RAF Station Gate Guardians
 

Many RAF Stations have 'Gate Guards' - an aircraft sat on a concrete plinth sat overlooking the front gate. What is the history behind this tradition?

I was wondering whether there are any rules attached to the choice in aircraft, eg. Did the type have to have been flown from that Station? Could it be a current type? Or, is there a limit on the number of Gate Guardians allowed per Station?

My guess is that it started with non-flying RAF Stations, to adverttise the RAF's presence to passing traffic.

RAF Uxbridge has a replica Spitfire at the gate, though no Spitfire ever managed to take off from its generously sized parade ground. I suppose it marks the fact that Uxbridge was Fighter Command's 11 Group HQ and Operations Room were there; there certainly never was a runway at Uxbridge.

When I was lodging at RAF Stanmore Park, they had a Gloster Javelin at the gate. As the station had no runway, it definitely didn't fly in.

Then there are the former flying stations that fly no more...

RAF Thornaby is long gone, but a "Gate Guardian" replica Spitfire adorns the middle of a roundabout in a shopping area that was once part of the site. As far as I am aware, although Spitfires did occasionall operate from Thornaby, it was not one of the types commonly flown from there - it was mostly a RAuxAF station engaged in Coastal Command work. (The last "RAF" unit there was 1261 Sqn ATC, of which I was once a member.)

When did the Navy start putting old ship's figureheads by the main gate of the dockyard and when did the Army start putting old artillery pieces on the edge of the parade square?
Earlier than the RAF started putting old aircraft on 'Gate Guard' I'd suggest.

Another non-flying station with a gate guardian is RAF Brampton with its F-4. RAF Henlow has a Hunter; whilst Henlow does actually have a runway, it's made of grass.

When I was at RAF Staxton Wold in the early 90s the then CO briefly entertained ideas of asking for one of the F-4s then being retired to go on the gate. Whilst there would at least have been an AD connection I think the project foundered on the sheer amount of paperwork required.

One of my later jobs involved occasional visits to RAF Croughton, the USAF comms hub north of Oxford. Again, a non-flying site (although it was an operational airfield in WW2) it has an F-105 on the way in.

RAF Stafford had (has?) a Harrier GR3 and whilst it has an HLS for refuelling passing rotary assets it never had an airfield and RAF Locking had a Mossie, a Spit, a Gnat and I believe a Meteor at various times without an actual airfield on the camp, although during WW2 Mossies were built on site then taxied down the road to RNAS Flowerdown for onwards air movement.

Perhaps a Hunter might be more appropriate for RAF Thornaby? A Wapiti like those my Dad used to rig in 608 Sqn in the 1930s would be even better - but where would you get one?

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...g?t=1235949786

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The Buccaneer at Honington, now the Rockape HQ, was officially designated by the then Staish:D as a war memorial to prevent its removal at a time when the engineering hierarchy (a:mad:oles) decided that gate guardians were too expensive to maintain and should all be removed. Many are now plastic because of that ground-pounder intervention about 15 years ago!

Foldie

West Drayton used to have a Lightning. School of Fighter Control?

Eh London Air Traffic Control Centre ?

A friend of mine tells me that Yeovilton has 2 gate guardians. A Sea Harrier and a Mk 8 Lynx. All was well until a couple of months ago a flying Lynx needed a spare part which was unobtainable through stores...... Gate Guardian to the rescue.

Gate guardians have always been a useful source of spares. In Lightning days, I had a bit of brake pipe off the gate guard at Wattisham and a valve from the ventral tank off one of the decoys at Gutersloh. That was in the days when you could put out a tannoy for any ex-Lightning rigger to contact VASF and give him a challenge to gt you home!

Marham had a Vicor by the parade ground. It was the highest time airframe when it was put there, but as time moved on and the Victor service life was extended and extended yet again, it started to look like a young a sprightly thing compared to the aircraft on the flight line. Inevitably, the question of returning it to service was raised. But several buildings had been constructed over it's route into it's final resting place, so it became a source of spares and had an elevator missing for about a month once.

Robbing bits off gate guardians
 

Christmas treeing a gate guardian is an expedient way to obtain spares, but what does the system have to say about this? I had been under the impression that aircraft spares are lifed and strictly controlled/inventoried. I can quite see that say a lamp lens really doesn't matter too much, but where is the line drawn? An elevator? Wouldn't that be subject to corrosion? Subject to a drunken ******** jumping up and down on it on his way back to the OM?

Officially, one per station I think. Due to expense of maintaining them in a safe condition.

Croughton
 

As well as the F105 (G - WW) Croughton has an F100 (D). Both ex- Upper Heyford, and needing a home when UH closed.

Lyneham must win the contest for the least well maintained gate guard. Sadly the Comet looks like it has just been dragged off a scrapheap!

Get some time in. ;)

AKT has 3, although none are actually at the Gate.

RAF Boulmer had a Lightning till the late '80s and thence an F-4. No runway there either, but the School of Fighter Control.

Hunter F Mk6 resides at Halton and certainly never operated from here.........
Hunter F Mk.6 XF527 Halton 23062007 D014-14