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An Abandoned Bomber Command Base & More (Video)

Discussion in 'Air War in Western Europe 1939 - 1945' started by MrRossCorbett, Aug 14, 2016.

  1. MrRossCorbett

    MrRossCorbett New Member

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    Hi everybody,

    I hope you have all had a great weekend.

    I recently spent a weekend in 'Bomber County' Lincolnshire where we visited the abandoned buildings of RAF Woodhall Spa. From there we paid a brief visit to the International Bomber Command Centre near Lincoln, enjoyed a drink in the Dambusters Bar at the Petwood Hotel and finished the weekend off by taking our new WW2 Nation drone into the air for the first time.

    Here is the video we made. I hope it is of some interest.

    Kind regards,
    Ross

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxuba9EdFhQ
     
    YugoslavPartisan and gtblackwell like this.
  2. gtblackwell

    gtblackwell Member Emeritus

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    Ross, thank you for the video. Seeing abandoned RAF bases I find both sad and strongly engaging. It certainly stirs the imagination. I am always reminded of the opening screen in 12 O'Clock High when Dean Jaeger returns to his old base ,post war, and reminisces about the war, that the movie was about a US base does nor diminish that haunting feeling. The Monument to Bomber Command appears to be made of Corten steel, more commonly know as ever rusting steel, It quickly begins rusting until the oxidation actually seals off the underlying steel from further erosion. The final color depends on the actual alloy and the atmosphere but many turn a dark purplish black. The design is beautiful to me, soaring yet grounded, the flat face perforated by holes and the naming walls circling the whole. Great that you can see Lincoln in the back ground. And the pub is fantastic, makes one want a pint !

    A favor if you have the time . Get that drone up again around this areas and at other bases before they are completely gone. I have spent hours on Google earth looking at WW2 bases. Sometimes you can find them by only patterns of fields, other times they are converted to business estates or morphed into current up dated air fields. Still much exist.

    I had to watch twice. Bomber command deserves all the recognition possible, brave men those.

    Gaines
     
  3. MrRossCorbett

    MrRossCorbett New Member

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    Hi Gaines,

    Thank you very much for the reply and for the information on the memorial. It's certainly a remarkable piece of architecture and I can't wait to see how the whole site progresses if they can reach their funding target.

    Thank you again for watching Gaines!

    Ross
     
  4. brianw

    brianw Member

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    I fully agree that those brave young men of RAF Bomber Command, the "Bomber Boys", all of whom were volunteers should be remembered, not just the 55,573 who didn't go home, but all of the 125,000 or so who flew against tyrany in those dark days.

    Lincolnshire would seem to be a reasonable location for the memorial, but let us not forget that it was the base for No 6 Group Bomber Command. There's a risk that No 4 Group based in Yorkshire is being forgotten. It's not viable for every county to have their own major Bomber Command memorial.

    There's also a risk that the Lancaster, iconic as it was might be "stealing the limelight". No 4 Group operated the Halifax bomber in various variants, mainly the MkIII and the MkVI and they did take part in some dangerous operations too.
     

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