returned to the parent station in June 1942. Both squadrons were moved out to Linton-on-Ouse in September 1942 as part of the plan to base units of an all-RCAF group on airfields north of York.
The first Canadian squadron to arrive in October 1942 was No. 420 with Wellingtons, having previously been based at Skipton-on-Swale. It was joined the following month by similarly-equipped No. 419 Squadron from Croft, which re-equipped with Halifaxes. In May 1943 No. 420 Squadron was packed off to North Africa to increase the night bomber capability in the build-up to the invasion of Sicily. Then in early June No. 428 Squadron came from Dalton to take its place and at once started to shed its Wellingtons to embrace the Halifax. In April 1944, No. 419 exchanged its Halifaxes for Lancasters and No. 428 followed suit in June. It was during a raid from Middleton on the night of June 12/13, 1944 that the action of Pilot Officer Andrew Mynarski, trying to save the life of the rear gunner in a doomed No. 419 Lancaster, brought the award of a posthumous Victoria Cross.
The last raid from Middleton was flown on April 25, 1945 and in June both RCAF squadrons flew their Lancasters back to Canada. Wartime operations from the airfield had resulted in the loss of 279 bombers: 22 Whitleys, 18 Wellingtons, 169 Halifaxes and 70 Lancasters.
The Mosquitos of No. 13 OTU appeared in July 1945 and stayed until May 1947. During that year No. 608 (North Riding) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force was established at Middleton sharing the station with No. 2 Air Navigation School and later No. 4 Flying Training School. These departed in 1956 following which there was a brief spell of fighter squadron use with Meteors and Hunters. In 1950 aircraft servicing platforms were constructed by Mowlem and new hardstandings in 1953. In the autumn of 1957 the main runway was extended to 2,500 yards. The following year, when this work was completed, Hunters and Javelins appeared. In 1963 No. 226 OCU was reformed to handle English Electric Lightnings but it departed in the spring of 1964.
Surplus to RAF requirements, Middleton St George was then acquired by the regional council for Tees-side and for conversion into a civil airport serving the area. Opened in November 1966, the airport has since been gradually developed with the addition of a new terminal building. In 1987 the airfield officially became Teesside International Airport when the main runway was lengthened to 3,330 yards. In the late `nineties the airport was on average handling more than 150 air movements a day.
