RAF Ludford Magna | |
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Ludford, Lincolnshire in England | |
Coordinates | 53°22′26″N 0°11′34″W / 53.3737874°N 0.1926533°W |
Type | Disused former RAF Bomber Command airfield |
Site information | |
Owner | Now returned to private agricultural ownership |
Controlled by | No. 1 Group RAF, RAF Bomber Command |
Open to the public | No |
Condition | Dismantled. Former runways visible as cropmarks. Three Thor launchpads still stand at the centre of the airfield, although the brick structures have been dismantled. |
Site history | |
Built | 1943 |
Built by | George Wimpey |
In use | June 1943 – October 1945 July 1958 – May 1963 |
Materials | Concrete runways and perimeter tracks. Most buildings were of the temporary Nissen hut type |
Demolished | 1963 |
Battles/wars | Second World War * Battle of the Ruhr * Battle of Berlin Cold War |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | No. 101 Squadron RAF 14 Base HQ (1943–5) No. 104 Squadron RAF (1958–63) |
Royal Air Force Ludford Magna or more simply RAF Ludford Magna is a former Royal Air Force station located on agricultural farmland immediately south of the village of Ludford, Lincolnshire and was sited 21. 4miles (34.4 km) north east of the county town of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.
The airfield was operated by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War and the Cold War with it being used for Avro Lancaster bomber operations in the latter part of the Second World War the station was placed on care and maintenance until the mid-1950s when it was reactivated as a Cold War base for PGM-17 Thor intermediate range ballistic missiles (IRBMs). The station closed in the early part of the 1960s and has been mostly dismantled and returned to agricultural uses.
The remains of the station can be seen from the B1225 Caistor High Street, and the long-distance footpath the Viking Way passes right next to the eastern perimeter track.