Action Stations Revisited: Volume 6: Northern England and Yorkshire: v. 6

The sixth volume of the renowned 'Action Stations Revisited' series contains detailed histories of over 160 of Northern England's airfields, featuring Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Tyneside and Northumberland.

Although military aviation came to the area in WWI, it was WWII that military aircraft arrived in force. Northern England is often particularly associated with Bomber Command, and Lincolnshire and Yorkshire in particular offered a home to the RAF's ever-growing fleets of Wellingtons, Halifaxes, Stirlings, Manchesters, Hampdens and, of course, the immortal Lancaster. The men and machines that flew to the heart of wartime Europe, and the bases they operated from, have led to this part of England being christened "Bomber Country". But the bases of Northern England also played host to fighter, trainer and communication squadrons, and their histories are recorded in this volume too.

In Cold War Britain, many of these ex-wartime bases took on a new significance. Scampton, from where Guy Gibson led the famous attack on the Ruhr dams, became home to the mighty Vulcan; further south the airport now known as Sheffield-Doncaster Airport, was a front-line base for the nuclear-equipped V-Bomber force. Elsewhere, such as a Manby, a wide variety of aircraft were employed on evaluation duties including the Wyvern, Dominie, Jet Provost and the ubiquitous Varsity. A few miles to the north at Binbrook, the Canberra, the RAF's first jet bomber was introduced into service and later the Lightning supersonic interceptor guarded the UK's northern flank.

But perhaps the most unusual and disturbing traces of the region's military history can be found amongst former airfield sites such as Full Sutton and Breighton, where start concrete assemblies support the Thors - huge intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with thermonuclear warheads, based incongruously amongst the peaceful Yorkshire farmland.

Arranged in alphabetical order with maps and map references, directions, plus a comprehensive index, Action Stations Revisited No 6 Northern England and the Isle of Man provides a fascinating wealth of information on this area's military aviation heritage.

Tim McLelland is an experienced and recognised author specialising in military aerospace subjects. He is also the writer of numerous well-known titles and contributor to many leading aerospace magazines. McLelland has flown in a wide range of military aircraft such as the Tornado, Harrier and Lightning, and has also taken part in four Red Arrows display routines. McLelland is a Vulcan specialist and has many contacts connected with the aircraft type including crew and designers.