Henstridge AIrfield - 5 Runways

[Gareth Blackstock]

Hi

I just read in a book (Military Airfields 1939 to 1945) that Henstridge was one of 2 airfields in the UK that had five runways. I knew already that Henstridge had five but I thought it was the only one in the UK, where was the other? Why was Henstridge and the other one built with five runways, when most airfields of that time had three, maybe four at a push? And are they still used today?

Gaz

[Flap40]

Two possibles, but the work could be post war, are St Mawgan and Thurleigh. There seem to be quite a few with four runways.
Don't forget Heathrow with six but that is post war.

[Gareth Blackstock]

I thought Heathrow only had 3 runways...

Gaz

[Flyer 719]

I've just looked through some books and Bedford/Thurleigh only had 3 runways during the war allthough post war it looked like it could have had 6 at one point, Mulitmap aerial picture. (http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=europe&x=505000&y=260000&scale=25000&width=700&height=410)

St Mawgan airfield looks the most likely to have had 5 runways, Multimap picture here. (http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=185000&Y=65000&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=&pc=&zm=0&scale=50000&multimap.x=453&multimap.y=242)

Not convinced on Heathrow myself either.

719

[WebPilot]

Thurleigh as originally built was a standard 3 runway pattern - the later postwar runways overly the old pattern. Not sure how many were in active use as runways after the rebuilding.


St Mawgan's odd pattern of the standard three plus two short runways can still be seen today:

www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=50.4364&lon=-5.029&scale=25000&icon=x

Heathrow was originally intended to have 6 runways, but in the event only three were completed.

[jabberwok]

Many RN airfields had four runways - as did the Coastal Command stations. Crail, Hatston, St Merryn, Machrihanish etc etc.

My guess as to the second of the pair with five is Arbroath..

[BEagle]

The photo of St Mawgan shows the mainrunways at St Mawgan, plus the shorter runways at neighbouring Trebalzue aerodrome.

I was once told that the reason for the large number of RWs at many ex-FAA aerodromes was that they wanted to simulate carrier operations as often as possible, hence needed runways with significant headwind but no crosswind.

[WebPilot]

Arbroath had 4 runways plus a dummy deck which equals a runway, I'd say!

[Tempsford]

Beagle,
I worked with WAFU' s for years and they gave the same reason as you did for the number of runways at some RNAS.

Termps.

[pax britanica]

LHR did have six runways -on basis one runway is a strip of concrete not recip directions on one strip

09/27s were there ( 10.28 in those days)

05/23 was there as 05R/23L (but seldom used today) had a parallel 05L/23R -I know that because it went right over my house sw of the field

There was another pair aligned NW -SE completing the famous Star of David pattern. I think the more westerly one of these vanished very early on and maybe was never finished but I remember as a child -I grew up immediately south of the airport-seeing landings on the more easterly one.

Te 05L/23R was clsoesd when terminal 3 was built in the late 1960s I think and the others are still there today so LHR did have at least 5 and for a short time 6
PB

[Whispering Giant]

The reason Henstridge (HMS Dipper from memory) had 5 runways was that it was built by the Royal Navy for the training of Seafire pilot's.
The Idea was that with 5 runways that there would allways be a runway facing into wind - so flying could allways take place as oon a a/c carrier when they turn into wind.
The Runways were also marked out with the exact dimensions of a a/c carrier - so that the pilot's could practice landing within the confines of a carrier deck.
The only reason i know this about Henstridge is that my late Grandmother was stationed there with WREN's where she was a Chief Petty Officer.
Hope this all help's.

brgds
W.G

[Genghis the Engineer]

Thurleigh (http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=505000&Y=260000&width=500&height=300&gride=505618.081944581&gridn=258520.529573965&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=freegaz&pc=&zm=0&scale=50000&multimap.x=259&multimap.y=135)

Looks like five, presumably to allow one or more runways to be used for a length flight or ground test without blocking everything else.

G

[jabberwok]

Genghis,

Possible - but in 1944 Thurleigh only had three runways so I suspect it cannot be the one alluded to in the book (which only covers the period from 1939 to 1945).

[wet wet wet]

Charleton Horethorne had 5 (albeit grass) runways see here (http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?prn=55407) .

Does anyone know anything further about Charleton Horethorne, why was it a "secret satellite" for Exeter?

[jabberwok]

Charlton Hawthorne was HMS Heron II (one of several) and an FTU. Where did you get the info that it was supposed to be a secret satellite?

[BeauMan]

Before Thurleigh closed, I used to live in St Neots, which was just south of the extended centre line for the looooooong runway there, and used to regularly see aircraft on long finals, presumably testing out ILS or other approach systems. I believe that the new runway was aligned that way because the previous SW-NE runways would have put the extended centre line straight across both RAF Alconbury and RAF Wyton, a few miles to the north of St Neots. Not a healthy idea, given that these two stations were chucking up a mixture of F4's, A10's, F5's, TR1's, Canberras and Nimrods during the mid to late eighties!

The original standard pattern of three runways is clearly visible, two of which show the wiggly black lines of the race circuits at Jonathan Palmer motorsport, and the remains of the third can be seen going NW-SE. The fourth runway (south of the three, but parallel to the NE-SW runway) I believe was added post war, prior to the big one being put in some time later.

Apologies if that's a bit vague, just going from memory - my old Air Training Corps CO was an ATCO there for his day job, and told me all about the history of the place, but that was nearly twenty years ago...! :eek:

BM

[Gareth Blackstock]

I've just got hole of a copy of the Pooleys 1965 flight guide and it shows LHR having 5 runways and says the sixth was in use as a taxiway.
28L/10R
28R/10L
05L/23R
05R/23L
33/15
(33R/15L - in use as a taxiway)

I was also surprised to see that Prestwick had what looks like six runways as well, again in the 1965 Pooleys guide.

Gaz

[Seloco]

Actually I think Heathrow was originally designed ultimately to have seven runways plus a two mile canal for flying boats. Runway 7 and the canal were going to be north of the A4. Rather a shame that they never got built - would it not have been wonderful to have departed LHR in a Sandringham?

[henry crun]

It would have been even more wonderful to depart in a Saunders Roe Princess. :cool: