Bombing target

[chevvron]

Take a look at www.flashearth.com (http://www.flashearth.com) position 50 deg 56 min 22.9 sec N 1 deg 42 min 32.7 sec W. (about 5nm north west of Stoney Cross disused airfield). I believe it's the target used by 617 and others for practice dropping of Tallboy and Grand Slam. There are definitely some bomb craters to the southwest, although I'm aware that these bombs didn't leave much of a crater as they were meant to detonate underground.

[diginagain]

A little background reading;

Ashley Walk bombing range (http://www.geodata.soton.ac.uk/newforest/public/news/1995/ap0895.html)

[diginagain]

I have a feeling that they are actually cut into the surface, and objects would have been placed at set distance from 'ground zero' to determine the effects of explosive devices set off at the centre.

In Alberta there's a huge area NW of Medicine Hat that has similar concentric rings around a point where a substantial amount of HE was to have been detonated towards the end of WW2. Parts of these rings are wide enough to be used as roads around what later became Suffield Training Area.

[chevvron]

Who's edited my original text? The last phrase after 'underground' has disappeared!!

[Cubdriver06]

The CIA is everywhere! Blue skies! -- Dan Ford

[rfw1]

I went for a couple of walks in this area last summer. found lots of craters and some X marks the spot type targets

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/rfw1/new%20forrest/DSC_3333.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/rfw1/new%20forrest/DSC_3345.jpg

Never managed to find the upkeep crater or the burried U boat pen. Must try again when I've brushed up my map reading

[Corax]

The ring roads in Suffield Alberta were actually used to measure the spread of gas. The area was used for testing nerve gas and some other agents until the late eighties. Sensors were placed along the ring roads for measuring gas spread patterns.

[JW411]

I've flown around Ashley Walk several times quite recently and have managed to find most of the attractions including the submarine pens and the grand slam crater.

I also recently bought an interesting little booklet for about £6.50 which gives a lot of information and a couple of maps.