We hope that you find the Control Towers website to be a repository of amazing stories. You can read tales of bravery and sacrifice that occurred through the history of aviation. These include accounts of pilots who trusted unproven machines, aircrew who flew through flak and night skies over occupied Europe, controllers and ground staff who kept aircraft moving during the Battle of Britain, and even civilians on the ground who were caught up in conflict.
Our aim is simple: we write these articles to honour their courage but above all, make sure these people are not forgotten about. By researching these stories, airfields, units and aircraft, Control Towers hopes to give a clearer sense of what they faced in the air and on the ground.
Norman Cyril Jackson VC: The Man Who Climbed onto a Burning Wing at 20,000 Feet
On the night of 26/27 April 1944, a Lancaster of No. 106 Squadron RAF flew…
Franz Stigler & Charlie Brown Incident (Chivalry in the Skies)
On 20 December 1943, a young American pilot named Charlie Brown nursed his shattered B-17F…
The Freckleton Air Disaster: The WW2 Air Crash that Devastated a Lancashire Village
On the morning of 23 August 1944, a United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator…
Nicholas Alkemade: The RAF Gunner Who Fell 18,000 Feet Without a Parachute – and Survived
On a March night in 1944, a 21-year-old RAF tail gunner called Nicholas Alkemade made…
The Landmark Trust Announce a Plan to Restore the RAF Ibsley Watch Office
The following is a press release by The Landmark Trust, announcing their plans to restore…