RAF Manston

[Hangar_9]

Anybody have any info on RAF manston when it was about or any old photos?

[Saintsman]

I don't know whether this is true but I was led to believe that the runway does not face the prevailing winds but 'faces' Germany. This was so that beat up aircraft on their way back from WW2 missions could come straight in if they needed to.

There is a mirriad of underground tunnels and rooms still in existance.

[global707]

In the old days (!) before the tarmac went down, the prevailing grass runway was 24/06 which of course is predominantly into wind. When they laid the tarmac it was realigned to 27/09

[Twitcher]

Almost correct. The main runway is now 10/28 but before that it was 11/29. The 24/06 runway is not currently used.

[A37575]

I remember Manston well just after the war finished. My scout troop camped just outside the airfield and a couple of us enterprising (and very foolish) 12 year old's got under the fence and walked over to see the Spitfires. We didn't see the Spitfire on short final until he went around just above our heads.
I recall stepping carefully over the huge FIDO pipes and then a guard came belting over the horizon armed with a Lee-Enfield and told us in no uncertain terms to get the hell out of there. At the time I didn't at first understand his words of "Piss-Orf" but the pointing of his rifle helped with the message.

[Cypherus]

Often hear about this type of tunnelling ect, let's hope that some enterprising chap is keeping a photo record of them all, we found one or two of them at Sturgate back in the seventies before the local farmer began his digging opearations, mostly full of junk and water though and dozens of cases of old spark plugs of all things..

[PPRuNe Pop]

I well recall amid my IR training in the late 60's doing GCA approaches at Manston. ATC would always accept such as a good method of training. Talk down was to 1/2 mile. I fine airfield with a fine history.

Many years later I did a real GCA approach at Goose Bay in blinding snow all the way to the ground. Then the 'Follow Me' found us and did a good job to get us to the stand.

[Hangar_9]

What sqn's were based at the turn of 70's? Would anybody know?

[India Four Two]

Hangar 9

Here's a good book for you:

RAF Manston in Old Photographs

ISBN 1-84013-196-9

Published by:

Universal Books Ltd
The Grange
Kingsnorth Industrial Estate
Hoo, Nr. Rochester
Kent ME3 9ND

[diginagain]

I've landed at Manston a number of time when transitting back from Germany to the UK, for fuel and Customs. I was once flying with a pilot on attachment from the US Army; on hearing the accent, Radar offered us the 'scenic tour', via the chunnel workings, and other picturesque parts of East Kent. Despite my best efforts to dissuade him, he accepted, and we took the long way round, which gave HM Custom & Excise plenty of time to drive up from Dover to meet our duty-free laden Lynx.

[Twitcher]

Hangar 9 wrote "What sqn's were based at the turn of 70's? Would anybody know?"
Surely you could have googled for info, it only takes seconds.
Anyway try wikipedia for an easy to read history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_International_Airport

[teeteringhead]

It used to be one (of two?) RAF airfields that could lay a foam strip for aircraft with undercarriage problems to land on. ISTR that (for a helicopter) a GCA onto the westerly runway (29?) had the UK's, if not the world's lowest BOH on a PAR - 50 feet on QFE!

And some at least of the Customs men were very friendly to westbound Wessex full of duty-free.......

I think by the 70s there was only the SAR Flight there. IIRC it was the first location (in the UK) to operate the Wessex in the SAR role.......

Edited to add: I should say the first RAF Wessex on SAR in UK before RN or Bristows veterans complain.

[chevvron]

Also 617 Gliding School (ex Hendon) and an AEF (7?)

[Gainesy]

Other "Crash Strips" were at Woodbidge in Suffolk and Elvington in Yorkshire. The runways were much longer and wider than was then (WWII) normal.

[diginagain]

Elvington was a standard three-runway airfield until re-worked in the 1950's to a single long runway. Carnaby was the FIDO strip in Yorkshire, just inland and to the South of Bridlington.

[chevvron]

Not Elvington but Carnaby near Bridlington. Elvington was one of the selected SAC bases extended post war but I don't think the USAF ever moved in (like Bruntingthorpe).
The three emergency runways were 3,000 yards long and 150 yards wide giving 3 parallel landing strips on each one, the technique being to use one for landing, then if it got blocked by a crash, use the next one til that got blocked, then use the third, by which time the first should have been bulldozed clear - literally! There was no intention to recover crashed aircraft for possible re-building you see.

[JW411]

FIDO was a bit more widespread than just Manston, Woodbridge and Carnaby.

Coastal Command certainly had FIDO at St Eval.

I believe that Bradwell Bay, Downham Market, Fiskerton, Foulsham, Graveley, Ludford Magna, Melbourne, Metheringham, Sturgate and Tuddenham also had FIDO installed to help out Bomber Command.

[Newforest]

FIDO (Fog Intense Disposal Of) was developed by the University of Birmingham. I thought it was initially tested at Blackbushe but cannot find a record of it at the moment.

[Kieron Kirk]

FIDO-Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation.

Excellent book on the subject "Flying Through Fire" Geoffrey Williams, Grange Books ISBN 1-85627-900-6 1995.

[henry crun]

Roly Beaumont in "The Years Flew Past" mentions being diverted from Manston because of fog, to Bradwell Bay which also had fog, and where he was given his first GCA and landing on a Fido lit runway.