"As part of the Aviation Heritage Trail series, the airfields and interest in this book are concentrated in a particular area in this case West Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Cornwall. The South and South-west of England emerged from six years of war with a rich diversity of RAF bomber and fighter airfields used by the 2nd Tactical Air Force, both before and after the D-Day landings. Much of this proud legacy is now threatening to disappear. However, the tourist can combine visits to an abundance of disused and active airfields, country houses and museums with countless attractions, imaginative locations, broad land, and coastal hideaways that have no equal.The airfields and other places of interest include Hartford Bridge, Lasham, Westhamptonett, Merston, Odiham, Holmsley South, Funtington, Hurn, Ford, Tangmere, Ibsley, Perranporth, Thruxton, Thorney Island, Appledram, Selesy, Needs Oar Point, Zeals, Lee-on-Solent and Bognor Regis. This book looks at the history and personalities associated with each base, what remains today and explores the favorite local wartime haunts where aircrew and ground crew would have sought well-deserved entertainment and relaxation. Other museums and places that are relevant will also be described and general directions on how to get them included."

As part of the Aviation Heritage Trail series, the airfields and interest in this book are concentrated in a particular area - in this case West Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Cornwall. The South and South-west of England emerged from six years of war with a rich diversity of RAF bomber and fighter airfields used by the 2nd Tactical Air Force, both before and after the D-Day landings. Much of this proud legacy is now threatening to disappear. However, the tourist can combine visits to an abundance of disused and active airfields, country houses and museums with countless attractions, imaginative locations, broad land, and coastal hideaways that have no equal. The airfields and other places of interest include Hartford Bridge, Lasham, Westhamptonett, Merston, Odiham, Holmsley South, Funtington, Hurn, Ford, Tangmere, Ibsley, Perranporth, Thruxton, Thorney Island, Appledram, Selesy, Needs Oar Point, Zeals, Lee-on-Solent and Bognor Regis. This book looks at the history and personalities associated with each base, what remains today and explores the favorite local wartime haunts where aircrew and ground crew would have sought well-deserved entertainment and relaxation. Other museums and places that are relevant will also be described and general directions on how to get them included.

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.

As part of the Aviation Heritage Trail series, the airfields and interest in this book are concentrated in a particular area - in this case Kent, Surrey, East Sussex, Essex and Greater London. The South east of England emerged from six years of war with a rich diversity of RAF bomber and fighter airfields used by the 2nd Tactical Air Force, both before and after the D-Day landings. Much of this proud legacy is now threatening to disappear. However, the tourist can combine visits to an abundance of disused and active airfields, country houses and museums with countless attractions, imaginative locations and broadland and coastal hideaways that have no equal. The airfields and other places of interest include Northolt, Manston, Sculthorp, Dunsfold, Swanton Morley, Hunsdon, Gravesend, Detling, Biggin Hill, Kenley, Redhill, Gatwick, Heston, Hornchurch, Chailey, Coolham, Horne, West Malling and Newchurch. This book looks at the history and personalities associated with each base, what remains today and explores the favourite local wartime haunts where aircrew and ground crew would have sought well-deserved entertainment and relaxation. Other museums and places that are relevant will also be described and general directions on how to get them included.

In his 1945 report to the Combined Chiefs-of-Staff on the success of Operation ‘Overlord’, the Supreme Commander General Eisenhower wrote that "on the morning of June 9 I?was able to announce that for the first time since 1940, Allied air forces were operating from France, and that within three weeks of D-Day, 31 Allied squadrons were operating from the ­beach-head bases." In their forecasts for the first three months following D-Day, the planners plotted the number of the advanced landing grounds that would be required in Normandy to support the Allied air forces up to September 1944. Using maps and aerial photographs, individual sites were surveyed and plans drawn up so that when each location was captured, either US Aviation Engineers, the Royal Engineers or RAF?Airfield Construction Wings, could move in without delay to begin work to build them. This book tells the story of every airfield that became operational by D+90, explaining the methods used to construct them and the units that flew from them. The vast majority of the temporary airstrips have now been returned to the farmland from which they came, but by using engineers’ plans from the period and modern aerial photographs, we have portrayed the sites in true After the Battle fashion: as they were then and as they are today.

As part of the AHT series, the airfields and interest in this book are concentrated in a particular area in this case Essex. It covers the American air bases used by the Martin B-29 Marauders, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs of the 9th USAAF Air Force during 1943-44 prior to their move south to France after the D-Day invasion on 6 June 1944.The airfields included are Andrews Field, Birch, Boreham, Boxted, Chipping Ongar, Earls Colne, Gosfield, Great Dunmow, Little Walden, Matching, Roydon, Rivenhall, Stansted, Wethersfield and Wormingford.This book looks at the history and personalities associated with each base, what remains today and explores the favourite local wartime haunts where aircrew and ground crew would have sought well-deserved entertainment and relaxation. Other museums and places that are relevant will also be described and general directions on how to get them included.