Why are there so many RAF aircraft over Lincolnshire? Visitors clock ‘busy skies’ as locals shrug: “It’s Bomber County”

Visitors to Lincolnshire are being met by a familiar soundtrack: the roar of military aircraft. One traveller, posting on Reddit, said they’d noticed “more military activity than usual” while in the county and asked whether an exercise was under way — and whether it was “mostly just noise and traffic” or something that causes real disruption. Locals were quick to point out that for Lincolnshire, busy skies are nothing new. “Lincs is called ‘Bomber County’,” one commenter wrote, linking the nickname to the county’s long history of housing RAF bombers dating back to the 1940s. They said Lincolnshire’s airspace is heavily used because several key RAF stations sit close together, including RAF Cranwell and Barkston Heath — described as elementary and advanced training bases — alongside operational stations RAF Waddington and RAF Coningsby. The result, residents admit, is unavoidable noise. “They cause noise and disruption — always have,” the commenter said, adding that complaints about air activity are rare and that “it’s part of living here and most people accept it.” Others struck a more tongue-in-cheek tone about what happens when the pace suddenly ramps up. “Wait till there’s something unidentified in air space or the Russians get a bit close,” another wrote, adding that the sound of jets going supersonic overhead is “unmistakable”. They also suggested locals get an unexpected perk: “free Red Arrows performances nearly all year round.” A third commenter said the RAF is widely supported — or simply fades into the background for many people. “I’ve never met anyone that doesn’t have a positive opinion of them. OR they just don’t notice it and don’t really care,” they wrote. “The noise just becomes the background noise here if you let it.” While the original post asked if something specific was happening, the replies suggest the simplest answer: in Lincolnshire, RAF activity is part of daily life — and for many, a point of pride as much as a source of noise. (Source: r/Lincolnshire Reddit thread: https://reddit.com/r/Lincolnshire/comments/1rgfpwr/lincolnshire_opinion_on_raf/)

This article was written by The Lincoln Post using information from online sources. View source.