Cambridgshire is the county featured in the third volume of the ‘War-Torn Skies’ series of books. This new volume focuses on Cambridgeshire:

Content:

• Cambridgeshire’s two gentlemen airmen who decided to pursue a Daily Mail prize of £1,000 and build their own monoplane in a barn at Oakington 99 years ago.
• The story of the Marshall’s company charted by incredible photographs from the 1920s and 30s.
• Aerodrome histories and the units based there.
• The Luftwaffe night fighter attacks on airfields such as Bassingbourn and Oakington.
• Eye-witness accounts of major incidents such and aircraft crashes.
• Every Luftwaffe crash documented and researched giving names of crew and operational units.
• The artefacts recovered from these and other aircraft crash sites both at the time and by later archaeological excavation.
• What caused a massive 45 foot wide crater in a wood near Pampisford?
• How did German bomber land in the middle of Cambridge without its crew?
• How did a lost American fighter-plane appear in a carpark at Wendy?

For those who lived through this period this book will bridge the years and evoke fading memories, historians, students and those with a desire for aviation knowledge of this county in general will find this an enthralling read.

It is possible in many counties to walk around unaware of many historical events and happenings in Hertfordshire as so few have attracted permanent memorials. The aim of this work is to make the reader more aware of the history on their door-step. By utilising some of the eye-witness accounts, no longer available first hand with the passing of many witnesses, and wartime archives it hopes to stimulate further personal research avenues to be undertaken in the future; this can be immensely satisfying, as one never quite knows where such an undertaking may lead to.

Researching the history of your own town or village has never been more popular. The dramatic and pivotal events of WW2 left their mark on every corner of the county, but details of these many events have, until now, not been recorded. No other source exists detailing the air activity in the county of Hertfordshire. The book lists the airfields and other notable aviation locations in the area. Also included is a listing of aircraft crash sites with detailed investigations.