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A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1916-1930: The Men Who Made
Manston covers the development of aviation in Thanet up to and
including the period of the First World War. Manston had its
origins in the Royal Naval Seaplane Station at Westgate that was
later expanded for landplane operations. The fact that the landing
ground at Westgate was both dangerous and unsuitable lead to the
development at Manston. Lieutenant Spenser Grey was the first
airman to land in Thanet and he began a popular trend with various
aviators being attracted to the area. In August 1913, The Daily
Mail organised the Round Britain Aeroplane Race that both began and
ended at Ramsgate giving a great boost to the town. The first unit
to be based at Manston was 3 Wing RNAS that moved from Detling in
April 1916 and the first CO was appointed in May. During the war,
aeroplanes based at Manston and particularly its 'War Flight'
played an important role in defending the Thames and Medway
estuaries. Together with RNAS Eastchurch, Manston's War Flight of
Triplanes, Camels and Pups patrolled the coast and amongst its most
famous moments was when on 22 August 1917, a German Gotha bomber
was shot down near Vincent's Farm. The authors give a detailed
history of the units that were based at Manston during this period,
their operations and the commanding officers. Manston was unique in
many ways, but particularly as it was the only airfield to have
built an underground hangar for the protection of its aeroplanes.
After the First World War, Manston expanded and it took on the role
of a training station. This first book in a three-book series will
finish approximately at the end of the war period and continue with
the growth of the station during the inter-war years.
A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1941-1945 covers the station's
history during the period that the RAF was on the offensive against
the Luftwaffe. Having been badly damaged during the Battle of
Britain and the only airfield to have been put out of action,
Manston rose from the ashes to become a base for numerous fighter
units that attacked Hitler's 'Fortress Europe'. From 1941 onwards,
Manston was used by damaged aircraft returning from operations,
especially those from Bomber Command. Consequently, a large runway
was built and was one of three in the country that was equipped to
deal with emergencies. In 1944, 501 Squadron was formed with the
Hawker Tempest to destroy enemy armour, aircraft and the feared V1;
Squadron Leader Joe Berry was credited to destroying sixty-one V1s.
Another first was the arrival of the Meteor jet fighter in August
1944. After the war, Manston became a base for a number of civil
airlines, but continued in its role as a major diversion airfield
and an emergency landing ground.
Having been classified by the Air Ministry as a 'Master Diversion'
airfield, RAF Manston was for many years open twenty-four hours a
day and available to both civil and military aircraft 365 days a
year. It was also later equipped with the Pyrene foam system, which
both civil and military aircraft could use when they had problems
with their undercarriage: there is no doubt that the foam carpet
saved many lives. The most spectacular occasion that it was used
was on 20 April 1967 when a British Eagle Britannia made a complete
wheels-up landing. It is claimed that Manston was the only station
to serve in every command of the RAF and until its closure in 1999;
it probably dealt with more diverse types of aircraft than any
other station. During its eighty-three years as a Royal Naval/ RAF
airfield, it played host to the Sopwith Camel, Spitfire, Bf 109, He
111, B-29, B-47, Tu-104, F-84 and Concorde, plus many other types
that are too numerous to mention.
Air Commodore Pink chose RAF Manston as his final resting place and
a number of aces from the First World War such as Squadron Leader
Bartlett served there. After the uncertainty of the 1920s, RAF
Manston grew rapidly during the 1930s to become one of the busiest
airfields in the country. The School of Technical Training was at
the forefront of the RAF where thousands of airmen trained each
year and it was an integral part of the service's expansion scheme.
Empire Air Days and air races became regular events during the
1930s and when Ramsgate Municipal Airport opened, RAF Manston had
to compete with it to stage them. 48 Squadron was formed at Manston
in 1936 with the Avro Anson and it was the RAF's first monoplane to
have a retractable undercarriage. On the outbreak of war, various
fighter squadrons operated from Manston and being the airfield
closest to France, its squadrons proudly played a leading role in
the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain.
Tales From The Control Tower is based on the author's personal
experiences of the Royal Air Force. It starts in 1968 with
anecdotes about Basic Training at Swinderby where recruits learned
drill, marching and given an introduction to service life. From
there the Tales move on to Gaydon, a 'V' Bomber station where Joe
experienced the RAF at its best and its worst, being billeted in a
hut with twenty rough necks from the RAF Regiment. At the Air
Traffic School at Shawbury Joe was trained in air traffic
procedures. During his time there both the piston-engine Provost
and the D. H. Vampire were in the final months of service with the
RAF. The station was also a storage facility and give details of
the many different types of aircraft that were being housed there,
awaiting scraping or repair. Having passed out of Shawbury the
story moves on to Manston, where there are various anecdotes about
working in the control tower, the foam landings, diversions and one
particular incident involving the Red Arrows, that could have lead
them to being disbanded. There are anecdotes about the life style
of airmen, the drinking, the women and the strange humour! This
period was interesting because it was the 'Twilight Years' of the
veterans of WWII and of also of piston-engine type aircraft such as
the such as the Beverley, Hastings and the DC4. Joe Bamford has
produced an amusing 'easy read' about air force life that is very
different to the usual 'Gung Ho' type story.
Bryan Wild joined the RAF in 1940, a raw recruit not long out of
school. Over the next five years, he flew fourteen different types
of aircraft and saw action over Britain, North Africa, the
Mediterranean and Germany. His memoirs capture the daily life of
this everyman of RAF pilots: the thrill of flying and experiencing
a new aircraft for the first time; the frisson of night flying in
the early days when planes were not equipped with inboard radar;
the tedium of hanging around with nothing to do contrasting with
the intensity and urgency of action; and deep comradeships and the
devastating loss of friends in combat. Wild started the war with
nine lives and ended up with just the one. He had close shaves with
death in action, but also freak accidents such as radio breakdown
in fog over the Welsh mountains, an undercarriage stick that broke
off in his hand and a runway collision with an errant cook wagon.
Flying Blind: The Story of a Second World War Night-Fighter Pilot
portrays the flavour of wartime RAF life as much as one pilot's
journey from boyhood to manhood.
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