Motoring road sign R.A.F. STATION ACKLINGTON. Pressed Aluminium measures 40in x 10in and is in excellent condition. RAF Acklington was the base for 43 Squadron and On February 3, 1940, three Hawker Hurricane fighters from 43 Squadron at Acklington intercepted and shot down a Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111 bomber at Whitby, this was the first German aircraft to fall on English soil in World War II.