HAS site at Boscombe Down

[Tashengurt]

Can anyone tell me why Boscombe Down has a HAS site? Was it a designated bolt hole for someone? I don't recall any front line units being based there in recent times.

[big v]

I believe the HAS site and associated facilities were built during the latter stages of the Cold War because BCE was a USAFE FOB. F111s?

[BSweeper]

I was at Boscombe 1986-90 and the FB11s would have a 4 week detachment there annually. I can't remember the units involved but they were as bad as we were going to Akkers.

Don't know where they picked the weapons up from though.

[BBadanov]

Yes, it was F-111s. I thought it was the F-111D.
They would have deployed, back in the day, from Cannon NM.

Now the TAC F-111D would have started off conventional.
If the situation ramped up, then would have gone to sun buckets.
Probably stored at another USAFE base.

[TheWizard]

From Wiki:

In October 2007 it was announced that RAF Boscombe Down would become a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) airfield from early 2008, offering round-the-clock fighter coverage for the South and South West of UK airspace.[5] Contrary to media reports QRA aircraft will only be based at Boscombe Down if and when a specific threat to the region is deemed to exist.[

[cobalt42]

I believe the weapon loads would have been delivered from Welford... the 'Works Unit' access eastbound on the M4 between J14-13.

[Tashengurt]

Thanks all. I did wiki it but I don't think QRA accounts for them.


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[haltonapp]

Perhaps they were going to do a trial, to see if aircraft parked inside could survive a "bunker busting bomb or missile"!

[diginagain]

Somewhere to park Aurora?

[Dysonsphere]

I believe the weapon loads would have been delivered from Welford... the 'Works Unit' access eastbound on the M4 between J14-13.


Allways made me laugh trying to make it a works exit then paint it in MOD red.:{

[VX275]

Somewhere to park Aurora?

Of interest is that some of the wreckage reported as being seen following the 'Aurora crash' at Boscombe is on display in the Boscombe Down museum at Old Sarum.

[622]

I thought they were where they did the autopsies! :cool:

[billynospares]

I could tell you but there would be no point as I would then have to erase your memory

[Tashengurt]

I could tell you but there would be no point as I would then have to erase your memory

I shouldn't bother. Sometimes I can barely remember what I had for breakfast.



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[bvcu]

Seem to recall they only came twice in my time, first time the site wasnt finished so they operated from our line with 18 F-111's from Cannon for a month, seem to recall it was exercise 'coronet hammer' , got the patch somewhere, recall them coming again and using the site a couple of years later , dont recall it being as many a/c ? perhaps someone else has a better memory !

[Roadster280]

Millions of dollars for a couple of exercises?

Like Fairford really. Rebuilt runway, B2 hangar, then close it after one op.

[pr00ne]

Roadster280,

Except that Fairford is NOT closed...

U2's rotate through it on a regular basis and only last week there was a USN EP-3 based there for a while.

[VX275]

Except that Fairford is NOT closed...


And Boscombe's HAS's are used - in some strange boffin ways, such as anchoic chamber and NVG test house.

[trap one]

The Sites were built towards the end of the Cold War as the location for the F111D's out of Cannon. They had recently been allocated as A USAFE reinforcement unit in the early 80's and NATO paid for the HAS Farm. The fact that they only deployed once or twice (not sure) and then the wall came down and they retired the D's is one of those Cold war things.

[chevvron]

We used to deploy extra controllers from Farnborough to Boscombe for these dets.
When Experimental Flying Wing moved from Farnborough to Boscombe, they were initially allocated some of these HAS'; they said they were in a terrible state of repair with leaking roofs and aircon inoperative.

[lightningmate]

chevron,

Quite! We did not use the HASs as such but operated out of the Ops facilities. Within a matter of days, fundamental systems like ventilation, lighting, toilets, comms etc failed and rectification proved difficult to impossible.

Not unlike most military related projects that Contractors deliver, poor quality, poor reliability and failure to work as specified were the standard.

Thankfully, the USAF never had to use the site for real, 2 reasons to be thankful of course, and we escaped into slightly better accommodation within a few weeks. This was brand-new, purpose designed accommodation, but costs had been cut as usual - and yes, as usual again, the facilities cut had to be retro-fitted later at a much greater cost.

lm

[Magicman.303]

When I was working at Boscombe in the early 90s the 'Bustard' flying club was located in one of the HASs (PA28 I think) and the Southampton UAS had some Bulldogs in another HAS. Valuable aircraft worth protecting.

[Brian 48nav]

I was a CAA ATCO at Boscombe from March '83 until Oct' '86.

The F111s detached to DM twice in my time; IIRC April/May '83 and again in October '86. I think the HASs were constructed between those two detachments.

On my last day at DM 22 F111s got airborne to go on various navexs', 6 of them Upper Heyford machines leading the way.

The most overloaded I ever was ( not sure about my English there! ) as an ATCO (including previous time at LATCC and later at LL/LHR ) was when all 16 recovered simultaneously as 8 pairs wishing to be split into singletons for PARs :sad: - not a lot of airspace east of Boscombe :*