Biggin Hill Decoy

[New Bloke]

I seem to remember a story about a decoy Airfield being built near Biggin to confuse the Luftwaffe. Presumably it would have been built near Addington. Does anyone know if this is fact or fiction and if it is fact, where was it?

[Gainesy]

Not sure of that but at the September 2000 Battle of Britain display ,a pair of Cloggie F-16 mates scorched across Kenley at about 200ft after mistaking the two airfields. :)

[ShyTorque]

And a few years before that a similar aircraft mistook Northern Ireland for Wales...... <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">

[New Bloke]

Yes someone a lot nearer to home (Bogcleaner - just ask!!!) has done that and landed at Kenley whilst talking to Biggin. He realised his mistake, turned around and took off again.

On the subject of Kenley, local rumour has it that in really claggy weather the fighters based at Kenley would find the A22 and fly up it until the White painted roundabout at Caterham, from there it was just a turn onto runway direction and a gentle climb up the hill to land.

Redhill always amazes me, why wasn't it bombed every day, there is a railway line that goes from Dover straight to Redhill, a sinch to find!!

[Yozzer]

1976

2 x F 111 did a spectacular airfield attack at Woodford, well Ringway (MIA) actually, but it should have been Woodford and it was pretty good.

1978

F 15 Eagle fm Bitburg lands at Wyton and says "Alconbury tower, which way would you like me to turn off" Poor chap had a Navwas failure.

Langford Lodge nr Aldergrove got a Dan Dare 748 once.

Yozzer

[Man-on-the-fence]

Didcot Power Station got a low flyby meant for the BoB Open day at Abingdon once

Now that is worrying!! <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

[BEagle]

Rattlesden enjoyed an airfield attack by a Mirage IV looking for Wattisham (1981), Haverfordwest had a Hunter roar across it at 450KIAS thinking it was Brawdy (1976 oops, oh bug ger!), the boss of a Gnat sqn landed at Sleap when he thought his student was porking a diversion to Shawbury (1974), a Dominie entertained Coningsby with a visual approach intended for Cranwell (1975?), a VC10 made an approach on Milltown instead of Kinloss (1987?), the same crew flew back to Brize and made an approach on Fairford, a Hunter mistook SE Ireland for SW Wales (1978?)....

No-one got hurt - but a little pride was dented....

[ShyTorque]

A good few years back Netherthorpe (less than 400 metres of grass on the longest runway) got a "Finals 3 greens" call from a strange callsign. On looking up the approach, the huge and unmistakeable silhouette of a Vulcan bomber was seen.

He was joking, but apparently he did carry out a low overfly which impressed the locals no end! :)

[Skylark4]

Man on the fence.
I remember that, I was there. In fact it was the Yanks, came over from Germany I think and did a super fly by centred on Abingdon town centre which was behind the crowd. Thing is:- they did it two years on the trot.

Mike W

[I have control]

Back to the original question, yes it was common practice (on both sides) to build decoy airfields in open fields to distract enemy bombs. I have met people who maintained the flarepaths at such places. Sorry I can't help with precise details about Biggin Hill, but I would think it likely they had a dummy airfield.

[New Bloke]

I have heard tell of one Luftwaffe decoy airfield. It was very impressive with dummy runways, hangars and dispersal points.

The RAF came over one day a dropped one wooden bomb on it. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Probably just another urban myth (Urbane myth?)

[henry crun]

Remember reading a chapter in a book about the decoy airfields some time back.

One particular story amused me.
There was a decoy airfield in the NE of England that was carefully constructed and maintained with loving care by a small group of airmen with a nco in charge.

One night during a raid the place was getting plastered and the crew were very upset at seeing their work bombed to bits.

The nco, forgetting the whole purpose of the exercise, rang up his parent unit begging permission to put the lights out.

<img src="smile.gif" border="0">

[newswatcher]

New Bloke,

I don't know whether the info will be in this book, but might be worth looking for it at your local library:

<a href="http://www.methuen.co.uk/fieldsofdeception.html" target="_blank">http://www.methuen.co.uk/fieldsofdeception.html</A>

[No comment]

Didn't a Lufthansa 707 once land at Northolt by mistake? Heard thats what prompted them to put some big letters on the gas-holder between Northolt and LHR...

[New Bloke]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Newswatcher, if my library doesn't have it, 25 quid could be winging its way to Amazon. Thanks for the link.

[Stan Sted]

There is an excellent photograph showing the decoy drome at North Weald in The Battle of Britain, Then and Now.

This superb book traces the history of the battle in great detail and is packed with pictures and info about the airfields involved.

It is a big and expensive book but a goldmine for anyone interested in RAF station history from that period.
try this link
<a href="http://www.afterthebattle.mcmail.com/bobrit.html" target="_blank">http://www.afterthebattle.mcmail.com/bobrit.html</a>

[ 04 January 2002: Message edited by: Stan Sted ]</p>

[warbirdguru]

These guys had the RIGHT PLACE!

Remember when I was at Eastern Radar one summer weekend we were fairly quiet and persuaded two F-4s from Spangdahlem to do a low flyby over Watton. The controller talked them in as accurately as he could on the Type 82, signed off to go out on the roof. They found us very well but then decided to give us an impromptu display as well as a fly by. We were most impressed - the locals were not - anyone that knows sleepy Watton will appreciate the effect two F4s in tight formation steaming down the high street at 100 feet had on the population!

Wrists slapped but fun to watch!

Paul

[NICK HEFF]

I think that it was near lullingstone(spelling)a few miles east of Biggin.

[ 04 January 2002: Message edited by: NICK HEFF ]</p>

[Wycombe]

A B1 flew through and beat-up Blackbushe during Farnborough 2000! (had been holding over Odiham and CB dodging for a while when this little error occured <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> )

Luckily EGLK has restricted ops (no circuits) while display in progress

[ 04 January 2002: Message edited to put in the Gremlin by: Wycombe ]

[ 04 January 2002: Message edited by: Wycombe ]</p>

[ORAC]

A good book in the same vein is "The War Magician" by David Fisher
(UK: Corgi ISBN 0 552 12509 1)
(USA: Coward-McCann, Inc. (ISBN: 0-698-11140-0) reprinted in paperback by Berkley publishing Group Nov. 1983).

This recounts the wartime deeds of the peacetime stage magician Jasper Maskelyne in the desert against the Afrika Corps. He successfully:

Hid the Suez Canal.
Moved Alexandria harbour.
Built a complete phantom fleet including a 720 foot long battleship.
Created an entire false army.

I cannot find the book now in print, but Paramount have just bought the film rights for a movie to star Tom Cruise - so I presume it will shortly be back in print!

<a href="http://movies.go.com/news/2001/1/cruisemagician012901.html" target="_blank">http://movies.go.com/news/2001/1/cruisemagician012901.html</a>

<a href="http://www.magictricks.com/library/war.htm" target="_blank">http://www.magictricks.com/library/war.htm</a>

There is also a 60 minute History channel special of the same name.

[Squealing Pig]

Once had a BAe 748 (intentionally) in the circuit at Barton a few years ago.

And many years ago as a small boy at the Barton airshow I remember an USAF F4 (I think) gave Flixton a good display.

[poetpilot]

Re: No Comment's comments, yes I'd heard that one too. Plus, I also heard about an incident in Hendon's last days when a gliding school still operated there, and a USAF (I think) Convair twin or somesuch landed there thinking it was Northolt...

[FNG]

Adding to the thread-within-a-thread of "oops, which airfield" stories, a friend in the Army Air Corps tells me that his team once staged an impressive formation fly-by at Cambridge before enquiring "Hey Duxford, how did you like that?" Vast crowd assembled at IWM Duxford to watch zany antics of heroic helicopter boys have to go home disappointed.

[ 10 January 2002: Message edited by: FNG ]</p>