Catterick airfield, one of the oldest military airfields in the world, was first used by the Royal Flying Corps in 1914 to train pilots and fulfill a home defence role for the north-east of England. On 1st April 1918 it officially became RAF Catterick, housing 49 Training Depot Station. Between 1927 and 1939, Catterick came under Army Co-operation Command, fulfilling the army's requirements for air support, although the airfield still remained in the hands of the Royal Air Force and was one of those chosen to be modernised and rebuilt during the expansion programme in 1935. Catterick was used by 13 Group as a fighter airfield, and from September 1939, as a Sector Station. It was to remain as a fighter station until March 1944, when the last fighter unit left and it became a second line airfield. With the end of the war, Catterick became an air crew allocation centre. In 1946, the RAF Regiment depot moved here from Grantham, whereupon it became a training establishment. As with Yeadon, and many other pre-war airfields, the single runway would prove inadequate for jet fighter operations, especially as it couldn't be extended due to its position between ra river and a railway line. It was this which led to it's change into a non-flying RAF Station after the war, with only gliders and the occasional visitor making use of its landing facilities. On  1st July 1994, the Royal Air Force vacated the base, and handed it over to the Army, renaming it as Marne Barracks and incorporsating it into the Catterick Garrison - the British Army's largest base, which is home to the Infantry Training Centre (which trains all British Soldiers) and 19 (Mechanized) Brigade. It forms part of 3rd (UK) Division - one of the two deployable divisions in Great Britain.