Donna Nook Air Weapons Range is a

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

air weapons range in

East Lindsey East Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The population of the district council was 136,401 at the 2011 census. The council is based in Manby. Other major settlements in the district include Alford, Wragby, Spilsby ...

, Lincolnshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The range, as well as a now defunct airfield and radar station, were previously operated by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and known as RAF Donna Nook.

History

Donna Nook has been in continual military use since the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was established as a protection point from

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

airships trying to enter the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

area.

Second World War

A minor airfield was operational from 1936 and used as a decoy up until 1945. The airfield was home to

No. 206 Squadron RAF No. 206 Squadron is a Test and Evaluation Squadron of the Royal Air Force. Until 2005 it was employed in the maritime patrol role with the Nimrod MR.2 at RAF Kinloss, Moray. It was announced in December 2004 that 206 Squadron would disband on ...

from August 1941 to July 1942. It also acted as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) for

RAF North Coates RAF North Coates was a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, six miles south-east of Cleethorpes, and close to the mouth of the Humber estuary. It was an active air station during World War I, and then again from the mid-1920s. Betw ...

. However, during the Second World War, RAF Donna Nook referred to a Chain Home Extremely Low (CHEL) radar station, sited a short distance away from the current establishment. This utilized a 10-cm radar set to track both low-flying intruders and German E-boats cruising offshore, and was operational in this role from 1943 to 1945. From evidence in his authorized biography it appears that it was to RAF Donna Nook that the young

Sir Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

was posted in 1943, shortly after an interview with Wing Commander (later Sir) Edward Jefferson, RAF, who was subsequently Director of Telecommunications for the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

Bombing range

The bombing range first opened up in 1926 with three bombing targets including one which was illuminated for night time bombing practice. The range closed in 1946 but was re-opened in 1976 when RAF Theddlethorpe was closed due to complaints from those living nearby. RAF Donna Nook is still used as an Air Weapons Range by UK, USAFE & NATO users and since 2008 has been administered by

Defence Infrastructure Organisation Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is an operating arm of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the United Kingdom, which is responsible for the built and rural estate. Its Chief Executive is Graham Dalton. History The DIO was formed in 2011 ...

(DIO), formerly Defence Training Estates (DTE). The bombing range covers an area of 885 hectares on land and 3,200 hectares at sea.

Natural heritage

Donna Nook Donna Nook is a point on the low-lying coast of north Lincolnshire, England, north of the village of North Somercotes and south of Grimsby. The area, a salt marsh, is used by a number of Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire for bombing pract ...

is just north of

North Somercotes North Somercotes is a village near to the North Sea coast, in the district of East Lindsey and the Marshes area, of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated midway between the towns of Mablethorpe and Cleethorpes. In 2001 village pop ...

and is also a nature reserve with a large

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

habitat in the early winter maintained by the

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, (part of the Wildlife Trusts partnership), covers the whole ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. It was founded in 1948 as a voluntary charitable organisation dedicated to conserving the wildlife and wild ...

. It is the only national nature reserve in the UK on

MOD Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

land, and was opened on 18 July 2002 by Air Commodore Nigel Williams.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donna Nook Bombing ranges East Lindsey District Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire