Off On A Mission - a photo on Flickriver

Off On A Mission

            No one in the bunk room , must all be off on a mission !! The scene was captured at East Kirkby airfield . This is a mock up in an old nissen hut at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre there .

RAF Station East Kirkby opened on 20 August 1943 as a Bomber Command Station and is situated not far from RAF Coningsby.

Stationed at East Kirkby were:

    No. 57 Squadron RAF (5 Group) 27 August 1943 – 25 November 1945.
    No. 630 Squadron RAF (5 Group) 15 November 1943 – 18 July 1945.

RAF East Kirkby served also as the headquarters of No. 5/5 (Bomber) Group RAF in command of satellite stations at RAF Strubby, RAF Spilsby, RAF Hemswell and RAF Manby.
Operations

On 17 April 1945, near the end of the World War II, a No. 57 Squadron Lancaster was being loaded with bombs when a fully armed 1,000 pounds (450 kg) bomb was unintentionally dropped onto the tarmac. Because the bomb had had its fuse inserted it detonated, setting off the rest of the Lancaster's bombload. A massive explosion killed three airmen, injured 16 others, wrote off six other Lancasters beyond repair and badly damaged a nearby aircraft hangar.

The final wartime raid from East Kirkby was flown on 25 April 1945. In total, 212 operations were carried out during the war, from which 121 Lancasters did not return. Another 29 aircraft were lost due to operational crashes or accidents.
The Greenwich meridian passes through the airfield.
Post war use
No. 630 Squadron disbanded in July that year and its place was taken by No. 460 Squadron RAAF from RAF Binbrook. This squadron joined No. 57 for transfer to the Far East as part of Tiger Force. In the 1950s, the airfield was used by the United States Air Force for Air Rescue squadrons for four years. The station (code name Silksheen) closed in 1958. It was sold by the government in 1964. 
The airfield became the site of broiler sheds, and is now home to an air museum, Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. The centre's main exhibit is an Avro Lancaster Mk.VII, with registration NX611, named Just Jane after the popular wartime comic character.
East Kirkby watchtower

The control tower is believed to be haunted. The airfield was featured in a 1980s BBC series about World War II airfields. Much of the runway is still intact today but mainly used by local farmers as hard standing and by model aircraft enthusiasts. Occasional civilian light aircraft have landed on the remaining runway and the airfield still appears on Civil Aviation Maps as a diversion emergency landing location.

A memorial to the fallen can be found outside the main gate where the guard house once stood.

RAF East Kirkby was investigated by the Most Haunted team in 2003 for their third series on Living TV now called Sky Living. Yvette Fielding and her team investigated the museum and site for alleged paranormal activity. The episode was transmitted on Tuesday 7 October 2003 on Living TV. It was the first episode of the third series of the paranormal investigation show Most Haunted.

In 2008 the museum opened an unlicensed part-grass and part-concrete landing strip for visiting military and civil aircraft. No aircraft should land without contacting the museum's owners first. Air traffic control on flying display days is from RAF Coningsby and there is a six-mile "no fly" exclusion zone around East Kirkby on display days. 
 
Photograph was taken through glass windows if I can recall correctly so shot is not as sharp as I would like .
   

Taken in: UK / England / East Lindsey District / East Kirkby (show map)

Taken on: May 29, 2019

Tags:

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Camera: Canon EOS 77D, f/4.5, 1/60 sec, 10mm, ISO 3200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 77D
Aperture:	f/4.5
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	10mm
ISO:	3200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	On, Fired
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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