Is there a book on RAF airfields/stations?

[drailton]

Does anyone know of a book about RAF airfields/RAF stations that will give me their history and details of units that were located there; the sort of book that Ray Sturtivant might write and I am looking for the level of detail he has in his 'Flying Training and Support Units since 1912'? I see books advertised for airfields of WWII but I am interested in 1912 to date.

[papajuliet]

Does anyone know of a book about RAF airfields/RAF stations that will give me their history and details of units that were located there; the sort of book that Ray Sturtivant might write and I am looking for the level of detail he has in his 'Flying Training and Support Units since 1912'? I see books advertised for airfields of WWII but I am interested in 1912 to date.

There are the Action Stations series of 12 books published some years ago, the revised series "Action Stations Revisited" currently in publication, The Military Airfields of Britain by Ken Delve is another series.
Air-Britain publish a CD covering airfields from 1912 - the information is accurate but limited in scope by virtue of it's format. I'd suggest you look at their site, search " airfields" and you should find it. Despite it's limitations I think that might be your answer.

[drailton]

There are the Action Stations series of 12 books published some years ago, the revised series "Action Stations Revisited" currently in publication, The Military Airfields of Britain by Ken Delve is another series.
Air-Britain publish a CD covering airfields from 1912 - the information is accurate but limited in scope by virtue of it's format. I'd suggest you look at their site, search " airfields" and you should find it. Despite it's limitations I think that might be your answer.

Thank you papajuliet for your reply. I have the Action Stations series but only 10 books - 9 based on areas of UK and the 10th a supplement. Am I missing 2 more? I have not been sure if this series is supposed to be WWII only (the first book in the series mentions 1939-1945 in the title but other volumes don't) with limited information outside of that period or if the publishers changed tack after the first book. If they did it still appears that the pre and post WWII information is limited.

I will have a look for the Ken Delve book and see what the Air-Britain cd has to offer.

[drailton]

Thank you papajuliet for your reply. I have the Action Stations series but only 10 books - 9 based on areas of UK and the 10th a supplement. Am I missing 2 more? I have not been sure if this series is supposed to be WWII only (the first book in the series mentions 1939-1945 in the title but other volumes don't) with limited information outside of that period or if the publishers changed tack after the first book. If they did it still appears that the pre and post WWII information is limited.

I will have a look for the Ken Delve book and see what the Air-Britain cd has to offer.

Taking my query further can anyone tell me what the new Action Stations series has that the originals didn't? Any opinion on whether it might be worthwhile buying the revised series when I already have the original books?

Does the revised Action Station series and the Ken Delve have good coverage of the pre and post WWII periods?

Also, which has the most comprehensive coverage: 'Action Stations Revisited' or the Ken Delve books?

[bruce dennis]

Hello drailton,
To answer your question, I do not believe any such book has been compiled. I don't want to disappoint you, but to get a history of each airfield and it's entire history, even in abbreviated form, would be a massive undertaking and require a dedicated bookshelf for the finished volumes. For the history to be useful it would have to include squadrons and groups served and note the dates of changes, and it is almost certain that with the amount of such information available online today it is unlikely anyone will try to make a printed version.
Having said all that, if it existed I would probably have bought it.
If there are specific airfields of interest, why not post the questions as seperate threads for each location and see what replies come back? I (and others) can give pointers on finding information in the records at TNA Kew if you want to do some digging.

Hope this helps,
Bruce

[drailton]

Thank you for your reply, Bruce. So, I will dismiss my idea one comprehensive book and look to either the 'Action Stations' or Ken Delve series and ask the questions posed in my previous message in the hope that someone might have both the old and new 'Action Stations' and the Ken Delve books and can compare them.

[Chrisb1379]

Hello, having only just returned to the group I may well be somewhat behind the times. I have a book, 'Military Airfields in the British Isles 1939' Omnibus Edition. By Steve willis and Barry Holliss published by Enthusiasts Publications of Newport Pagnell. This has information on all UK airfields including its past and present use, personnel strength and units/sqdns using it. I have found it most useful when needing to look up information on a particular airfield. Hope this is of use.

[drailton]

Thanks for your reply, Chris.
The book you mention seems to have similar information to the Ken Delve books. Since my original posting I have bought 2 of the volumes of the Ken Delve series that are most relevant to me.
David