Airfield Country: Terrain, Land-Use and the Air Defence of Britain, 1939–1945

Abstract

While Britain escaped the ravages of 20th century ground warfare, its landscape bears the imprint of a vital element in national defence: airfields. The British countryside is littered with the sites of c. 1250 aerodromes and landing grounds from two world wards. At the end of the Second World War (1939–45) there were no fewer than 475 aerodromes with hard runway systems, an asset from which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and its kindred arms made a leading contribution to the post-war security of Europe. The ideal environment for military airfields was a surface gradient flatter than 1 in 80, well-drained sub-soil, light woodland cover, nucleated rural settlements, road and rail connections and proximity to the continental mainland. These requirements led to intense competition with agriculture and a variety of engineering solutions designed to balance operational need with a living countryside. In 1945 almost 40% of the United Kingdom lay within c. 8 km of an airfield runway. Over large tracts of eastern, midland and central-southern England airfields were spaced closer than 15 km, creating a continuous impact zone which aviation historians now recognise as ‘airfield country’. The best natural foundations for airfields were provided by the Middle Jurassic limestone and Lower Cretaceous Chalk escarpments, but Quaternary tills, sands and gravels were also extensively occupied due to wartime expansion. In southern England high erosion surfaces were typically crowned with airfields while the hydrologically constrained Fens were conspicuously avoided. In Wales and northern Britain coastal sites with inferior ground conditions were necessarily utilised. Adjacent depressions in the landscape were widely used for the siting of encampments as a precaution against blast. To camouflage operational areas special mowing, ploughing, resurfacing and painting techniques were applied.