Control Tower, Raf Museum (Former Raf East Kirkby)

Control Tower, RAF Museum (former RAF East Kirkby)

This control tower was built in 1942 to designs prepared by the Air Ministry's Directorate of Works and Buildings, following the Office for All Commands standard design, Drawing No. 12779/41. It is constructed of rendered brick with an asphalt roof.

The ground floor contains a watch office facing forward, with a duty pilot's rest room, meteorological office, switch room and lavatories positioned to the rear. The first floor houses the control room to the front, with a controller's rest room and signals office to the rear, which open onto a passage providing access to the stairs.

The exterior is dominated by large multi-paned steel casements on the front and flank walls of the watch office and control room, designed to provide clear views across the flying field. These windows were reduced in size later during the war, following design 343/43. Access to the building is gained via steel stairs on the return elevation, leading to a concrete balcony with tubular steel railings supported by iron columns. Smaller steel casements are located on the rear sections of the side and rear elevations. Doors are positioned on the left-hand and rear elevations.

The interior features concrete stairs, painted brick walls with rendered dados, and original joinery including panelled doors throughout.

East Kirkby airfield was opened in 1943 in support of Bomber Command's offensive operations. The control tower has been restored as the centrepiece of a museum commemorating the history of the airfield and those who served and died there. 57 and 630 Squadrons operated from East Kirkby, sustaining losses of 831 airmen, nearly 200 of whom came from Commonwealth countries.

This control tower is one of 162 examples built to the Air Ministry's Watch Office for All Commands design, of which 82 now survive. It represents one of a very small number to have survived in such a high degree of preservation. Other comparable examples include those at Alconbury (with operations room attached), Duxford, Dunkeswell, Rougham, Little Walden (or Matching Green) and Ludham.

The control tower as a recognisable design first appeared in 1934, emerging from developments in the second half of the 1930s focused on aircraft dispersal and shelter from attack, serviceable landing and take-off areas, and the control of aircraft movement. This led to the planning from 1938 of the first airfields with runways and perimeter tracks. The control tower became the most distinctive and instantly recognisable building associated with military airfields, particularly during the Second World War when it served as the focus for base personnel awaiting the return of aircraft from operations. As an exceptionally well-preserved example with a distinguished operational history, this tower holds considerable iconic value both as an operational nerve centre and as a memorial to the enormous losses sustained by American and Commonwealth forces during the Strategic Bomber Offensive.