Cambridgeshire Airfields in the Second World War

Cambridgeshire Airfields in the Second World War
Author: Graham Smith
Publisher: Countryside Books (GB)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1997
Genre: Air bases
ISBN: 9781853064562

Offers an account of the county's 28 airfields during the last war, including Duxford, Oakington, Waterbeach, and Wittering.

RAF and USAAF Airfields in the UK During the Second World War

RAF and USAAF Airfields in the UK During the Second World War
Author: Geoff Mills
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Total Pages: 1069
Release: 2022-03-31
Genre: History
ISBN:

Shortly after the end of the Second World War, the United Kingdom was described as one vast aircraft carrier anchored off the coast of Europe. During a seven year period 500 airfields were constructed to serve the needs first of the RAF and later the USAAF as they carried the war to German-occupied Europe. The airfields that were constructed took many different forms from training airfields and Advanced Landing Grounds to grass fighter airstrips and vast complexes used to accommodate heavy bombers. This book charts the history of each Second World War airfield in and around the UK providing a unique insight in to the construction, operational life and post-war history of each airfield. Alongside detailing the history of each airfield, this work comprehensively records the details of each unit that operated from airfields around the UK. The information provided in this meticulously researched book is supported by a wealth of 690 photographs providing an illustration into the life of each wartime station.

Cambridgeshire at War 1939–45

Cambridgeshire at War 1939–45
Author: Glynis Cooper
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2020-03-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473875862

Few could believe that within twenty years of the war to end all wars being won the world was once again at war. Veterans of the Great War feared going through the same thing again and, even worse, many knew that this time their children would also be involved in the fighting. What had all the sacrifice been about? Cambridgeshire, the city of Cambridge and the University of Cambridge were badly hit by the Great War with many lives lost, families ripped apart and a way of life that had changed forever. Building and economic recovery had been hindered by the Great Depression. The county was not ready to face another war nor for the problems of warfare in the air. Yet somehow the county, the city and the university all found the strength to unite against the enemy once more and ensure that Germany would never win the war. The book chronicles life on the Home Front during the Second World War, which itself reached into every home and affected every citizen, changing the life and the face of the county. It is also a timely reminder of the difficulties, hardships, restrictions and morale faced by the city as the war dragged on, and how the local community overcame the odds that were stacked against them.

Cheshire Airfields in the Second World War

Cheshire Airfields in the Second World War
Author: Aldon Patrick Ferguson
Publisher: British Airfields in the Secon
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN:

An account of Cheshire's airfields during the last war; the planes and pilots who flew them; and the local civilians who worked alongside them.

Sussex Airfields in the Second World War

Sussex Airfields in the Second World War
Author: Robin J. Brooks
Publisher: Countryside Books (GB)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1993
Genre: Air bases
ISBN: 9781853062599

This title describes the airfields of Sussex during the last war, the planes and the pilots who flew them, and the local civilians who worked alongside them. It is fully illustrated.

Defending Cambridgeshire

Defending Cambridgeshire
Author: Mike Osborne
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2013-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0752497529

Throughout history, Cambridgeshire has figured in the conflicts shaping our nation. Doomed Roman legionaries marched from Longthorpe to defeat by Boudicca’s Iceni; Saxons and Danes fought over the edges of the Danelaw; the Normans came this way to crush Hereward’s Fenland resistance; in the Civil War it provided the defended frontier between Parliamentarian and Royalist; in the twentieth century its flat expanses provided airfields for the RFC and later for the bombers of the RAF and USAAF, and in the Cold War, locations for missile bases. Many of these events have left evidence on the ground, and this book describes the function and purpose of these defensive structures and records survivals.

British Airfields of the Second World War

British Airfields of the Second World War
Author: Stuart Hadaway
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2020-04-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1784423963

The Second World War airfields peppered around Britain are among the most visible and widespread reminders of this devastating conflict. Some are now almost forgotten or built over; others have become museums, industrial estates or parkland; and some have been adapted and remain in operation today. In this beautifully illustrated history, aviation historian Stuart Hadaway explains the crucial part airfields played between 1939 and 1945, detailing their construction and expansion; their facilities and equipment; the many functions they housed from command and control to maintenance and bomb-loading; how the airfields were used both for defence and offence; and how they changed during the war. He also explores what life was like on the airfields, as well as listing some of the remaining sites and what can be seen today.

How Churchill Waged War

How Churchill Waged War
Author: Allen Packwood
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2018-10-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473893917

An analytical investigation into Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s decision-making process during every stage of World War II. When Winston Churchill accepted the position of Prime Minister in May 1940, he insisted in also becoming Minister of Defence. This, though, meant that he alone would be responsible for the success or failure of Britain’s war effort. It also meant that he would be faced with many monumental challenges and utterly crucial decisions upon which the fate of Britain and the free world rested. With the limited resources available to the UK, Churchill had to pinpoint where his country’s priorities lay. He had to respond to the collapse of France, decide if Britain should adopt a defensive or offensive strategy, choose if Egypt and the war in North Africa should take precedence over Singapore and the UK’s empire in the East, determine how much support to give the Soviet Union, and how much power to give the United States in controlling the direction of the war. In this insightful investigation into Churchill’s conduct during the Second World War, Allen Packwood, BA, MPhil (Cantab), FRHistS, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, enables the reader to share the agonies and uncertainties faced by Churchill at each crucial stage of the war. How Churchill responded to each challenge is analyzed in great detail and the conclusions Packwood draws are as uncompromising as those made by Britain’s wartime leader as he negotiated his country through its darkest days.

North Wales Airfields in the Second World War

North Wales Airfields in the Second World War
Author: David Berryman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2013-07-11
Genre: Air bases
ISBN: 9781846743139

David Berryman's thoroughly researched and action-packed book describes the history of each airfield. It will appeal equally to aviation enthusiasts and local readers who recall the era when the skies never ceased to throb with the drone of departing and returning aircraft.