HAWKINGE 1912-1961 — An in depth history of the former Royal Air Force Station Hawkinge
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Characteristics
| ISBN-10 | 0 905 27035 5 |
| Book cover finish(es) | Hardcover ( roundback binding ) |
| Condition | Good |
| Author(s) | Roy S. Humphreys |
| Publisher | Meresborough Books |
| Number of pages | 192 |
| Published date | 1981 |
| Language(s) | English |
| Size | 15 x 21.5 x 1.5 cm |
| Categorie(s) | • BASES AÉRIENNES - ESCADRILLES • AVIATION MILITAIRE |
Description
Perched on the heights of Kent, the Hawkinge Air Base served for fifty years as the first line of defense in the British skies. This account by Roy S. Humphreys explores the inner workings of a site that became the most exposed observation post facing the French coast.
Like a true land-based aircraft carrier, the airfield is portrayed here as a living organism that had to evolve to survive: from the first makeshift hangars of 1912 to the logistical frenzy of 1940, when Spitfire aircraft returned to catch their breath under the fire of German batteries.
Between the lines, one follows the transformation of this patch of land into a sophisticated war machine capable of intercepting V1 missiles, before it slowly faded away in the early 1960s, leaving behind the ghosts of the Battle of Britain.
Roy S. Humphreys, 52 and a civil servant, is a founder member and Chairman of the Kent Aviation Historical Research Society. His interest in aviation within the county of Kent has formed the basis of many articles published in magazines and newspapers.
He collected local history, published a monthly journal on all aspects of Kent local history, Bygone Kent, and commissioned an oil painting in 1972 of 25 Squadron's Fury II aircraft by Rex Flood, now featured in this work.