Buried treasure at Kenley Airfield?
Buried treasure at Kenley Airfield?
ROYAL Air Force engineers are set to dig up Kenley Airfield as part of a secret mission to uncover its wartime past.
The project has been kept under wraps because bosses fear a swathe of metal detector-wielding plane enthusiasts will move in before them.
Archaeologists from the Ministry of Defence Fire Training School, in Manston, Kent, will help excavate a patch of the historic site believed to be an old aircraft dump.
Starting on August 7, it is hoped the dig will solve the 50-year-old mystery of what lies beneath the former RAF base.
Bomb disposal teams have carried out a subterranean survey of the World War Two site in preparation for the excavation.
The project has been kept under wraps because bosses fear a swathe of metal detector-wielding plane enthusiasts will move in before them.
Archaeologists from the Ministry of Defence Fire Training School, in Manston, Kent, will help excavate a patch of the historic site believed to be an old aircraft dump.
Starting on August 7, it is hoped the dig will solve the 50-year-old mystery of what lies beneath the former RAF base.
Bomb disposal teams have carried out a subterranean survey of the World War Two site in preparation for the excavation.
It is thought that legendary aeroplanes such as Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes, the two fighters that won the Battle of Britain, are buried there.
It is also rumoured that an old Avro Lincoln bomber - a high-altitude four-engined plane not used in the war - was left at the site.....
.......It is also rumoured that an old Avro Lincoln bomber - a high-altitude four-engined plane not used in the war - was left at the site.....
Chris Baguley,chairman of the Friends of Kenley Airfield, said: "Who knows what's in there. They're going to be digging up old scrap buried a long time ago.
"It could be bits of an old tip or it could be something tangible. Maybe even an important piece of military history.
"The RAF wants to dispel all the myths about what is down there by finding out about the planes.What happened then we don't know and it will be very interesting to find out."
.....
Squadron leader Keith Chandler, of the 615 Volunteer Gliding Squadron, said: "In the 1950s the RAF used a number of out-of-service fighter planes there, including Spitfires and Hurricanes, for fire training.
"In the early 80s one of them surfaced and was taken away but the rest have been buried there for years. I think the RAF wants to keep it quiet, though, because the last thing they want is a legion of people with metal detectors digging up the land before they get there."
Wing Commander David Lainchbury, the commandant at the fire training school, said ......."The site survey revealed three or four large, unusual shapes which may be aircraft fuselage. Earth-moving equipment will be used initially in the excavation, while air training corps members will then be involved in the hand-dig. "It would then be up to the Corporation of London, which owns the land, to determine what to do with any interesting findings."
http://iccroydon.icnetwork.co.uk/news/croydon
Why on earth would you want a bury an aircraft the size of a Lincoln "It could be bits of an old tip or it could be something tangible. Maybe even an important piece of military history.
"The RAF wants to dispel all the myths about what is down there by finding out about the planes.What happened then we don't know and it will be very interesting to find out."
.....
Squadron leader Keith Chandler, of the 615 Volunteer Gliding Squadron, said: "In the 1950s the RAF used a number of out-of-service fighter planes there, including Spitfires and Hurricanes, for fire training.
"In the early 80s one of them surfaced and was taken away but the rest have been buried there for years. I think the RAF wants to keep it quiet, though, because the last thing they want is a legion of people with metal detectors digging up the land before they get there."
Wing Commander David Lainchbury, the commandant at the fire training school, said ......."The site survey revealed three or four large, unusual shapes which may be aircraft fuselage. Earth-moving equipment will be used initially in the excavation, while air training corps members will then be involved in the hand-dig. "It would then be up to the Corporation of London, which owns the land, to determine what to do with any interesting findings."
http://iccroydon.icnetwork.co.uk/news/croydon
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It begs the question as to how many other aircraft may exist in dumps around the UK. Not all airframes were reduced to scrap for reprocessing - many just dragged off to a remote area and left to rot. Some may still survive underground.
Reminds me of a tale I was told many years ago by a friend.
He'd just joined the RAF in about 1959, and his first posting was to North Coates, which had been on 'care and maintenance' for many years, and was to be re-opened as a Bloodhound (SAM) base.
A Warrant Officer (or God to young 'erks) took them to investigate a locked Robin type hangar. On cutting off the padlock, it was found to be packed full of Beaufighter spares kits. But they weren't on the inventory (and the last Beaufighter had left the UK) so the said W/O didn't want to know about them, and instructed the erks to dig a hole on the airfield and bury them!
They may still be there; who knows!
He'd just joined the RAF in about 1959, and his first posting was to North Coates, which had been on 'care and maintenance' for many years, and was to be re-opened as a Bloodhound (SAM) base.
A Warrant Officer (or God to young 'erks) took them to investigate a locked Robin type hangar. On cutting off the padlock, it was found to be packed full of Beaufighter spares kits. But they weren't on the inventory (and the last Beaufighter had left the UK) so the said W/O didn't want to know about them, and instructed the erks to dig a hole on the airfield and bury them!
They may still be there; who knows!
When I was at St Mawgan in the early 80s there was a similar rumour of some Lancasters (plural but not sure how many) buried on the north side towards St Mawgan village. No idea if it's true or what state they're in now if they are there...
Kenley Airfield
Nice to hear that the Lincoln may resurface at long last. I remember that one of the landing runs was nicknamed after it.
Wonder if there is any chance that Kenley may become an active airfield again one day?
Wonder if there is any chance that Kenley may become an active airfield again one day?
Gnome de PPRuNe
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What, doesn't the gliding at Kenley count Brokenlink? 
The ATC and Surrey Hill Gliding club are both very active there, plus there was a little airshow there last year though, predictibly given the drought conditions, it rained!
The ATC and Surrey Hill Gliding club are both very active there, plus there was a little airshow there last year though, predictibly given the drought conditions, it rained!
The Lincoln Run
I have many a fond memory of pulling out the old single drum (ex barrage balloon) winches and being asked to site them on the "Lincoln run" - the opposite end was "Reverse Lincoln" for obvious reasons. Despite being known as the Lincoln run there was no Lincoln in sight then (1960). Now the sight of those old V8 engines going at full chat was a sight for saw eyes (or ears).
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Hmmm.
I just happen to have a map, with, remarkably, all these sites on. Just send me all your money, and the map's yours. 'Buried Treasure', at Kenley or elsewhere is the aviation preservation's version of the nice man from Africa who just needs to use your bank account for a while...
I can actually think of only one aircraft recovered from underground to fly - the ex-Col Pay P-40 which was used as a dam landfill in Canada. There are surely more recovered - anyone? Aviation Archaeology, while a valid pursuit in itself mainly results in lumps of twisted metal. Eligible would be an aircraft that is now preserved, complete, and recognisable for what it was. (Sand, jungle, water and ice have all yielded 'complete' aircraft - don't tell us about those.)
But the stories of secret caches out number recoveries the usual 100 - 1.
Cheers
I just happen to have a map, with, remarkably, all these sites on. Just send me all your money, and the map's yours. 'Buried Treasure', at Kenley or elsewhere is the aviation preservation's version of the nice man from Africa who just needs to use your bank account for a while...
I can actually think of only one aircraft recovered from underground to fly - the ex-Col Pay P-40 which was used as a dam landfill in Canada. There are surely more recovered - anyone? Aviation Archaeology, while a valid pursuit in itself mainly results in lumps of twisted metal. Eligible would be an aircraft that is now preserved, complete, and recognisable for what it was. (Sand, jungle, water and ice have all yielded 'complete' aircraft - don't tell us about those.)
But the stories of secret caches out number recoveries the usual 100 - 1.
Cheers
mmm..can't be much left after 50 years. Perhaps it is a scheme to keep air cadets busy 
".....while air training corps members will then be involved in the hand-dig."
good grief their predecessors might have even buried them
".....while air training corps members will then be involved in the hand-dig."
good grief their predecessors might have even buried them
Kenley Airfield
Treadigraph, apologies for a poorly phrased question. What I was seeking was views on whether it would be possible to ever have powered aircraft based on the airfield, notwithstanding the lack of hangarage (apart from the gliders) when I last visited the site some 10 years ago.
Regards,
BL
Regards,
BL
treasure at kenley
no aircraft were scrapped at kenley in my time (1960---1976),but countless cars and steel cabinets met thier end under the bulldozer on the dump.i remember the spit remains being dragged out,and if you could get there before the dozer all sorts of goodies were scattered around.i reclaimed a 3inch rocket tube and solid warhead,and had to wait till after dark to get it home across the common.the spit seat was to bulky,and had to be rehidden behind a blast bay for later recovery.it was not uncommon to find complete aircraft harnesses lying around (i had a shed full of them for years),and one set went on my turb.in one of the wartime buildings near the small arms range (a canadian wing flight hut) a complete rolls kestrel or merlin engine was on a stand,however the building was bulldozed one week and that was that.it is sad to see the fate of the old camp,but at least the airfield lives on.i had my first ever flight from there in 1960,the whole site should have been preserved as the definative bob station
kenley winching
by the way frelon is it true that the old v8 winches used to shed thier fans in to the rads on a regular basis.in my time we had the twin drum (wild) winches.they gave no trouble,but if the fuel was not turned off after the days operations the oil sump used to fill up with petrol.we had scores of interesting incidents over the years.might post some of them if anyone is interested.
Kenley Winching
Pobjoy
Yes the fan blades used to detach (perhaps not as many as we thought). Quite spectacular! And of course you will know how many miles of well used glider launching cable and old cable knots were put on the dump on a regular basis after the daily inspection of the cables. I will be surprised if they find anything interesting after all these years - especially with you (and others from 615) already having carried out a multitude of searches.
Frelon
Yes the fan blades used to detach (perhaps not as many as we thought). Quite spectacular! And of course you will know how many miles of well used glider launching cable and old cable knots were put on the dump on a regular basis after the daily inspection of the cables.
I will be surprised if they find anything interesting after all these years - especially with you (and others from 615) already having carried out a multitude of searches.Frelon
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Pobjoy, yes please!
Brokenlink, I thought that was what you meant, but just in case anybody else thought the airfield was abandoned!
I doubt it could ever be resurrected as a powered aerodrome - I have seen the odd Cub and Cherokee land there in the past (not sure if they were precautionaries?) and SHGC operated a Falke a year or two back for a while. The site is (mostly?) owned by the Coroporation of London and maintained as public common land outside of the peri-track which I imagine would preclude use for powered aircraft on a regular basis. We had another thread on this forum several years ago...
Brokenlink, I thought that was what you meant, but just in case anybody else thought the airfield was abandoned!
I doubt it could ever be resurrected as a powered aerodrome - I have seen the odd Cub and Cherokee land there in the past (not sure if they were precautionaries?) and SHGC operated a Falke a year or two back for a while. The site is (mostly?) owned by the Coroporation of London and maintained as public common land outside of the peri-track which I imagine would preclude use for powered aircraft on a regular basis. We had another thread on this forum several years ago...