RAF West Malling over the Channel. The three surviving aircraft were rescued only when the fight was joined by Hurricanes from No. 111 Squadron. The remainder of the unit returned north to RAF Prestwick on 25 July due to the ineffectiveness of the Defiant against single-seat fighters. No. 29 Squadron flying Bristol Beaufighters arrived for its first tour of duty on 27 April 1941. One of the Squadron's pilots, Guy Gibson VC, later officer commanding 617 Squadron on the Dambusters Raid, said of the station "Of all the airfields in Great Britain ... we have the most pleasant". A regular and long-standing inhabitant,
RAF Silloth RAF Silloth Royal Air Force Silloth or RAF Silloth is a former Royal Air Force station north-east of Silloth, Cumbria, England, and south-west of Kirkbride, Cumbria. The station was used by RAF Coastal Command The airfield was originally designed to be used by RAF Maintenance Command but was handed over to Coastal Command in November 1939. It had a satellite at RAF Hornby Hall. Many of the buildings still survive, including the hangars, but the runways are in a bad condition. A farmers market and Seacote Caravan Park occupy the outer edge of the airport. A number of private homes