Editing Lydd (section)

===Second World War===
[[File:Aerial view of Lydd, Kent.JPG|thumb|Aerial view of Lydd with the airfield in the centre of the photograph]]
[[File:The Battle of Britain HU88413.jpg|thumb|left|[[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Messerschmitt Bf 109E]], probably Bf 109E-1 (W.Nr. 3576) ''Red 13'' of 7./[[Jagdgeschwader 54|JG 54]], flown by Uffz. Zimmermann, which crashed near Lydd on 27 October 1940]]
In September 1940, four young Dutch men landed on the coast between Hythe and Dungeness in a rowing boat. One was arrested for spying shortly after drinking at the Rising Sun pub.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dBhrEFWA0MgC&pg=PA62|title=Operation Fortitude: The True Story of the Key Spy Operation of WWII That Saved D-Day|author=Joshua Levine|pages=62–63|publisher=HarperCollins UK|date=4 April 2011|isbn=9780007413249|access-date=14 February 2013|archive-date=23 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123180643/https://books.google.com/books?id=dBhrEFWA0MgC&pg=PA62|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 21 October, a [[Dornier Do 17]] ran short of fuel and was forced to land at [[RAF Lydd]]. The German pilot had been confused in his bearings whilst attempting to return to France. He had been using the recently invented [[Battle of the Beams|equipment devised to interrupt the homing beams]] sent from Germany to guide such planes. The Dornier was the first example of this new type of bomber to fall into the hands of [[British Intelligence]]. [[RAF Lydd]] was situated north of the town. Only one [[Nissen hut]] now remains of the complex.

A [[Vickers Wellington]] bomber had the misfortune to crash-land on 26 June on returning from a 1,500-plane attack on [[Bremen (city)|Bremen]]. The 19-year-old pilot got the plane down safely near Lydd, and the crew survived the crash. They were not certain they had landed in England until rescuers came to their assistance.

On 27 November 1942, a train came under attack by two [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190]]s. The train, hauled by [[Southern Railway (Great Britain)|Southern Railway]] [[LB&SCR D3 class|D3]] number 2365, was just departing from [[Lydd Town railway station]]. The engine's boiler was hit. The resulting jet of high pressure steam from the engine hit the plane, causing it to crash-land nearby. The German pilot was found dead, but no British railway staff or passengers were injured. The two planes had been heading over the coast after a raid on [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]] and attacking a minesweeper off Dover.<ref>{{cite web|title=HOLDING THE WEST|url=http://www.asisbiz.com/Battles/Holding-the-West.html|publisher=asisbiz.com|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=9 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609015946/http://www.asisbiz.com/Battles/Holding-the-West.html|url-status=live}}</ref>