Short description
This fully illustrated book is an account of the part played by Northamptonshire’s airfields during the Second World War. The history of each airfield is described, with details of the squadrons and aircraft based at them and the main operations flown.
The effects of the war on the daily lives of civilians, and the constant dangers from raids and night bombing are also covered.
At the start of the Second World War, there were just two service stations operational in Northamptonshire – Peterborough and Wittering. These were soon joined by Sywell, Croughton (now used by the USAF), Denton, Hinton-in-the-Hedges and Collyweston. A further 11 were built over the following four years, including Harrington, which was constructed by U.S. army aviation engineers.
From some of those airfields, bombers of the USAAF’s ‘Mighty Eighth’ Air Force flew increasingly larger raids into the dangerous, smoke-filled skies of occupied Europe. Many of Northamptonshire’s airfields served as training grounds for new pilots and this important contribution is marked by two memorial stones, one at Silverstone and the other at Sywell.
Graham Smith’s action-packed book describes the history of each airfield and highlights the major operations and raids carried out from them. The effects of the war on the daily lives of the people of Northamptonshire, and the constant dangers they suffered, are also detailed.
A5 (softcover) 256 pages
Author: Graham Smith
