No. 5 Group RAF effective squadrons of Bomber Command, personified by No 617 Squadron the "Dambusters", formed from 5 Group aircrew in March 1943. Most of the group's main airfields were around Lincoln, including RAF Scampton. By the end of the war the group had grown to 15 squadrons. The group was noted for its high accuracy bombing, being involved the sinking of the "Tirpitz" in November 1944 and the shattering of the strategic Bielefeld railway viaduct in March 1945. The Group introduced new weapons operationally, including Barnes Wallis's "bouncing" and his Tallboy and Grand Slam "earthquake" bombs. The group was disbanded on 15
RAF Prestwick March 2013 that RAF Prestwick would close by the end of 2013. Due to technological advances, there was no longer a requirement for two military area radar control centres in the United Kingdom.The unit subsequently closed on 6 December 2013, when the RAF Ensign was lowered for the final time, representing the end of a 77-year association between Ayrshire and the RAF. Prestwick's operations and thirty personnel were transferred to the RAF unit based in the NATS London Air Traffic Control Centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, forming a single military area radar unit. A small number of RAF personnel remained at