World War Two experimental catapult unearthed
 

World War Two experimental catapult unearthed by archaeologists

An experimental catapult designed to launch World War Two bomber planes into the sky has been excavated.

The prototype Royal Aircraft Establishment Mark III Catapult was unearthed at the site of a development at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.

It was made to enable take-offs using shorter runways and so the planes could be loaded with more fuel.

The contraption was built between 1938 and 1940 when the site was RAF Harwell.

However, the project was abandoned without ever launching an aircraft, because the engines would wear out and the design did not properly fit the bomber planes.

The mechanism was taken out and a normal runway built over the top.

The technology was a precursor to Catapult Armed Merchant (CAM) ships, which launched Hawker Hurricanes at sea via rocket-propelled catapults.

How was the catapult meant to work?

• A large rotating turntable directed aircraft towards one of two concrete track runways only 82m (269ft) long
• The aircraft was attached to an underground pneumatic ram using a towing hook
• Underneath the turntable Rolls-Royce Kestrel aero engines compressed air to 2,000 psi to drive the ram
• High-pressured air was forced into the pneumatic ram, which rapidly expanded to the length of the guided track
• The bomber would then be catapulted into the sky

Archaeologists at the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) have now recreated a 3D digital replica of the remains.

Project officer Susan Porter said: "This fascinating structure reminds us of the rapid experimentation and innovation of the interwar years and World War Two.

"Crucially, recording the location and appearance of every inch means that the catapult is preserved by record for future generations."

The catapult has now been dismantled to allow construction works in the area to continue, though the remains are being archived.

Excavations also uncovered large lights from another nearby runway, and a Spigot Mortar-type gun emplacement used to defend it from attack.

Nothing new there; all been well documented in the past.

"Sudden unexpected twang, Hoskins..."

Campbeex,

Thanks for posting. I, for one, hadn’t heard of this before.

Any prospect of retro-fitting the system in an aircraft carrier?:D

Jack

I suspect it was never designed to be fitted to an aircraft carrier.

I think I remember reading that the specification of one of our heavy bombers originally included being stressed for catapult launching.

Zero chance of the Fury, Demon, Nimrod and Hind owners in this country giving up their Kestrels! :}

They built a catapult at Farnborough capable of launching a 4 engine bomber; last time I was there some of the launch rails were still embedded in the grass.
Whether they actually managed to launch one I don't know but I remember a mention of them trying it on a Manchester which of course was expendable.

If they had only dug some more they might have also found the World War Two Experimental Conveyor Belt :}!


It sounds like this thing wasn't thought through very well ... 269 ft :eek:

What if the aircraft had actually got off the ground? . . . then what?

Just like JATO - once up to flying speed it's all good. Overcoming rolling resistance and inertia in a shorter runway is the main use. Also, same reason for carrier catapults.

Conveyor? That is some quality pot stirring.

I must applaud the use of the wonderful word: CONTRAPTION! Having invented and even built a number of same, I must admit that I still have a number of patents pending, including GRIFFELY, which a few good childhood friends and myself used to kill a very stately boxwood hedge which separated our property from that of our orthopedic surgeon neighbor. Application: the dead of night. Dead hedge: the following morning. How pleased was my father? How happy was Dr. Van Derwerker? I can tell you this much: there is still an empty bottle of bleach on Harvest Lane, and there are still stripes on my ass almost seven decades later!

Now back to the thread....

- Ed

Pray?

Quoted from Avro Aircraft since 1908 regarding the Manchester.

"Much of the prototype's life was spent at the R.A.E., Farnborough, in perfecting a catapult launching and arrested landing technique which was specially designed for the Manchester but, in the end, never used."

Yes just looked on both bing and google. Northwest of the 'crossroads' formed by taxiways A, B and C and north of twy B are double parallel lines in the grass oriented on about 220/230 deg and they continue for quite a distance south of twy B. I remember when they 'walked' the take off path for the Jaguar flying display and we found traces of the rails extending to west of runway 18/36 (now twy D)
Further south on the edge of twy C are the places where various arresting systems were built but which one was intended for the Manchester I don't know.

Air Ministry specification P13/36 to which both the Halifax and Manchester were initially designed included a very clear requirement for catapult launching.

According to the National Archives it hasn't been digitised yet which is presumably why I can't find a copy.

Photographs of the current dig and remains.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-...shire-67052782

Thinking back, I'm sure there was an actual photograph of the Manchester positioned on the launch track but where and when I saw it I'm not sure. There were often displays of photos in Q3 Bldg which was one of the old airship sheds and it could have been one of those; on the other hand it could have been in 'Aeroplane Monthly'.
If someone could access the Qinetiq photo library they might be able to find it.
There were and still are underground structures for steam and compressed air generating adjacent to where the 'Manchester' catapult was positioned; they were left in situ when Naval Air Dept moved to RAE Bedford in about 1955; latterly, the airfield fire station was built nearby and they used the underground chambers for 'smoke chamber' training'.

So this is a bit like a conveyor belt, but you take off with the flow, rather than against it……

yes but it's great to see modern pictures of it - what a hideous contraption!

Yes, all documented in the book 'Farnborough and the Fleet Air Arm' by Geoffrey Cooper ISBN 185780306X, 9781857803068.
Pictures of the Manchester in situ on the catapult, details of the construction and working of the catapult at Farnborough and Harwell including how two RR Kestrels were linked together, one driving the other as the compressor and details of how the Harwell catapult was excavated in 2002 when they cleared up all the waste that had been tipped into it, then it was re filled.