RAF Ludford Magna

Ludford Magna opened in June 1943 and closed in May 1963. RAF Ludford Magna, 12 miles east of Lincoln, was equipped with three Thor long- range ballistic missiles, each armed with a one-megaton nuclear warhead, controlled by the US Air Force under so-called dual-key arrangements. The missiles were based at five dispersal sites, all reporting to a central headquarters. The Lincolnshire headquarters was at Hemswell, with the dispersals at Bardney, Caistor, Coleby Grange and Ludford Magna.

The village of Ludford consists of the two villages of Ludford Magna and Ludford Parva, and straddles the Louth to Market Rasen Road at roughly the mid-point. During and just after the second world war, RAF Ludford was the base for 101 Bomber Squadron. The squadron suffered the highest number of casualties of any squadron during those hostilities. Conditions on the airfield were very muddy and it was popularly known as Mudford Magna or Ludford Magma.