Somerset Airfields in the Second World War

Book excerpt: Somerset was not in the front-line during the early stages of the war, and its airfields initially fulfilled a training and support role. However, it was not long before fighters were stationed in the county as part of the defences against enemy air attacks and the number of airfields quickly increased. Lulgate Bottom and Yeovilton were opened in 1940 followed by Culmhead, which also housed the Polish Air Force In Exile and a Czech Wing; Charlton Horethorne, Charmy Down and Merryfield, both later transferred to the US Ninth Air Force; and North Stoke. Operations from the county's airfields gradually increased in momentum and its units made a significant contribution to the outstanding success of the Normandy landings and later the Arnhem operation. This book describes the history of each airfield and highlights the major operations carried out from them. The effects of the war on the daily lives of the people of Somerset and the hardship and constant dangers they suffered are also detailed. David Berryman's action-packed book will appeal equally to aviation enthusiasts and to readers who recall the era when the skies overhead never ceased to throb with the drone of departing and returning aircraft.