Gamston airport was originally built as a
Royal Air Force aerodrome with three runways in a triangular configuration (of which only one remains in common usage), and came into service in December 1942. It was part of the
RAF Flying Training Command as well as a satellite to
RAF Ossington, to the south. In May 1943 the field was transferred to
No. 93 Group RAF,
Bomber Command Training. In June the same year
No. 82 Operational Training Unit arrived with
Wellington Mk. III and Mk. X bombers,
Miles Martinets (used as
target tugs) and
Hawker Hurricanes. A year later the unit became No. 86 Operational Training Unit with a new role; night training for Wellington bomber crews. By October 1944, Gamston was transferred to
No. 7 Group RAF, Bomber Command. A month later No. 3 Aircrew School transferred from
RAF Shepherds Grove. 1945 saw the disbanding of No. 3 Aircrew School and the arrival of
No. 30 Operational Training Unit transferred from
RAF Hixon,
Staffordshire with more Wellington bombers. After the end of the
Second World War all training ceased and the airfield was closed. In May 1953 Gamston reopened as a satellite for nearby
RAF Worksop and
No. 211 Advanced Flying School RAF (later No. 4 Flying Training School) was based there, flying
Gloster Meteors and
de Havilland Vampires. The airport is today owned and operated by Gamston Aviation Limited which purchased the operation in July 1993. In 1975 gliding activities began on the western side of the airfield, using runway 15/33 (now 14/32). Gliding ran alongside powered flying activities for almost 20 years until the gliding club were asked to move away from the airfield in 2005, after safety concerns due to the proximity of powered flights to the gliders. In 2021 the airport was bought by Thatcham Research, in order to carry out motor industry testing on the site. Thatcham said that aviation activities would continue at Gamston alongside the motor testing. In June 2022 the main runway 03/21 was closed in order to reduce the width of the runway, as well as create a car test track running parallel to the runway. During this construction phase, runway 14/32 was used as the main runway, having been repainted and put into regular use for the first time since the gliding club left in 2005. The main runway reopened in September 2022 as runway 02/20, with an upgraded lighting system. It has been reduced in length/width from 1683m x 30m to 1199m x 23m to accommodate the car test track. ==Motorsport==