AVIATION ARCHEOLOGY IN BRITAIN

During the Second World War an average of five aircraft crashed every day in the British Isles. Many others that took off from British airfields crashed on operational duties abroad.

Their remains provide a fascinating opportunity for archaeological and historical study. Excavated aircraft can be tied in with historical records, official documentation and eyewitness testimony, allowing investigators to compare all the different forms of evidence from one of the most extraordinary periods in modern history. The work is challenging and involves not just the problems of tracing air crew and paperwork, but also the very considerable difficulties of excavating aircraft buried up to 5 metres deep. Enthusiasts have done much to preserve this aspect of British heritage, establishing private museums across the country and restoring parts of wartime airfields.

This book, with numerous illustrations, is a wide-ranging introduction to the aircraft, the airfields, the documentary record and the memorials to the men and women who gave their lives in the air war.

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

GLOSSARY 

1. INTRODUCTION 
2. DOCUMENTS AND MEMORABILIA 
3. EXCAVATIONS 
4. ENGINES AND AIRFRAMES 
5. IDENTIFICATIONS 
6. THE AIRFIELDS 
7. MEMORIALS 
8. FURTHER READING 
9. MUSEUMS

INDEX 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Guy de la Bédoyère has degrees in Archaeology and Modern History from Durham University, the University of London and the Institute of Archaeology. His main field of study is the history and archaeology of Roman Britain, on which he has written ten books, including Hadrian's Wall, A History and Guide (1998) and The Golden Age of Roman Britain (1999) for Tempus and Pottery in Roman Britain (2000) for Shire, although he also collated and published the complete correspondence of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn in Particular Friends for Boydell (1997).

He has presented a series on Roman Britain for BBC Radio 4 and BBC2. He has also made a number of appearances on Channel 4's popular archaeology series Time Team, two of which involved the excavation of Second World War aircraft. These led to his Battles over Britain, The Archaeology of the Air War for Tempus (2000) and an appearance in Channel 4's 1940s House. He is also a qualified pilot, having trained at Biggin Hill.