RAF Hemswell question.
Discussion
Today I travelled to Lincolnshire to search for antique things at a place that once was RAF Hemswell.
The RAF are long gone and even with Google earth it's difficult to see where the runways once were but what does show up is an unusual pattern of... something behind one of the hangers. It looks like a maze of footpaths and before I set off I wondered whether the grass bits would be mounds but from the little I could see at a distance, through a fence, the area was flat.
What is this feature, anybody know ?
The RAF are long gone and even with Google earth it's difficult to see where the runways once were but what does show up is an unusual pattern of... something behind one of the hangers. It looks like a maze of footpaths and before I set off I wondered whether the grass bits would be mounds but from the little I could see at a distance, through a fence, the area was flat.
What is this feature, anybody know ?
bomb blast isolation, if a bomb lands in one "lane" the blast is isolated to just that one. by storing things in different sections you can make them very difficult to destroy large amounts of equipment.
Its common in bomb storage sites as well. Although the ones at previous bases I have served on they tend to be shorter and very straight but as you say the Raf have long gone and the ground/grass has probably started to grow back.
Edited to add: having just looked at the history of Hemswell (bomber station) for world war 2 and Cold War and then as a missile storage/maintenance facility I would bet its a good chance that they were bomb/large missile storage revetments.
Its common in bomb storage sites as well. Although the ones at previous bases I have served on they tend to be shorter and very straight but as you say the Raf have long gone and the ground/grass has probably started to grow back.
Edited to add: having just looked at the history of Hemswell (bomber station) for world war 2 and Cold War and then as a missile storage/maintenance facility I would bet its a good chance that they were bomb/large missile storage revetments.
Edited by MB140 on Saturday 10th March 21:41
Edited by MB140 on Saturday 10th March 21:51
Well that clears that up. Thanks very much.Tony1963 said:
Yeah, you'd never locate a bomb storage site that close to aircraft hangars. Usually, the bombs are stored on the other side of the airfield, or even well away from the airfield.
Looking at it now it’s obvious. The bomb dump on base where I work is the other side of the airfield. Like I said doh moment. Blame it on a long night involving alcohol. For an entire airfield turned into a 'bomb dump', look no further than RAF Welford...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/RAF+Welford/@5...
As for "where were the WWII runways, etc?"... http://www.bcar.org.uk/hemswell-history
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/RAF+Welford/@5...
As for "where were the WWII runways, etc?"... http://www.bcar.org.uk/hemswell-history
yellowjack said:
As for "where were the WWII runways, etc?"... http://www.bcar.org.uk/hemswell-history
I saw that... which brings me to my next question.What do all those yellow bobbles and loops around the perimeter line denote ?
Also why Hemswell Cliff ? There are no cliffs. It must be just about the flattest bit of England there is.
As stated they are aircraft parking areas, also known as 'dispersals' or 'hardstandings'. You can see that they are a mixture of 'lilly pad' and 'spectacle' dispersals.
During WW2 a bomber airfield such as Hemswell could have up to 3 Sqns based there each with 12-16 a/c so you need somewhere to park them all, but spread out so that if there was an attack they couldn't all be destroyed in one fell swoop.
The main Hangars would have been used for deep maintenance as opposed to a/c storage.
Hemswell is an interesting site because it was part of Project Emily, which was the deployment of 60 Douglas PGM-17 Thor IRBMs across 20 RAF Stations from 1959 - 1963. These were nuclear missiles in the 1.5 MT range.
Hemswell parented the 3 missiles of 97 Sqn and additionally acted as the HQ for the No 5 (Lincolnshire) Ballistic Missile Dispersal Sites (the other stations being: Bardney, Caistor, Coleby Grange, and Ludford-Magna).
The missile site was on the N. side of the airfield but can't be seen today, however if you look at RAF North Luffenham (now St George's Barracks) you can see the 3 distinct 'lilly pads' of the missile site on the SE. side of the airfield. In fact this Thor site is now Grade II listed (as indeed is the Thor site at the former RAF Harrington).
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/North+Luffenha...
During WW2 a bomber airfield such as Hemswell could have up to 3 Sqns based there each with 12-16 a/c so you need somewhere to park them all, but spread out so that if there was an attack they couldn't all be destroyed in one fell swoop.
The main Hangars would have been used for deep maintenance as opposed to a/c storage.
Hemswell is an interesting site because it was part of Project Emily, which was the deployment of 60 Douglas PGM-17 Thor IRBMs across 20 RAF Stations from 1959 - 1963. These were nuclear missiles in the 1.5 MT range.
Hemswell parented the 3 missiles of 97 Sqn and additionally acted as the HQ for the No 5 (Lincolnshire) Ballistic Missile Dispersal Sites (the other stations being: Bardney, Caistor, Coleby Grange, and Ludford-Magna).
The missile site was on the N. side of the airfield but can't be seen today, however if you look at RAF North Luffenham (now St George's Barracks) you can see the 3 distinct 'lilly pads' of the missile site on the SE. side of the airfield. In fact this Thor site is now Grade II listed (as indeed is the Thor site at the former RAF Harrington).
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/North+Luffenha...
Edited by Ginetta G15 Girl on Tuesday 13th March 18:05
yellowjack said:
For an entire airfield turned into a 'bomb dump', look no further than RAF Welford...
Indeed Welford was the Conventional Weapons storage for USAFE (US Air Force in Europe) during the 'Cold War'. There is a purpose built slip road off and onto the M4 (signposted 'Works Unit Only') that feeds into Welford.Edited by Ginetta G15 Girl on Tuesday 13th March 18:05
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
Indeed Welford was the Conventional Weapons storage for USAFE (US Air Force in Europe) during the 'Cold War'. There is a purpose built slip road off and onto the M4 (signposted 'Works Unit Only') that feeds into Welford.
I take it that is the one with the Works Unit Only lettered in red instead of white GGEdited by Ginetta G15 Girl on Tuesday 13th March 18:05
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