RAF Bomber Command 207 Squadron was the first to fly from Langar with Lancaster bombers on many missions, mostly to bomb Berlin, the capital of Germany. Over 270 aircrew lost their lives on missions from Langar in the nine months that 207 Squadron was based here.

Workshops built on the other side of Harby Road repaired and tested the Lancaster bombers. The workshops were still in use after the war. That site is now an industrial estate. 

On 15 August 1943 Pilot Officer Bob Pearcey took off in Lancaster bomber EM-D ED498 to attack the war factories Milan in northern Italy. His navigator was Wing Commander George Blakeman; there were five other members of the crew. They were flying in formation with 199 other Lancasters.

Conditions on the plane were basic.

It was noisy, cramped and cold. The temperature could drop to -40ºC, cold enough to freeze your hand if you touched metal. Crews piled on layers of clothing. The rear gunner, 'tail-end Charlie', was directly exposed to the freezing night air because he would knock out a panel from the gun turret to improve his chances of spotting German fighters. 

Navigator, George Blakeman guided them over the French port of Cabourg on the Normandy coast. After 15 minutes more they were on track for their next turning point. They had travelled 370 miles (500 km) across France to Lake Annecy, their next turning point. Here they were hit by an enemy night fighter. Luckily, the fighter did not continue to attack, but flew on. 

However, the port (left) inner engine had been hit. It was overheating and had to be shut down. Despite flying with only three engines, Pilot Bob Pearcey decided it was safer to continue to Milan with the rest of the squadron than to return on their own to Langar.

On they went to drop 6½ tonnes of bombs on the war factories of the Italian city of Milan before turning back for Langar and home. They had over 1000 km (700 miles) to go over enemy territory. 

George Blakeman navigated them homeward to Cabourg again and towards the English Channel. All of a sudden, George saw a bright flash down in the empty bomb bay. They had been hit. The next George knew, the aircraft was on fire and in a vertical dive.

With just one buckle of his parachute connected, like the rest of the crew he was pinned down by gravity, unable to move. Through the window he watched as the rivets in the wings changed colour as they melted . . .

Although he later had no memory of it, George must have managed to jump from the doomed plane and open his parachute. Two days later he regained consciousness in a French farmhouse where he was cared for by a French family, but he was guarded by German soldiers. George spent the last two years of the war as a prisoner of the Germans. The other six members of the crew did not survive the crash and lie buried together in a cemetery in Houlgate in France. Six more British bombers were also shot down over Normandy by German night fighters awaiting their return from Italy.

Based on information from the 'Fallen Heroes of Normandy' website

- the story told by Ron Pluck of his uncle, Bob Pearcey 

270 airmen lost their lives flying

from RAF Langar in 1942 and 1943.

Photo above right: The original graves of the Lancaster crew in Houlgate Cemetery.

Photo right: The present-day graves at Houlgate. A number of other British servicemen are also buried here.

After the war George Blakeman worked for the RAF in Cyprus and was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Many years after he retired, at the age of 85 George was still in action. 64 years after he flew from Langar, he came back in 2007 to make a parachute jump to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Research Trust. George died the following year.

Left: George Blakeman's tandem jump at Langar 2007

In 1943 No. 207 bomber Squadron moved to Lincolnshire, nearer the coast, and Langar airfield was then used to store Horsa gliders. The gliders were towed by an aircraft over enemy territory and then set free. They could carry 30 soldiers and land them silently ready to fight the enemy.

The 435th Troop Carrier Group of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) arrived in 1943 with Douglas C-47 aircraft. Their job was to transport soldiers and supplies. As soon as they arrived, they began training for the D-Day landings in Normandy.

The American 435th group flew their first missions on D-Day, dropping American paratroopers near Cherbourg. They also towed Waco and Horsa gliders carrying reinforcements to Cherbourg that same afternoon and the following morning.

(The Wacos had been brought from the USA as kits and were assembled at Langar.)

After D-Day the 435th brought supplies such as blood, radar sets, clothing, rations and ammunition to France and on the return trips brought wounded soldiers home. The group was in action in Italy, southern France, Belgium and the Netherlands, dropping paratroopers, towing gliders and delivering supplies. 

The RAF No. 1669 Heavy Conversion Unit came to RAF Langar in 1944 with heavy Halifax and Lancaster bombers. Their job was to train crews for the new heavier bombers coming into service. 

The War Memorial, which stands in St Andrew's churchyard, was dedicated in 1919. The names of three Langar men who died in the war are written on the opposite side to the First World War casualties. 

There is also a memorial at Langar airfield near the Control Tower.:

ALWAYS PREPARED

In memory of those who gave their lives with

207 Squadron RAF Langar.

This Memorial was erected by the local community in

tribute to the 251 members of 207 Squadron who gave

their lives whilst serving at this airfield. 

September 21st 1942-October 13th 1943. 

Dedicated May 12th 1994.

Langar Airfield after the war

The Royal Canadian Air Force used Langar after the war as a base until 1963. Langar was used as a supply depot handling spares for F-86 Sabres. 

The military airfield closed in 1963 and the Lancaster repair workshops closed in 1968.

The airfield lay unused until 1977 when the British Parachute School (later called Skydive) opened here using the old control tower for their headquarters.

The airfield is also used by the Langar Model Aircraft Club.