East Lincolnshire An aviation guide through East Lincolnshire locating active RAF stations, former airfield sites and memorials Whilst every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information contained in this publication, East Lindsey District Council cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies contained herein, nor does inclusion in this publication imply recommendation. © East Lindsey District Council 2016 Publishers: East Lindsey District Council. Research and editorial: Howard Heeley, Down to Earth Promotions. Design: Compass Point Business Services Contents Map To Grimsby HOLTON LE CLAY Contents NORTH COATES N Tetney North Cotes Marshchapel DONNA NOOK MAP NOT DRAWN NORTH THORESBY TO SCALE A1 8 Fulstow Grainthorpe North Somercotes Covenham East Lincolnshire | East Lincolnshire LUDBOROUGH Reservoir A16 BinbrookBINBROOK Saltfleet A 1031 Utterby Alvingham | East Lincolnshire KELSTERN North Fotherby Cockerington THEDDLETHORPE A631 Louth Saltfleetby To Market LUDFORD MAGNA Grimoldby St. Peter Theddlethorpe St. Helen Rasen South South Cockerington Elkington Theddlethorpe A157 0 B120 MANBY All Saints Mablethorpe Donington Legbourne Abbreviations North Coates Other Memorials on Bain Trusthorpe A157 PAGE 4 Little PAGES 18 & 19 PAGES 30 - 33 Withern Sutton A Cawthorpe STRUBBYThorpe 16 on Sea Cadwell Woodthorpe East Barkwith Maltby Sandilands MARKET STAINTON le Marsh Introduction Spilsby BBMF Visitor Centre 2 A5 A1 To Wragby Scamblesby PAGE 5 Lincoln Aby 0 PAGES 20 & 21 PAGE 34 Ruckland 4 11 A11 Bilsby Belchford Anderby Bardney A15 Strubby Lincolnshire Aviation 8 Alford Creek Tetford PAGES 6 & 7 PAGES 22 & 23 Baumber Brinkhill Mumby Chapel Heritage Centre Hemingby Mawthorpe Minting Somersby ULCEBY CROSS St. Leonards A1 Hogsthorpe PAGE 35 A 0 West Ashby Bag Enderby Harrington 1 28 Coningsby 6 Woodhall Spa Horncastle Willoughby PAGES 8 & 9 Hagworthingham PAGES 24 & 25 Thorpe Camp Visitor BARDNEY Thimbleby Addlethorpe BUCKNALL Partney INGOLDMELLS Horsington B119 Orby Centre 5 Raithby East Kirkby Other Locations 91 1 Gunby PAGE 36 Stixwould 1 WINTHORPE B 3 SPILSBY Burgh le Marsh PAGES 10 & 11 5 MOORBY Hundleby HALTON HOLEGATE PAGES 26 & 27 Roughton A1 Holegate Old Bolingbroke BURGH ROAD GREATTo STEEPINynton G Kelstern Petwood Hotel WOODHALL SPA East Skegness Coastal Bombing EASTWe KIRKBYst Keal PAGE 37 B Thorpe St. PAGES 12 & 13 1 REVESBYA155 Keal 19 Kirkby Peter Ranges 2 on Bain TATTERSHALL THORPE Mareham Stickford PAGE 28 The Cottage Museum le Fen WAINFLEET Ludford Magna Wainfleet Tattershall Tumby Woodside PAGES 14 & 15 PAGE 38 CONINGSBY Stickney All Saints Eastville Anti Aircraft New York To Sleaford Dogdyke Friskney 2 A5 Manby Defences Tourist Information A 1 B 6 1 192 PAGES 16 & 17 PAGE 29 PAGE 39 Frithville Sibsey To Boston Cover picture captions, starting top left to right: Typhoon ‘afterburner’ take-off at RAF Coningsby, Flt Lt Whiteley DFC (centre) and his KEY Langrick 619 Sqn crew, memorial at RAF Strubby. Main picture: Lancaster NX611 ‘Just Jane’ at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. = Main Road = Minor Road To Boston = Railway Acknowledgements: East Lindsey District Council gratefully acknowledges the following people and organisations for providing material for this booklet: IX(B) Squadron Association; 619 Squadron Association; Air Cdr Milligan CBE; Andy Thomas Collection; A and K Markham Photography; Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire; Brian Stafford; Down To Earth Promotions; John Whiteley’s family; Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre; Lincolnshire County Council; Mill Design & Advertising; Mr Fred Witchell Collection, courtesy of North Staffs 1940s Group; Nev Franklin Collection – Newark Air Museum Archive; Peter Green Collection; Peter Snaith; Peter Allam; Petwood Hotel; RAF Coningsby (BBMF); Sonia Limm; Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre; Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum. 2 3 Abbreviations Introduction AAS ............ Air Armament School E&RFTS Elementary and NAFFI ........ Navy, Army and Air ABG ............ Air Base Group Reserve Flying Training Force Institutes The patchwork of fields across School ABS ............. Air Base Squadron OCU ........... Operational FIDO ........... Fog Intense Dispersal Conversion Unit Lincolnshire’s landscape has been sculpted Introduction AFS .............. Advanced Flying School Abbreviations Operation RAAF .......... Royal Australian Air Air Cdr ....... Air Commodore FJWOEU .... Fast Jet & Weapons Force by aviation from the earliest days of flight AOC ........... Air Officer Operational RAF ............. Royal Air Force Commanding Evaluation Unit RAFCAW ... Royal Air Force College with the introduction of the World War I AOS ............ Air Observer School Flt ................ Flight of Aerial Warfare ARS ............. Air Rescue Squadron FTS............... Flying Training School RAFA .......... Royal Air Force landing grounds and aerodromes. ATC Air Training Corps GAS ............. Ground Armament Association (Air Cadets) School RAFFC ........ Royal Air Force Flying The pace of this sculpting was increased by development; like the V-Bomber base at RAF BAT ............. Beam Approach Gee .............. Code name for - College World War II and the need for airfields close Coningsby; the Thor IRBM base at RAF Ludford | East Lincolnshire Training hyperbolic navigation East Lincolnshire | East Lincolnshire RCAF .......... Royal Canadian Air to the county’s coastline. In some places it Magna; and the Bloodhound SAM base at RAF BBMF ......... Battle of Britain system Force Memorial Flight was changed irrevocably by the laying down North Coates. Gp ................ Group RDF ............ Radio Direction Finding BDTF .......... Bomber Defence of countless concrete runways and taxiways HCU ............ Heavy Conversion Unit SAM ........... Surface to Air Missile Some locations, such as RAF Coningsby have Training Flight that criss-crossed the region and in doing so HD ............... Home Defence Sqn ............. Squadron continued to develop and are still active today BDU ........... Bomb Disposal Unit helped cement a common bond of service HTCU Heavy Transport Sqn Ldr ...... Squadron Leader with Typhoon fighters, the Battle of Britain CH .............. Chain Home Conversion Unit and camaraderie. These bonds were formed in TCG ............. Troop Carrier Group Memorial Flight and Visitor Centre. Other CHL ............ Chain Home Low IRBM ........... Intermediate the shadows of adversity, but they connected UAS ............. University Air Squadron aviation locations are merely marked with DFC ............ Distinguished Flying Range Ballistic people together from around the world in a way memorials to the fallen, like the inspiring mosaic Cross Missile USAF .......... United States Air Force that remains strong today. at North Thoresby. EAAS .......... Empire Air Armament LFS Lancaster Finishing VC ............... Victoria Cross School School Wg Cdr ..... Wing Commander In several places in East Lincolnshire these Please note: Some of the sites featured are on private ECAS .......... Empire Central MOD ........... Ministry of Defence WWI .......... World War One changes continued post-War, during the land and we urge you to respect the privacy of those Armament School MU .............. Maintenance Unit WWII ......... World War Two Cold War Era through continued military locations. ELDC .......... East Lindsey District NZ ............... New Zealand Council 4 5 Bardney LOCATION / GRID REF: Early IX(B) Sqn operations out of Bardney Bardney coincided with the ‘Battle of the Ruhr’. On Bardney Sheet 121SK135708; close to the B1202 20th April 1943 Lancaster W4964 (WS-J) took Bardney to Wragby road off from Bardney on an Op to Stettin, that DATES OF OPERATION: particular aircraft went on to become a ‘100 1943 to 1945 – bomber base Op’ aircraft when it took part in a Tirpitz Raid 1945 to 1959 – storage & maintenance in September 1944. Post war the aircraft was 1959 to 1963 – Thor missile base displayed in a small museum at the College of Aerial Warfare at RAF Manby; was then SQUADRONS: scrapped and a small fuselage section survived East Lincolnshire | East Lincolnshire IX(B) Sqn; 227 Sqn; 189 Sqn; 106(SM) Sqn as a garden shed, before being donated to the | East Lincolnshire Newark Air Museum in 1974. RAF Bardney’s major wartime role was as the IX(B) Sqn soon became established as a two main base for IX(B) Sqn, which along with Fight Main Force Squadron and during the 617 Sqn was one of the RAF’s main precision ‘Battle for Berlin’ established a reputation for bombing squadrons. high accuracy bombing. Operating with 617 The airfield site at Bardney was first surveyed Sqn, IX(B) Sqn was used on Ops targeting in early 1941 and was designed in the standard U-Boat pens; railway bridges; V weapon pattern with 3 concrete runways. Construction sites; Normandy fortification; and the Tirpitz work started in 1942 but was delayed by a battleship. shortage of construction materials. Bardney went from In October 1944 ‘A’ Flt of 227 Sqn was reformed being a wartime The base opened in April 1943 when IX(B) Sqn alongside IX(B) Sqn at Bardney; whilst ‘B’ Flt was bomber base through moved from RAF Waddington to Bardney. Most formed alongside 619 Sqn at Strubby; before accounts note that the squadron took off from both Flt’s moved to RAF Balderton. to a Thor Missile site. Waddington on 13th April on a raid to Northern One of IX(B) Sqn’s finest Ops took place on Italy; after take-off the ground crews relocated 12th November 1944, whilst flying from RAF to Bardney ready to receive the returning Lossiemouth,