I WAS recently invited to give one of my talks at the former RAF aerodrome at Bentwaters, in Suffolk.

Maldon resident Simon Gladas is the Bentwaters Aviation Society publicity and liaison officer and he thought that his members might like to hear about the battles that raged in the skies above Maldon and the Dengie during 1939 and 1945.

Although I had given the talk many times before, I approached the lectern that evening with some trepidation.

After all Bentwaters has a special aviation heritage itself, that spans a period from the Second World War through to eventual closure in 1993, when the USAF’s 81st Tactical Fighter Wing finally withdrew.

I normally try to find some kind of link between my subject matter and the audience and, to my relief, once again Maldon didn’t let me down.

From humble origins in 1942, RAF Bentwaters opened for full operational use in April 1944 and a total of eight fighter squadrons were deployed there throughout the hostilities.

I discovered that two of these had actually relocated from our very own RAF Bradwell Bay.

Both 64 and 126 Squadrons arrived at Bradwell on August 30, 1944, initially flew Mk 9 Spitfires, but then converted to Mustangs.

They left Bradwell for Bentwaters at the end of December 1944 and so there is no doubt that the personnel of those units would have known and experienced both locations.

That local military service connection then continued during the Cold War.

Full control of the aerodrome transferred to the United States Air Force in 1951 because of the genuine fear of a nuclear strike.

The 81st Fighter-Interceptor Wing (later Bomber Wing and then Tactical Fighter Wing) had their headquarters at Bentwaters from the September of that year and for the next 40 or so years that followed.

The 81st was a principal player during the so-called Cold War, described as a “geopolitical tension” between the Soviet Union and satellite states (the Eastern Bloc) and the United States and allies (the Western Bloc).

That anxious stand-off lasted from 1947 until 1991.

However, the period between Stalin’s death in 1953 and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was particularly difficult.

An arms race developed, with both powers keen to train their forces to be ready to achieve air superiority.

Key to that was regular flying practice, particularly in the discipline of air to ground attack.

As a result, in January 1953, the USAF took over the management of the Dengie Flats Gunnery Range and this saw regular use by the F-84F Thunderstreaks of the 81st.

Inevitably some accidents occurred and these incidents have been verified by the Bentwaters Aviation Society, which includes knowledgeable historian David Taylor, of Woodham Walter.

The first was on April 17, 1956, when an F-84F of the 81st FBW/ 78th FBS crashed on the Flats.

Another 78th FBS F-84F (serial number 52-6781), crashed off Bradwell on June 29, 1956, the body of the pilot, Lieutenant George O Dunham, being recovered from the sea.

The pilot of F-84F (52-6651) thankfully fared better when he was picked up safe by a boat in the same area off our coastline on the August 27, 1957.

So looking around the excellently preserved 81st Wing Command Post of the Bentwaters Cold War Museum, I felt a bit more at home.

With confidence restored, I delivered my talk.

As it reached its conclusion, I suddenly had a flashback to the 1970s when, along with some colleagues from the Essex Aviation Group, I was present at the recovery of a panel from an F-84F in the deep mud on the old Dengie range.

Back at home and looking through my notes, it would seem that the panel had been identified as being from 52-6651.

History can be full of twists and turns and surprising coincidences.

We have a very rich heritage in the Maldon district which has tentacles that clearly reach out further afield – not least to an old airbase in the wilds of Suffolk.

If you haven’t already been, I can well recommend a trip to the accredited Bentwaters Cold War Museum museum.

I guarantee that you will not be disappointed and, in so doing, you will be part of a 75-year continuity of historic aerial partnership with our own home town.

Bentwaters Cold War Museum is in Building 134 of Bentwaters Parks, Rendlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 2TW. Visit bcwm.org.uk.