Airfields and Landing Grounds of Wales: North

In the third volume of the three-part Airfields and Landing Grounds of Wales series, Ivor Jones documents the North Wales region using a variety of photographs, overheads and maps. As in the southern and western regions of Wales, most of the airfields of North Wales are on the coast. The difference between this region and those further south is the size of the mountains and the more extreme weather. Flying in this area was, therefore, always going to be difficult. Nonetheless, North Wales has been home to many airfields from as far back as 1916, when aviation was in its infancy, playing host to Alan Cobham's famous touring Flying Circus in the 1930s and in the last two years of the Second World War providing essential defence for the north-west of England and acting as the main entry point to Europe for the heavy bombers of the US Air Force. Here Ivor Jones focuses on the airfields and landing grounds of North Wales, some of which continue to hold key positions today; RAF Valley is still the main Tactical Fighter Training Unit, RAF Sealand provides vital aeronautical equipment and, of course, the Airbus factory at Broughton produces the wings for every type and model of the Airbus series. Sites such as an aircrew training station at RAF Mona played a major role in the Second World War, and also in the First World War when an airship base for the Royal Naval Air Service was located at Llangefni, Anglesey. This book comprises a mixture of informative text, history, anecdotes and maps, and a wealth of archive aerial shots and photographs.