RAF veteran vows ‘to grab a rifle’ in the battle to save Dambusters base

Wireless Operator and Air Gunner John “Snogger” Watkins was seconded to the 617 Squadron in April 1943 just in time for the Operation Chastise missions.

But the 94-year-old said he has been left in shock after the Ministry of Defence announced its costcutting decision last week to close the nation’s most famous airbase.

Mr Watkins said: “It’s a complete disgrace. Those bombing raids saved the country.

“I want to go and grab a rifle and stand guard outside the gates. I really do. It’s our heritage.

It would be like getting rid of Nelson’s Column. Can you imagine the uproar if they decided to do that? Well this is the same

“It would be like getting rid of Nelson’s Column. Can you imagine the uproar if they decided to do that? Well this is the same.”

The 102-year-old base has been at the heart of RAF operations since its formation.

Lancaster bombers left there to carry out the legendary raids on the dams of the Ruhr Valley.

It is currently the headquarters of No1 Air Control Centre, which protects the UK’s airspace from hostile aircraft.

The Lincolnshire base is also home of the Red Arrows display team.

But after surviving rounds of defence cuts it is being sold – with only the promise of a small museum being left among a new sprawling residential development.

The decision has led to accusations of “betrayal”.

Mr Watkins said: “This needs to be preserved as a vital part of our nation’s history.

“It’s still a working airbase so it can still have a purpose, but the idea of having houses built on it is so upsetting.”

He added: “It would be like them suddenly deciding to build houses at Flanders and saying, ‘well, it’s only a field where poppies grow’.”

Mr Watkins remains an active member of his local Royal Air Force Association branch. Last month he returned to the skies, proudly donning leathers and goggles to fly a wartime Tiger Moth

plane.

He had been nicknamed “Snogger” by his old pals because he “always tried to steal a kiss with a pretty girl”.

Mr Watkins, of Rotherham, South Yorks, served from August 1942 to November 1946.

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He primarily served with Coastal Command, and was stationed as far afield as the Bahamas and Japan, rising to the rank of Sergeant before being promoted to Warrant Officer.

He flew in Liberator Bombers, Catalina Flying Boards and the massive Sunderland Flying boats, alongside Lancasters and a Halifax.

Among his many tasks he helped hunt enemy submarines and repatriated POWs from Japanese camps.

He and two ground crew colleagues at RAF Scampton were tasked with heading out into the sprawling countryside to sit in a small hut in “the middle of nowhere” to receive emergency radio

calls back from the top secret bombing missions.

They would then contact officers at Scampton by telephone to relay the messages.

Widower Mr Watkins explained: “The reason was that if the messages were intercepted by the enemy they would not be able to trace the location of where they were being sent and be able to

bomb it. Instead if they did intercept it would lead them to a field far away from anywhere.”

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