national TV. Famous memorable incidents during the airshows include a BAC Lightning breaking the sound barrier above the crowd during a display and an Avro Vulcan bomber scramble. In 1977, the Queen's Silver Jubilee Air Show was held at RAF Finningley, replacing for that year the Battle of Britain Air Show. Housing In the 1960s substantial housing development took place to accommodate the families. This began with the Spey Drive Estate, at Auckley. Closure In 1994 the Ministry of Defence announced the imminent closure of RAF Finningley as part of the Front Line First defence cuts. It closed in 1996 and three years later Peel Holdings, a property and transport company in the UK bought the land and transformed it into Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield. In popular culture Finningley has made at least one momentary appearance in fiction in the BBC film Threads, before the base is destroyed by a Soviet nuclear warhead. It is briefly mentioned in the Netflix series The Crown. Commanding officers References Citations Bibliography External links RAF Finningley Veteran's web-site Finningley Picture Gallery Report upon Meteor crash August 1952 Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Aviation in Doncaster Military history of South Yorkshire 1915 establishments in England 1996 disestablishments in England Military installations established in 1915 Military installations closed in 1996