No 6 Group (Bomber Command) - Croft Traditional Cache
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No 6 Group (Bomber Command) - Croft
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This is a series of caches based on Second World War airfields around North Yorkshire. They are all accessible by car and it is possible to do them all in one hit but it will involve a drive of some 160 miles.
They are all stand alone caches and can be done in any order. To complete the series you will need the co-ordinates of the final cache, Lest We Forget. These are contained one digit at a time, randomly, in the other caches.
During the Second World War No 6 Group (Royal Canadian Air Force) Bomber Command was based in North Yorkshire. Equipped with the Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster bomber aircraft, the Canadians remained at these bases until after the end of the war. The impact of the RCAF had a lasting effect on the local villages and many have erected memorials which are proudly displayed and carefully maintained. Nearly 25,000 Canadian servicemen and women were based here in North Yorkshire.
Five of the airfields are still operational, one as an international airport and the others, having been returned to the RAF, are used for military purposes. (You will not be required to enter any military premises). The remainder have been left derelict and have either returned to nature or are used for agricultural or light industry. Many reminders of the War, be it old buildings or pieces of runway, still remain to this day at all of them.
RCAF Croft was opened as a satellite landing ground for Middleton St George in 1941. Two Canadian squadrons then came to Croft and remained throughout the War before the base closed in 1946. One interesting incident took place at Croft in 1944. Just after take off, a Halifax hit a flock of sea gulls, with one crashing through the windscreen virtually blinding the pilot. The bomb aimer took the controls and was talked down by the pilot and air traffic controllers. He was able to land the aircraft which then ran off the runway.
Croft is now one of the leading motor racing circuits in the North East.
There is a memorial to the RCAF at N54° 27.889’ W001° 32.493’.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fvta ynathvfu!
Treasures
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