Ops Fenton!
5AM awakening in a posh hotel accompanied with pool table, 4 phone alarms finally got us up, after no sleep from the previous day due to travelling and exploring, we spent most of the night eating junk food, drinking and alike, so 5AM alarms was not going to be good for any of us.
After waving goodbye to Newcastle and enjoying our mammoth trip up north, I decided to show the guys this place but we had one stop before (priorities and all that). Having already explored this place a few months ago due to heading this way too have a meeting, the guys loved it and I still rank it as one of the best RAF bases in terms of decay, no/minimal vandalism and general brilliant vibe.
The decay inside certain rooms is phenomenal it reminded me of Cambridge Military Hospital in someways well the maternity ward anyway, so fond memories flooded back each time I found extensive decay.
We all pretty much had free run of most the buildings, although some explorers turned up in the building we was in at the very start, we never saw them again so nice to meet you lads :radar:
I suggest anyone in the area to check this place out, the photography merit alone you can create here is brilliant, after spending 3 hours showing them we had other places to head too, so we bid farewell to Fenton and was back on the road on route to other places that was on our hit list of the day.
History below!
First opened in 1937, RAF Church Fenton is the former home of the first American Eagle Squadrons and was formally regarded as one of the UK's most important strategic airfields, offering rapid reaction fighter defence to the industrial cities of Sheffield, Bradford and Leeds during the second World War. Now, after decades of faithful service in defence of the realm, the air station stands as a lonely hostage to both time and decay.
On 1 April 1937 the station was declared open and on 19 April the first station commander Wing Commander W.E. Swann assumed command. Within two months, No. 71 Squadron RAF had arrived with their Gloster Gladiators. During September 1940 Church Fenton became home to the first "Eagle squadron" of American volunteers - No. 71 Squadron RAF and their Brewster Buffalos and Hawker Hurricanes. The airfield was also home to both the first all-Canadian and all-Polish squadrons, No. 242 Squadron RAF and No. 306 Squadron RAF respectively.
As air warfare became a more tactical and technological pursuit, the first night-fighter Operational Training Unit was formed at Church Fenton in 1940 and some of the squadrons stationed there began to fly the famous de Havilland Mosquito. After the close of the war, the station retained its role as a fighter base, being among the first to receive modern jet aircraft, namely the Gloster Meteor and the Hawker Hunter. In later years, Church Fenton became the RAF's main Elementary Flying Training airfield.
On 25 March 2013 it was announced that Church Fenton would close by the end of 2013 and By 19 December, all units had been relocated and the airfield was closed. Some equipment was be relocated to RAF Topcliffe and MoD security continued to secure the site until disposal. A NOTAM was issued suspending the air traffic zone at the end of 2013.
In February 2015, the airfield was sold to a private enterprise and renamed 'Leeds East Airport'. Now divided into two, half of the site comprising of all the former military buildings is rapidly decaying and there are no plans to renovate it. The live side of the airfield is home to a private airport and a commercial flight training school.
On with the Mockingbird Moodiness, tried to mix up the angles/shots from previous reports. 
Cheers as always for looking everyone, still have loads to share and plowing into a backlog still!
