RAF Base at Ludford Magna, UK

[Scipio]

I'm looking for any information about the RAF Bomber Command's base at Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire, UK. I've done a little research with only minimal results. I'm looking for bomber operations by 101 Squadron during WWII. Appreciate any help....thanks....Scipio

[Mens Agitat Molem]

Scipio

Not sure if you've had any more success. I am searching for info about Ludford Magna myself. I'm new to this site but will post here the links I've so far found - no doubt someone will tell me if I go wrong!

RAF Brize Norton - 101 Squadron - this is an official RAF site.

RAF Ludford Magna world war 2 - found this site quite complicated, but persevere ...

BBC - WW2 People's War - Royal Air Force Category - this is a link to the BBC television history archives and you might well find some stories about Ludford Magna there. I did a search and this came up.

Are you looking at this base for a specific reason? My search is because my great uncle flew Lancaster DV 276 SR-R on the night of 30/31 March 1944. He and his 8-man crew were shot down close to Munich. I've been able to find out a lot about him and the operation (the last raid to Nuremberg on the night of 30/31 March 1944) and would be happy to pass on the links to sites I've found helpful.

I'm going to spend more time looking round this site and will come back to post my own info and questions about 101 Squadron, Ludford Magna, WW2 and ABC Lancaster bombers ...

Liz

[AVRoe]

RAF Ludford Magna Opened: Jun 1943

Establishment of 14 Base: 16 Dec 1943, satellites at RAF Faldingworth and RAF Wickenby)

Closed: 25 Oct 1945 (parenting to RAF Binbrook)

Polish transit camp until spring 1956

Re-opened: 1958

Closed: May 1963

Sold off: Oct 1965

Airfield code: LM

Squadrons based here:

101 Sqn :: 15 Jun 1943 - 1 Oct 1945

Station Flight :: - 1944 -

3 Flt, 2706 Sqn RAF Regt :: Jun 1943 - Nov 1943

2702 Sqn RAF Regt :: Nov 1943 - ??

104 (SM) Sqn :: 22 Jul 1959 - 24 May 1963

RAF Ludford Magna was sited immediately to the south of the twin villages of Ludford Parva and Ludford Magna. With concrete runways authorised for the site in Dec 1940, construction on the airfield, covering 600 acres, began in 1942 and was completed in 90 days. Ludford Magna was never intended to be a permanent RAF station and was therefore dominated by Nissen huts and the few permanent buildings which included up to 6 T2 and one B1 hangars. When the airfield opened in June it was the highest bomber airfield in England, at height of 428ft above sea level. Due to the slope on the site, the the main runway was constructed north-south instead of the more conventional north-east south-west orientation. The airfield lighting was MkII.

101 Sqn arrived on 15 Jun 1943 and commenced offensive bombing operations with a part in a raid on Krefeld on 21 Jun. On 25 Jun, 233 MU at RAF Market Stainton became a subsidiary unit of Ludford Magna. During the same period 3 Flt, 2706 Sqn RAF Regt was posted to Ludford Magna for airfield defence. In Nov 1943 the Station prepared to receive a second flying squadron, 576 Sqn, the nucleus to be formed from 4 crews of 101 Sqn and other crews from 103 Sqn at Elsham Wolds. In the event the atrocious mud and limited infrastructure at Ludford Magna led 576 Sqn to be formed at RAF Elsham Wolds. The other flying unit to be located here was the Station Flight, equipped with at least one Oxford.

At the end of Oct 1943 beam approach equipment had been installed and was tested but found to be not up to standard. The station was later further enhanced with FIDO for fog dispersal, being the first airfield in 1 Group and one of the handful of RAF bases to be equipped. Prevailing muddy conditions led to the nickname of 'Mudford Magna'.

RAF Ludford Magna became 14 Base HQ on 16 Dec 1943 and had satellite airfields at RAF Wickenby and RAF Faldingworth. However the Base was somewhat below power from its creation until Apr 1944 as Ludford Magna had only one sqn and Faldingworth had only a HCU! 101 Sqn became somewhat of a specialist squadron in Electronic Warfare in both jamming and location. View the 101 Sqn history for full details.

The first bomber attack against Ludford Magna took place on 4 Mar 1945, damage being restricted to a small crater and some canon fire. Soon thereafter the post VE-day drawdown began to effect the Station and in Sep 1945 an advance party of the 101 Sqn left for RAF Binbrook, the remainder following shortly thereafter. This inevitably brought about the disbandment of the flying support units and of 14 Base HQ on 25 Oct 1945. Administrative control and parenting of the Station passed to RAF Binbrook. The Stn was briefly used as a major transit camp for up to 700 Polish refugees until around 1948 while the land was transfered to the Ministry of Agriculture for disposal. Thereafter a dwindling core of around 40 families remained beyond Sep 1955, probably leaving by Apr 1956.

RAF Ludford Magna was selected as home to 104(SM) Sqn with its three Thor IRBM launchers in a new role. From 1959 to 1963 each missile was armed with a one-megaton nuclear warhead, controlled by the US Air Force under so-called dual-key arrangements. RAF Hemswell was the headquarters for the 5 Lincolnshire dispersal sites at RAF Hemswell, RAF Bardney, RAF Caistor, RAF Coleby Grange and RAF Ludford Magna. However with only 54 personnel assigned to Ludford Magna the site was quite austere location compared to its wartime role. The Thor force disbanded on 15 Mar 1963 and 104 (SM) Sqn disbanded 10 days later.

With the end of the Thor force the buildings and disposable assets at Ludford Magna were disposed of in public auction from 20-22 Jul 1964. The military association with Ludford Magna ended on 19 Oct 1965 as the remaining 505 acres were sold to farming companies.

Most of the operating surfaces were broken up during the 1970s but the Thor silos have proved more resilient.

RAF Ludford Magna and 101 Sqn are now commemorated in a memorial stone on the A631 in Ludford Magna village.

[AVRoe]

101 Squadron Royal Air Force
Mens agitat molem - 'Mind over matter' Formed: 12 Jul 1917, South Farnborough

Disbanded: Dec 1919

Reformed: Mar 1928, Bircham Newton

Disbanded: 1 Feb 1957

Reformed: 15 Oct 1957

Disbanded: Aug 1982

Reformed: May 1984

Squadron was based at:

Farnborough :: Jul 1917 -

RAF Filton :: >Nov 1918 - Dec 1919

RAF Bircham Newton :: Mar 1928 - 1930

RAF Andover :: 1930 - Dec 1934

RAF Bicester :: Dec 1934

RAF West Raynham :: 1939

RAF Holme-on-Spalding :: ?? - 15 Jun 1943

RAF Ludford Magna :: 15 Jun 1943 - 1 Oct 1945

RAF Binbrook :: 1 Oct 1945 - 1 Feb 1957

RAF Finningley :: Oct 1957 - 1961

RAF Scampton :: 1961 - 1982

RAF Brize Norton :: 1984 -

Squadron code: SR, MW

Aircaft operated:

FE2b :: Jul 1917 - Dec 1919

DH9A :: Mar 1928 - <1930

Sidestrand :: <1930 - 1935

Overstrand :: 1935 - 1939

Blenheim MkIV :: 1939 - 1942

Wellington MkIII :: 1942 - mid-1942

Lancaster Mk I, Mk III :: Mid-1942 - 1945

Lincoln :: 1945 -

Washington B MkI ::

Canberra B2 :: Jun 1951 - Feb 1957

Vulcan B1A, B2 :: Oct 1957 - 1968

Vulcan B2 :: 1968 - 1982

VC-10 K3/K4:: May 1984 -

101 Squadron formed on 12 Jul 1917 at South Farnborough and was immediately deployed to France, equipped with FE2 as the RFC's second specialised night bomber role sqn. Its principal targets were communications and aerodromes in Northern France and Belgium. Occasional deception strafing was conducted to cover the noise of armour and troops massing for offensives. The Sqn was reduced to cadre strength in Mar 1919 and disbanded in Dec 1919.

In Mar 1928 101 Sqn reformed at Bircham Newton with Sidestrand in a day-bomber role, re-equipping to Overstrand in 1935. The first aircraft to have power-operated movable gun turrets, they are commemorated in the Squadron crest where a lion, representing the Squadron’s fighting spirit, is seen emerging from a castellated turret; the motto ‘Mens Agitat Molem’ means ‘Mind Over Matter’.

In 1939 it re-equipped to Blenheim IV, becoming part of Bomber Command's medium-bomber force in Nov 1941 with Wellington. These were replaced 18 months later by Lancaster as the Sqn moved to become the sole sqn resident at newly-opened RAF Ludford Magna. At this point the Sqn specialised in a variety of Electronic Warfare roles. The first of these was the Monica active RDF system, fit in Jul 1943. This was followed by the passive Boozer radar warning receiver in Aug 1943. In Oct 1943 the airborne VHF comms jammer known as ABC (Airborne Cigar) was used on operations against Stuttgart. 101 Sqn's ABC-equipped Lancaster provided a crucial offensive electronic warfare capability to Bomber Command during strategic bombing operations. 101 Sqn was directed by HQ to have 10 ABC aircraft available on each day bombing ops were to take place. The intensity of ABC operations continued until Oct 1944 when Command informed 14 Base HQ at Ludford Magna that no more ABC equipment would be supplied to 101 Sqn as the Electronic Countermeasure mission was handed over to 100 Gp. However 100 Gp was overtasked and 101 Sqn continued to fly ABC missions up to Apr 1945. The Sqn flew just under 2500 ABC missions during World War II.

On 25 Nov 1943 4 experienced crews transfered from 101 Sqn to form the new 576 Sqn's A Flight, with additional new crews coming straight from Heavy Conversion Unit. 101 Sqn was the key contributing sqn in the Nuremburg Raid on 30 Mar 1944, supplying 26 of the total 795 bombers. However it was also to suffer the most losses, losting 7 Lancaster. The ABC specialisation meant that 101 Sqn crews were often called on to support other Groups' raids. 101 Sqn's specialist EW role meant that it concluded the war with the highest casualty rate of any of the flying squadrons.

In the closing stages of the war 101 Sqn supported Ops MANNA and EXODUS, like many other Lincolnshire-based sqns. MANNA was food drops to the residents of the Netherlands, whilst EXODUS was the repatriation of Prisoners of War from Europe to the UK, up to 4 Jun 1945.

In Sep 1945 an advance party of the Sqn left for RAF Binbrook and the remainder followed shortly thereafter.

101 Sqn was the first front-line Canberra bomber sqn, equipping in Jun 1951, and was the first to put the jet into combat in Malaya and Suez, shortly before disbandment in 1957. It reformed with the Vulcan B1 bomber at Finningley 1957, moving to RAF Scampton in 1961, was the last sqn to convert to the B2 before disbandment in 1982 after Op CORPORATE, reforming as a VC-10 Sqn in May 1984.

[Q Queenie]

Just found the site - our next door neighbour, a bomber pilot on Lancasters, was based at Ludford Magna and was on the Nuremburg raid in March 44. His squdron lost 54 men that night. His abiding memory of the airfield is the mud and the cold - apparently it was nicknamed Mudford Magna. Picture Post, the news magazine, did a whole feature article on the place - he remembers the photographers coming down. It would be interesting to find a copy...

[Airframes]

Hi Q Queenie & Scipio. The following books might help you with 101 Sqn and Ludford Magna, especially the last one listed, which is a comprehensive account of 101 Sqn. throughout WWII. I,ve just pulled them off my library shelves to double check, and I think you'll find some interesting pics and stories in all three. I drove past Ludford about 18 months ago, but couldn't get close to see much, as what was the main entrance was a private area for industry.
Anyhow, the books, as far as I am aware, are still available. Don't be put off by the publication dates, as the last on the list I only got about 10 years ago when re-published. If you have any problems locating them, let me know and I'll check a couple of places I know that will probably have them.
1) Lancaster at War, by Mike Garbett & Brian Goulding, 1971 & 1983, Ian Allan, ISBN 0 7110 0225 8
2) Lancaster at War 2, Garbett/Goulding, 1979, third impression 1981, Ian Allan, ISBN 0 7110 0966 X
3) Bomber Squadron at War, AndrewBrooks,1983, Ian Allan, ISBN 0 7110 1279 2.
Hope this info useful, good luck!