A view of "Air Power", past and present, while on holiday in Lincolnshire.

My wife and I have just returned from one of our periodic holidays in Lincolnshire during which we aim to visit as many of the historic World War Two era RAF Bomber Command airfields as practicable. 

As always we made sure to visit Fiskerton, just a few miles east of Lincoln, where my late father-in-law, a Flight Engineer, flew 21 “ops” in Lancasters with 49 Squadron from November 1943 to May 1944.  This was the time of the “Battle of Berlin” which saw Bomber Command’s heaviest losses: my father-in-law survived, but 49 Squadron lost 25 Lancasters on operations during his period of service. 

Few of RAF Fiskerton’s wartime buildings remain but sections of the runway still survive and there is a poignant roadside memorial to those who served on the airfield with 49 and 576 Squadrons.

Remains of the runways at RAF Fiskerton.

At RAF Coningsby is the RAF’s Southern Typhoon Main Operating Base and also home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.  There seemed to be far fewer aircraft around than when we visited in 2013.  Only 6 Typhoons, 1 Spitfire and a Chipmunk in sight, a consequence of Conservative defence cuts perhaps! 

 

RAF Coningsby, with far fewer aircraft on view than in 2013.

 

We also visited a different form of “air power” in the shape of the only surviving 8 sailed working windmill in the country at Heckington near Sleaford.  I am in favour of wind power but for character and beauty a traditional windmill beats a wind turbine every time. 

The eight sailed windmill at Heckington near Sleaford.

 

While on holiday I managed to fit in a trip down the A1 to Huntingdon and take in the English Democrats Party’s Spring Conference – but more of that in a later blogpost.