Action Stations!

Action Stations Revisited: Volume 1 documents every airfield in East Anglia in copious detail, describing the history of the base, the squadrons that were based there and much, much more.  132 locations are listed across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.  Some of these airfields, such as number 104, Stansted, are now busy international airports; others are pig farms, while many, like our own base at Scottow (former RAF Coltishall) are now business parks and industrial estates. A few are still in military use:  Mildenhall and Lakenheath are huge USAF bases, Coningsby is one of the main bases for the Typhoon, and Marham was used as the base for the Tornado and more recently the F-35 Lightning.

The Bloody Hundredth, the USAAF B-17 squadron featured in Masters of the Air, was based at Thorpe Abbotts, south of Norwich. The series wasn’t actually filmed there, but the control tower still stands and has been preserved.  The 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum is at nearby Dickleburgh.

At 460 pages, this book provides an essential reference to the history of the region’s airbases, whether you are an aviation enthusiast, or like me, just curious about the past lives of the many derelict and disused airfields in the countryside.