RAF Donna Nook
RAF Donna Nook
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| Near North Somercotes, Lincolnshire in England | |
Station Crest
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 RAF Donna Nook
Shown within Lincolnshire
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| Coordinates | 53°28′29″N 000°09′07″E / 53.47472°N 0.15194°ECoordinates: 53°28′29″N 000°09′07″E / 53.47472°N 0.15194°E |
| Type | Bombing range |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator | Royal Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | (Airfield)1936 |
| In use | 1940-Present |
Royal Air Force Donna Nook or more simply RAF Donna Nook is a bombing range in East Lindsey in north-east Lincolnshire in England. It is maintained by the Royal Air Force and used by NATO aircraft.
The area has been in continual use since the First World War and was established as a protection point from Zeppelins trying to enter the Humber area.Donna Nook is just north of North Somercotes and is also a 6.2 miles (10 km) nature reserve with a large seal habitat in the early winter maintained by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. It is the only national nature reserve in the UK on MOD land, and was opened on 18 July 2002 by Air Commodore Nigel Williams. The bombing range covers an area of 885 hectares on land and 3200 hectares at sea.
There was once a minor airfield there which was operational from 1936 and used as a decoy up until 1945. The airfield was home to No. 206 Squadron RAF from August 1941 - July 1942. The airfield acted as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) for RAF North Coates, a former airfield (still in physical existence) which is three miles to the north-west along the coast.
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 1943-1945. From evidence in his authorized biography (Odyssey: The Authorized Biography of Arthur C. Clarke; Neil McAleer, Gollancz, 1992) it appears that it was to RAF Donna Nook that the young Sir Arthur C. Clarke 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.
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