First Solid Runway in UK

[PhantomPhixer51]

Guys
One of my fellow members of the Ellesmere Royal Air Forces Association queried where the first solid runway was built in the UK. He thinks that when Chamberlain arrived back with his piece of paper he landed on a grass runway. Does anyone know?

[WHBM]

Well certainly Chamberlain landed back on grass because he arrived on a British Airways (the pre-war independent company of this name) Lockheed Electra at Heston Airfeld, West London, which never had a hard runway. Shortly afterwards Heston had to be closed durng the winter of 1938-9 due to runway waterlogging.

The new pre-war Gatwick, with all its expense of the Beehive terminal and the new integrated railway station, suffered from waterlogged wintertime runways so much that it quite rapidly fell out of use.

Meanwhile, over at Croydon at this period a hard terminal ramp had been laid, but the runways were still grass.

I too wonder why pre-war major airfields did not go for hard runways. Were the aircraft of the period incapable of holding the narrow confines of a fixed runway, and needed an overall grass area ? Were cross-wind landings, to even a limited extent, beyond the controls of the period ? Wen you think that nowadays we factor in an extra 40% to landing distance if using grass, due to poor braking action, which must have been realised by the 1930s, it seems not the best surface at all.

[Hyperborean]

There is some debate about this, but one of the prime contenders for the title is Hatston, on the outskirts of Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands. In the build up to WW2 the Admiralty were worried about air defence at Scapa Flow and they called on Ted Fresson one of the pioneers of aviation in the north of Scotland for advice. He reccomended the site but also suggested that paved runways would be necessary to overcome the waterlogging problem in the Orkney winters. I vaguely recall another thread on this subject a few years back where the other possible sites were discussed.

[tornadoken]

WHMB: money. The reported average cost of wartime triangle hard layouts was £1Mn. Weight distribution on landing gear before the 4-engined Heavies was compatible with/designed for grass.

[seacue]

I have mused over the reason that there were so many paved runways in the USA in early years. By 1929, at least Newark (EWR), Glendale (California) and Ford's airport at Dearborn had paved runways. Some others came along in the early 1930s. The big push came from one of the Roosevelt New Deal make-work agencies, the Works Progress/Projects Agency [WPA]. Starting in 1935, the WPA funded the construction of "700 miles of paved runways" over the next few years.

[holyflyer]

The Royal Air Force (http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/sebc/visit/rafhist.cfm)

Above link suggests the first concrete runway in East Anglia was built in March 1941 at RAF Waterbeach as a consequence of the very wet winter and the increasing size and weight of aircraft.

[Double Zero]

The first must have been way before then, as Dunsfold was built as a relatively forward airstrip which went on to handle B-25 medium bombers ( largely Dutch ) by the Canadians in 1942, seemingly as a matter of course and not in an area prone to flooding.

I'm not sure but don't think any modifications were made before ' heavies ' operated from there in the repatriation at the end of the war in Europe, and the Berlin Airlift.

I certainly know who to ask, as some veterans are doing a stirling job ( pardon the pun ) in a Portakabin at Dunsfold, assimilating all the info' they can - hint, if you can contribute - they served there during the war.

[XH175]

Hi,

The AHB history of Works says that 2 or 3 Royal Air Force airfields had tarmacadam surfaces added between 1937 - 1939 where ground conditions and traffic could not be sustained.

Early prewar experiments were carried out by mixing tarmac to the surface of grass strips.

Specification for concrete runways was formulated between 1939 - 1940.

So no names given but you are looking for two or three stations active in the 1937-1939 period for the earliest RAF airfields.

Regards
Ross

[chevvron]

Odiham may have been one.

[WHBM]

In WW2, whe waterlogging of airfields suddenly became a key issue, there was a product termed PSP (Pierced Steel Plank) which were multi-skin perforated heavy steel plates. These could be laid on the grass to give a rapid and effective hard surface where required, either as a full runway or just to reinforce soft spots. My father laid them in Burma during the monsoon season and operated Dakotas off them.

Pierced Steel Plank PSP Mat, Marston Matting, Landing Mat | Calumet Industries (http://www.calumetindustries.com/?page_id=176)

[Planemike]

Was there not also a product known as Summerfield matting ? Seem to remember my Dad, who flew in the war, mentioning it.

Planemike

[Double Zero]

P.S.P. is still in use today - my sailing club uses an old strip to help the tractor from digging itself in ( probably from R.A.F. Thorney Island but that's long since been forgotten ).

You'll find Harriers use the modern version of P.S.P, if dispersed, to this day ( really a cold war and outdated move ), if that bothered I'll send you a photo' by e-mail; I was on the GR5 Rough Ground Trials, and yes, an authorised photographer.

Alternatively my same shots are on the non profit making website
www.harrier.org.uk/history (http://www.harrier.org.uk/history)

- scroll down to ' Harrier Testing '.

There are a few mistakes there, mostly mine, some by the editor, but the photo's are there and you get the gist I hope...