Dishforth Airfield is a Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

/British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 station in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is currently an Army Air Corps helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 base and a Relief Landing Ground for RAF Linton-on-Ouse

RAF Linton-on-Ouse

RAF Linton-on-Ouse is a Royal Air Force station at Linton-on-Ouse near York in Yorkshire, England. It is currently a major flying training centre, one of the RAF's busiest airfields...

. It is located next to the A1(M) at Junction 49 with the A168

A168 road

The A168 is a major road in North Yorkshire, England. It runs from Northallerton to Wetherby, acting as a local access road for the A1.-History:...

. Dishforth airfield is built over part of the Great North Road which is also the old A1.

Dishforth opened in 1936. At the beginning of the Second World War it became part of 4 Group

No. 4 Group RAF

No. 4 Group was a Royal Air Force group, originally formed in World War I, and reformed in the wake of the Second World War, mostly part of RAF Bomber Command, but ending its days in RAF Transport Command.-Formation in World War I:...

, RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...

, and was used for recruit training. Between September 1939 and April 1941, No. 78 Squadron RAF

No. 78 Squadron RAF

No. 78 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Merlin HC3/3A transport helicopter from RAF Benson.Until December 2007 it was the operator of two Westland Sea King HAR3s from RAF Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands.-History:No...

 used it to launch night operations using Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War...

 medium bombers. Between 1943 and 1945 the station was used by No. 6 (RCAF) Group

No. 6 Group RCAF

No. 6 Group RCAF was an organization of Royal Canadian Air Force bomber squadrons which operated from airfields in Yorkshire, England during the Second World War. Although 6 Group was RCAF, it was controlled by the Royal Air Force as part of Bomber Command. No. 6 Group had been previously active...

 Bomber Command and was a sub-station of RAF Topcliffe

RAF Topcliffe

RAF Topcliffe is a Royal Air Force station in North Yorkshire. It is a satellite station of RAF Linton-on-Ouse.Topcliffe opened in September 1940 as a bomber station in RAF Bomber Command and was home to 77 and 102 Squadrons flying the Whitley heavy bomber. There was a decoy site at Raskelf...

. Immediately after the war the station was used to convert aircrew to the Douglas Dakota transport aircraft.

From 1962 to 1966 Dishforth was home to Leeds University Air Squadron flying the Chipmunk T Mk 10.

Dishforth was transferred from the RAF to Army Air Corps use by 9 Regiment AAC in 1992.

Dishforth was the first base to receive the Apache helicopter

Westland WAH-64 Apache

The AgustaWestland Apache is a licence-built version of the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter for the British Army's Army Air Corps. The first eight helicopters were built by Boeing; the remaining 59 were assembled by Westland Helicopters at Yeovil, Somerset in England from...

, and had 16, divided between 2 squadrons. Following a reshuffle of AAC units in 2006/2007 Apaches were concentrated on Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk. Dishforth now has 3 Squadrons of Lynx Mk.7 helicopters & Lynx Mk.9A helicopters

Westland Lynx

The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...

.

Operational units

• Army Air Corps
• 9 Regiment, Army Air Corps

659 Squadron

669 Squadron

672 Squadron

Manoeuvre Support Squadron (MSS)

HQ Squadron

Workshop Squadron (REME)