RAF Manston | |
|---|---|
| Manston,Kent in England | |
 Arise to Protect | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Royal Air Force station |
| Code | MQ[1] |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence (MoD) |
| Operator |
|
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command 1939–?? *No. 11 Group RAF |
| Condition | Closed |
| Location | |
  RAF Manston Location in Kent | |
| Coordinates | 51°20′53″N1°21′00″E / 51.348°N 1.350°E /51.348; 1.350 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1916 (1916) |
| Built by | Various & John Laing & Son Ltd |
| In use | 1916–1999 (1999) |
| Fate |
|
| Battles/wars | First World War European theatre of World War II Cold War |
| Airfield information | |
| Elevation | 46 metres (151 ft)[1]AMSL |
Royal Air Force Manston or more simplyRAF Manston is a formerRoyal Air Forcestation located in the north-east ofKent, atgrid referenceTR334663 on theIsle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airportKent International Airport (KIA), since closed, and a continuing military use by theDefence Fire Training and Development Centre (DFTDC), following on from a long-standing training facility for RAFfirefighters at the RAF Manston base.
At the outset of theFirst World War, theIsle of Thanet was equipped with a small and precarious landing strip for aircraft at St Mildreds Bay,Westgate, on top of the chalk cliffs, at the foot of which was a promenade which had been used for seaplane operations.
The landing grounds atop the cliff soon became the scene of several accidents, with at least one plane seen to fail to stop before the end of the cliffs and tumble into the sea which, fortunately for the pilot, had been on its inward tide.
In the winter of 1915–1916 these early aircraft first began to use the open farmlands at Manston as a site for emergency landings. Thus was soon established theAdmiralty Aerodrome at Manston. It was not long after this that the training school, set up originally to instruct pilots in the use of the newHandley-Page O/400 bombers, was established, and so by the close of 1916 there were already two distinct units stationed at Manston, the Operational War Flight Command and the Handley Page Training School.
Its location near the Kent coast gave Manston some advantages over the other previously established aerodromes and regular additions in men and machinery were soon made, particularly, in these early days, fromDetling. By 1917 theRoyal Flying Corps was well established and taking an active part in the defence of England.
At a time whenZeppelin raids were bringing the war directly to English civilians, daylight bombing raids by German'Gotha' Bombers, a twin enginedbiplane, would have been considerably more effective were it not for the RFC's presence at Manston.
The German air raids had lasted for thirteen weeks, the last being on 22 August 1917. On this occasion, of the 15 bombers that set out for England five did not reach the Kent coast, and the 'spirited' intervention from Manston-based fighters prevented those remaining from flying further west, three being destroyed outright and the remaining seven returning to Germany with dead and wounded on board.
Shortly after such formation raids and in consequence the Cabinet recommended the creation of a separateAir Ministry. The RAF was officially formed on 1 April 1918.
At the start of theSecond World War, Manston hosted a School of Air Navigation but this was quickly moved out. On 10 September 1939,No. 3 Squadron RAF flew in equipped withHawker Hurricanes and Manston was put under the command ofNo. 11 Group Fighter Command.[2]No. 235 andNo. 253 Squadron RAF both arrived on 30 October 1939 and stayed until October 1940.[3] No. 79 Squadron arrived on 12 November 1939.
During an eventfulBattle of Britain, Manston was heavily bombed; at its height (August 1940) diary entries recorded a steady stream of damage to aircraft and buildings. The station was also littered with unexploded bombs. This caused many staff to move to nearby woods for at least a week.[4] Others were dispersed to surrounding housing. For example, WAAFs (members of theWomen's Auxiliary Air Force) stationed at Manston were billeted at the nearbyUrsuline Convent inWestgate-on-Sea.
In May 1943, Manston was used in the testing ofBarnes Wallis' prototypebouncing bomb. Pilots from No. 617 Squadron flew to Manston to have inert mines loaded into theirLancaster bombers, which they then dropped atReculver to prepare for theDambusters raid; the first tests were carried out on 11 May, with further tests across the following days.[5] A prototype is on public display at the RAF Manston History Museum.[6]
Hawker Typhoon attack aircraft were based at Manston later in the war, and alsoNo. 616 Squadron RAF, the firstMeteor jet squadron, arriving 21 July 1944 and staying until 21 January 1945. Manston was used as one of the departure points for military gliders of theGlider Pilot Regiment to transport troops and equipment inOperation Market Garden. It was one of the few airfields installed with theFog, Intensive, Dispersal Of (FIDO) system designed to removefog from airfields by burning it off withpetrol.
Along withRAF Carnaby andRAF Woodbridge, Manston was developed as a east coast emergency landing ground forbomber crews. These airfields were intended for use by returning bombers suffering from low-fuel and/or suspected damage to their pneumatic (wheel brake) and/or hydraulic (undercarriage) systems. All three airfields were equipped with a single runway, 9,000 ft (2,700 m) (long and 750 ft (230 m) wide. There was a further clear area of 1,500 ft (460 m) at each end of the runway. At each of the three airfields, the runway was divided into three 250 ft (76 m) lanes. The northern and central lanes were allocated by flying control, while the southern lane was the emergency lane on which any aircraft could land without first making contact with the airfield.[citation needed]
The hilltop site was chosen as it was usually fog-free and had no approach obstructions. Being close to the front line, the airfield became something of a magnet for badly damaged aircraft that had suffered from ground fire, collisions, or air attack but retained a degree of airworthiness. The airfield became something of a "graveyard" for heavy bombers. The museums on site display some startling aerial views dating from this era and the post-war years. After the war, the runway was reconfigured, being reduced to 200 ft (61 m) in width with a full-length parallel taxiway, both within the original paved width.
During theCold War of the 1950s theUnited States Air Force used RAF Manston as aStrategic Air Command base for its bomber, fighter and fighter-bomber units.
In the early 1950s, SAC's backbone bombers were theConvair B-36 Peacemaker andBoeing B-47 Stratojet. To support this strategy, the SAC7th Air Division was established in May 1951. At the time, Manston had only partially recovered from the ravages of the Second World War. There were still makeshift bomb shelters, i.e. trenches with tin roofs, and many large circles of lush green grass whereLuftwaffe bombs had cratered the runway. The RAF control tower overlooked a bizarre hilltop runway, which was an extraordinary 750 feet (230 m) wide and 9,000 feet (2,700 m) long. The 7th AD expanded Manston by building concrete bunkers suitable for nuclear weapons and upgrading the support facilities for long-term use.
By the summer of 1953, the 7th AD began a series of temporary deployments of B-47 and B-36 wings from the United States to the United Kingdom. These deployments generally involved about 45 aircraft, together with about 20Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters which were maintained at the English bases for 90 days. At the end of the Temporary Duty (TDY), they were relieved by another SAC wing that was generally stationed at a different airfield. These deployments continued until 1955 when SAC shifted its rotational deployments toRAF Fairford and Manston was turned over to theUnited States Air Forces in Europe.
In July 1951 SAC deployed the12th Fighter-Escort Wing to Manston to provide fighter escort for its rotational bombardment wings. The 12th, however, only remained at Manston until 30 November when it was replaced by the123rd Fighter-Bomber Wing, with the 12th being transferred toJapan for combat duty during theKorean War.
The 123rd was an umbrella wing that was formed from severalAir National Guard squadrons activated for federal service during the Korean War. This wing was activated at Manston with three ANG fighter squadrons:
The 123d utilized the F-84E "Thunderjets" left behind by the 12th FEW and continued the same mission of fighter escort of SAC's bombers.
In July 1952 the Air National Guard squadrons were returned to State control, andUSAFE assumed the fighter escort role. In its place, the406th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated in place at Manston with the following squadrons assigned:
Initially, the 406th utilized the existing F-84Es, however in August 1953, the F-86F "Sabre" began to arrive to replace them.
A change of mission for the 406th in April 1954 from fighter-bomber to fighter-interceptor came with a change of equipment. TheF-86D Sabre interceptor began to arrive and the F-86F's were transferred to other USAFE squadrons and NATO countries. In addition, the 512th FBS was transferred toSoesterberg Air Base,Netherlands with their F-86Fs.
In June F-86D's arrived from CONUS to equip the87th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron which was transferred to the 406th from the 81st FBW assigned toRAF Shepherds Grove. The 87th FIS, however, physically remained at Shepherds Grove, but was under the organisational command of the 406th at Manston. In September 1955, the 87th was redesignated the 512th FIS.
On 15 May 1958 the 406th was inactivated, with its three air defence squadrons being assigned to continental Europe under the86th Air Division (Defense) atRamstein Air BaseWest Germany. The squadrons were transferred to the following bases:
The F-86D's were eventually withdrawn from Europe in 1961, and the 512th, 513th and 514th were inactivated.
After the transfer of the USAFE interceptors at Manston the base was returned to the RAF control.
With the USAF's withdrawal from Manston, the airfield became a joint civilian and RAF airport from 1960 and was thence employed for occasional package tour and cargo flights, alongside its continuing role as an RAF base. The Air Cadets used the northern side of the airfield as a gliding site, andNo. 1 Air Experience Flight RAF flyingde Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunks was also based there. Thanks to its long runway, Manston was designated as one of the UK's MEDAs (Military Emergency Diversion Airfields) for emergency military and civilian landings. Others includedRAF Greenham Common,RAF Aldergrove andRAF Machrihanish.
For a number of years, the base operated as a Master Diversion Airfield, open 24 hours every day. Manston, uniquely in the UK, also had a 'foam carpet' crash landing system, where two tractors would pull tankers laying a metre thick layer of foam over a strip of runway, for aircraft with landing gear problems.[7]
RAF Manston was home to a helicopter search and rescue (SAR) flight fromNo. 22 Squadron RAF from 1961, operatingWestland Whirlwind aircraft. The flight was withdrawn in 1969, but the outcry led to the RAF contractingBristow Helicopters from 1971 to 1974 to provide a continued service (also using MK3 Whirlwhinds). In 1972, the Bristow crew was awarded the "Wreck Shield" for "Most Meritorious Rescue in 1972" by the Department of Trade and Industry.[8]
In 1974, the RAF SAR teams returned, withNo. 72 Squadron RAF operating twoWestland Wessex HC2 aircraft to replace the Bristow cover. The flight was transferred back to No. 22 Squadron in June 1976. In 1988No. 202 Squadron RAF moved to Manston with theirWestland Sea King HAR.3, with the Wessex aircraft moving toRAF Coltishall. The Sea Kings remained at Manston until July 1994, when SAR activity at the base was halted, and SAR cover for the channel relocated toRAF Wattisham.[8][9]
The following units were here at some point:[10]
For some years two commercial airlines operated out of Manston, Invicta Airways and Air Ferry. Many thousands of holiday passengers started their journeys from Manston.
From 1989 Manston became styled asKent International Airport, and a new terminal was officially opened that year by theDuchess of York.
In 1996, Manston's satellite stationRAF Ash, was closed, and in 1999, it was decided to close the RAF Manston base. The 'airside' portion of the base was signed over to the commercial operator ofKent International Airport.
The MoD decided to keep the central fire training school (CTE) facility open, and almost the entirety of the 'domestic' side of the base became FSCTE Manston (Fire Service Central Training Establishment). In 2007 the Army took over responsibility for firefighting across the armed services[citation needed] (except the Royal Navy whose Aircraft Handling Branch are the fire fighters at Naval Air Stations and are trained at RNAS Culdrose at the School of Flight Deck Operations) and the school became theDefence Fire Training and Development Centre (DFTDC). The site is set to be closed in 2025.[12]
There are currently two museums on the former RAF Manston site, in a cluster on the north side :
A third museum in the cluster, theManston Fire Museum within the DFTDC site, is now closed.[18]
RAF Manston and the Spitfire and Hurricane museums used to host an air show, which was most recently in 2011.
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RAF Manston was used as the effects of what will happen in the surrounding towns of Canterbury and Rochester if a nuclear strike by theSoviet Union happened in theOscar winning 1965 filmThe War Game.
In the vehicular combat multiplayer video gameWar Thunder, the 'Britain' map centers around RAF Manston. The map itself is based on the southeast coast of England, depicting just under half of the county of Kent, the Strait of Dover, and a small part of France (in the southeast corner of the map, usually well outside the playable area). Although the details of the map are not completely accurate in some areas, dimensionally the map, as well as RAF Manston, and other landmarks such asDover Castle and thePort of Dover, are a 1:1 scale.
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