Full WW2 control tower details and photos for this wartime airfield are coming soon. Please check back later as this is work progress. If you would like to contribute information or photos please get in touch.
RAF Wickenby, a purpose-built Bomber Command satellite station in Lincolnshire, is closely associated with the Lancaster offensive of 1943-45 and the men of No. 12 Squadron and No. 626 Squadron. Constructed in late 1942 and early 1943 as part of the rapid expansion of airfields in ‘Bomber County,’ Wickenby was placed under No. 1 Group, Bomber Command, and laid out to the standard heavy-bomber pattern: three concrete runways, perimeter track, dispersal points, technical sites and accommodation for the thousands of personnel needed to sustain a front-line bomber station.
No. 12 Squadron arrived in September 1942, initially bringing Vickers Wellington II/III bombers before converting during the winter of 1942-43 to the Avro Lancaster. That conversion mirrored the wider shift in Bomber Command from twin-engined medium bombers to four-engined heavies capable of carrying larger loads deeper into Germany. The Lancaster then became the squadron’s main aircraft for the remainder of the war, defining Wickenby’s operational identity as a station launching long-range night raids across Europe.
On 7 November 1943, Wickenby gained a second Lancaster unit when C Flight of No. 12 Squadron expanded into No. 626 Squadron (aircraft code UM). The creation of a new squadron from an established flight was a common wartime method of scaling combat power while maintaining experience. Both squadrons contributed to the strategic bombing campaign, participating in many major raids including those against Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, Essen, Mailly-le-Camp and Caen. Wickenby aircraft also carried out ‘gardening’ (mine-laying) sorties, which were hazardous but strategically valuable in disrupting enemy shipping and port activity.
As the war progressed into 1944-45, Wickenby’s operations reflected Bomber Command’s broadening tasks. Alongside city and industrial raids, the station’s Lancasters struck transport and tactical targets in support of the invasion and the campaign in North-West Europe. Towards the end of hostilities, crews were drawn into humanitarian and repatriation work: Operation Manna delivered food to the starving Dutch population, and Operation Exodus helped repatriate former prisoners of war and move personnel as Europe stabilised. These late-war missions are an important part of Wickenby’s story because they show the bomber force being used not only to destroy, but also to relieve suffering and restore order.
In human terms, Wickenby’s history carries a heavy cost. The two Lancaster squadrons suffered significant losses typical of the bomber offensive, and local memorialisation reflects the scale of sacrifice associated with the station. For visitors, Wickenby offers a concentrated narrative of Bomber Command’s arc: Wellington beginnings, Lancaster conversion, the long night war over Germany, and finally the relief flights and repatriations that marked the transition from war to peace. Its surviving buildings and museum work help connect those themes to the lived reality of crews and ground staff who maintained the tempo of a heavy-bomber base through years of sustained operations.
The station’s continued remembrance is strengthened by the museum in the surviving control tower, where artefacts, squadron displays and personal stories bring the Lancaster era to life. Even without aircraft on the field today, Wickenby remains a powerful place to understand how Bomber Command functioned as a community of aircrew, ground crew and local supporters.