Royal Air Force Waddington: The first eighty years
From a First World War training airfield at which several varieties of the 'sticks-and-string' flying machines of the day were used, RAF Waddington has developed to become the advanced technology operational Station seen today. Only during the early nineteen-twenties was the airfield completely disused. Subsequently it saw service as the home of a Reserve squadron before being selected for complete rebuilding under the huge Expansion Scheme of the 1930s, a decision which enabled Waddington to become a major Bomber Command airfield during the Second World War. There the introduction to service of the Avro Manchester and the most significant of the RAF's heavy bombers, the Lancaster, took place. The early postwar years were a time of military recession until the demands of the 'Cold War' brought about significant changes, not least the advent of the jet age, realised at Waddington by the reconstruction of the main runway and the arrival of Canberra bombers. Before long Waddington again acted as a pioneering Station when the Vulcan heavy bomber was brought into service. Since the demise of the V-Bomber force, RAF Waddington has become the base of the RAF's component of the NATO early warning force and is at the forefront of the associated technology.In 'For Faith & Freedom' the author's mission has been to record in as much detail as space allows the events of the last eighty years at RAF Waddington and some of the personalities who have contributed to the thriving and important complex that the Station has become. This book is sold in aid of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. 128 pages, hardback, Royal Quarto. ISBN - NOT APPLICABLE (Privately Published by RAF Waddington) First Published 1996 by RAF Waddington Mrs. J. Wheeler (CRO), RAF Waddington, Lincoln, LN5 9NB, ENGLAND Tel: +44 (0) 1522-720271 ext. 7837 
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