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Old 27th Apr 2008, 22:42
  #17 (permalink)  
Warmtoast
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: South of the M4
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Thanks Tim, it adds to the background.

FWIW whilst serving at Biggin Hill a new weather “broadcast” by teleprinter to Fighter Command stations in the Metropolitan Sector was introduced in 1954-55. Metropolitan Sector controlled RAF Fighter Command stations in the South and East of the UK plus USAF F.86 Sabres of the 406th FIW based at Manston in Kent. Airfields controlled by MSOC included: Biggin Hill, North Weald, West Malling, Duxford, Waterbeach, Wattisham and the USAF 406th FIW at Manston.

Anyway back to the weather ‘broadcast’. Each station ops room had a teleprinter which was updated every 5-minutes with the actual weather observations from the stations above so that if the weather closed in a quick glance at the TP print-out would show which alternative airfields were available with better weather in the Sector.

The Ops room at each airfield had a time to enter the current weather so for example Biggin Hill would enter its weather at 5 and 35-minutes past the hour, North Weald at 10 and 40-past and so on. The Metropolitan Sector Controller in his HQ at Kelvedon Hatch had a repeater chattering away with the latest weather as entered by the individual airfields so he was able to see whether the weather was deteriorating in any particular airfield and could advise the aircraft airborne and under his control accordingly.

Whether a similar ‘weather broadcast’ system operated in the Eastern Sector, which I assume had some control responsibilities for West Raynham aircraft I’m afraid I don’t know, but if it did perhaps an alternative to Marham would have been found.

Anecdotal evidence I heard at whilst at Biggin is that up to date weather reports allowing aircraft to be diverted to airfields with better weather at relatively short notice was a bonus and probably saved lives
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