Royal Air Force Goxhill or RAF Goxhill is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Goxhill, on the south bank of the Humber Estuary, opposite the city of Kingston upon Hull, in north Lincolnshire, England. Origins During the First World War a Royal Flying Corps landing ground existed near the Lincolnshire village of Goxhill. In 1940 the Air Ministry returned to survey the land once again for its suitability as an airfield. Royal Air Force use Goxhill was originally used as a barrage balloon site to protect the port of Hull and the River Humber. In 1940, Goxhill was transferred to RAF Bomber Command and was planned and rebuilt as a bomber airfield. It was equipped with three intersecting runways, the main runway at and two secondary runways of . Three hangars were built: two T-2s, one J-Type and four blisters and fifty aircraft hardstands. Temporary accommodation was provided for 1700+ personnel. Its location, however, was too close to the air defences of Hull to be used for that purpose. Its first occupant was No. 1 Group, which took up residence on 26 June 1941. Its mission was towing practice targets with Westland Lysanders; its first operation began on 25 October. In December 1941, RAF Fighter Command replaced the Bomber Command training unit with No. 12 Group, flying Supermarine Spitfires from No. 616 Squadron at RAF Kirton in Lindsey. Fighter Command operated the base until May 1942. United States Army Air Forces use The airfield was relegated to satellite field use by RAF Kirmington until August 1942, when it was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The transfer ceremony was attended by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. During the war it was known as USAAF Station 345. The facilities at Goxhill, however, left a lot to be desired. Three wooden barracks were supplemented by a number of metal fabricated buildings for living quarters. Typical of the temporary RAF station of that period, living quarters and mess facilities were 1 to 2 miles from the hangars and flight operations area for safety reasons. The station was unofficially known by the USAAF units based here as "GoatHill". The USAAF used Goxhill as a training airfield for the rest of the war; several squadrons used it after their initial deployment to the UK, then moved on to a permanent facility for their operational missions. USAAF Station Units assigned