Lincolnshire Aviation

I am in the east of England this week, part of the country I am not familiar with. A couple of days golf with old pals, two book talks and footie on Sunday. With time to spare today, I drove up to Lincolnshire to visit some museums and castles.

Lincolnshire is dotted with airfields, a legacy of the World War II bomber bases. Handy for the bomber offensive against Nazi Germany, and it's flat. My first stop was RAF Coningsby, home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. These are the WW2 aircraft you see at air shows and major events, flown by RAF pilots. You can visit the hangar with a guided tour. These are volunteers, and ours was a fountain of knowledge. I expected a quick visit, but the tour took two hours and was well worth the time.

There is a small exhibition area and shop.

Then over to the hangar and the aircraft.

RAF Coningsby is one of two RAF Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Stations which protect UK airspace. RAF Lossiemouth is the other. It is home to two frontline, combat-ready squadrons and is the training station for Typhoon pilots. There was a major exercise going on today, and Typhoons were regularly taking off and landing. They have a spectacular short take-off routine, with aircraft taking off almost vertically after leaving the runway.

Next stop was the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Museum. Situated on another nearby airfield, the buildings are filled with aircraft memorabilia, often rescued from the surrounding area. The star attraction is a Lancaster bomber that doesn't fly, but can taxi around the site. They also have a Mosquito and a Mitchell. 

It would be rude not to visit the nearby castles. Tattersall is a rare (for the UK) brick-built castle. There was an earlier stone castle, but it was rebuilt by Lord Cromwell in 1434. The keep is well preserved, and the site is surrounded by a brick-built moat. There is also a huge church. You can watch Typhoons taking off from Coningsby from the roof.

Finally, a quick look at Bolingbroke Castle. This was a major fortress, but there is not much left after the Roundheads wrecked it, and the locals pinched the stones.