Norfolk Airfields in the Second World War

This meticulously researched, illustrated book contains a full account of the part played by Norfolk’s airfields during World War II.

The book describes the history of each airfield - RAF or USAAF - and highlights the major wartime operations and the many and varied aircraft that comprised the operational squadrons. Numbered among these are the Blenheim, Boston, Spitfire, Hurricane, Wellington, Stirling, Lancaster, Liberator and Flying Fortress.

The subject is brought vividly to life with evocative accounts, alongside photos of the airmen themselves and their aircraft.

An American pilot serving in Norfolk during the Second World War once commented, ‘I guess if you just switch off and glide, you’re more likely to have gotten on an airfield than in any other place.’

Norfolk’s geography meant that it became home to no less than 37 airfields by the end of the war. These, and the airmen who flew from them, made an immense contribution both to the defence of Britain and later, more significantly, to the air war in Europe, as the allied air forces flew increasingly large concentrations of bombers into the smoke-filled skies above Germany.

The effects of the war on the daily lives of the people of Norfolk and the dangers they endured, including the ‘Baedeker’ raids on Norwich in April 1942, are also detailed.

Graham Smith’s action-packed book will appeal equally to aviation enthusiasts and to anyone with an interest in Norfolk’s wartime history.