Airfield structure identification

[plant-pilot]

Taken from "Britain's Military airfields 1939-45 - David J. Smith":-

To remedy this lack of satisfactory surface meduim, Kurt Sommerfeld, an expatriate Austrian engineer, adapted the First World War wire-netting idea. The result was known as Sommerfeld Track and a full-scale trial carried out by Royal Engineers early in 1941 proved sufficiently encouraging to justify it being put into production.

Mild Steel bars and rods were employed to hold the netting rigid and angle Iron pickets kept it on the ground

The book also notes that:-

Some permanent grass airfields were given PSP* runways when supplies allowed. Cranage in Cheshire had two exellent runways of the material to replace the worn out Army Track which it's Navigation School Ansons and Oxfords had suffered for years. Photographs exist showing how the plates were neatly cut and welded at the runway intersection and they even had cut-outs for light fittings.

There are no photos of this in the book and it doesn't state when the improvments were made, and PSP was developed in the US prior to their entry into the war, which does leave quite an open time line.

*PSP is Pierced Steel Plank although that may either be the american or original name as I have always been taught that it stands for Perforated Steel Planking. Either way it's very much the same and does the same thing. It was still being used heavily for airfield repair into the 70s and was replaced by the Americans by AM-2 matting during the Vietnam war, which is now also used by the Royal Engineers. (Oooops, there I go.... off on that never ending subject of matting, trackway, R&A and bridging...... sorry )

[morse1001]

Originally Posted by Kitty

This is the only place I can think to post this picture.
I need some help identifying a 'structure' at RAF Byley/Cranage. It run soff the surroundign coutnry labne with a gate in the perimiter fence. The road in is about 30-40 feet long, and the circle itself is about 30 feet across, with the central area about 10-15 feet. There are no markings in the concrete, as would be expected for a large Ack-ack gun, so does anyone know what it is? There were three dotted around the perimiter of the airfield with no other tracks or buildings apparnetly associated with them.

Aircraft compass swinging platform?

[Kitty]

Originally Posted by Morse1001

Aircraft compass swinging platform?

We've had that one. PP, a very good idea, but Cranage is a very, and I mean VERY boggy place. Aircraft were never taken off the hard standings or Sommereld cos they would never get them out again. I admit to leaning towards the LAA idea myself, as the roads they come off are just very narrow country lanes. No way is there room for planes to get to them that way.
At the bottom of the map wher there is a curve of tracking running to the runways is where the Wimpies were driven across from the factory for their circuits and bumps before delivery.
As to the Sommerfeld I seem to recall mention of it being put in at the earliest as the Ansons/Oxfords were having difficulty landing. So probably very early 42 if not 41?
This is really beginning to annoy me.


Also does anyone know what these were used for? There are loads of them dotted around the barracks area.

Attachment 86

The remaining huts around the back of the Vickers site. They are seriously dinky.

Attachment 87

And finally the Vickers factory itself. All that has been done to it is the skin replaced. As you can tell from the wagon it is HUGE.

Attachment 88

[the_historian]

Kitty,
I don't know what the blocks are, unless they're for generators.
The huts look like variations of "Handcraft" huts, which themselves were a variation of Nissen huts. They were probably just accommodation, but were very adaptable.
Have you tried contacting the Airfield Research Group with regard to the hardstandings?

[adrian roberts]

Attached, a photo of a compass-swinging platform in use.
OK, there is no road leading to this one, but the proportions of the concrete ring make it look a possibility.

This is probably a pre-war photo: the Spitfire is a very early Mark 1: note two-bladed propellor, no red-white-blue fin-flash, and K prefix serial.

Adrian

[plant-pilot]

The map shows 4 of these features. Would there be a need for 4 compass-swinging platforms on one airfield? Maybe because of it's role as a navigation school? But if that were the case, would these platforms be large enough to take an Anson or Oxford? Certainly not a Wellington in order to calibrate the compass on production. And why are they connected to the small tracks by concrete roads rather than other tracking for movement of aircraft? Still points to LAA as an option, but doesn't a battery of AA have 6 guns, not 4? Did the other two have different locations on the other side of the airfield beyond the Hangers and acommodation?

So many questions. It may just be easier to find someone local who used to work ther during the war and ask them

[the_historian]

A strange one...
An HAA battery could have either 4 or 6 guns, PP, but LAA was sited to protect "Vulnerable Points" (VPs), so there could be as many as deemed necessary for a particular application. Still might be something else entirely, though........

[morse1001]

Originally Posted by the_historian

A strange one...
An HAA battery could have either 4 or 6 guns, PP, but LAA was sited to protect "Vulnerable Points" (VPs), so there could be as many as deemed necessary for a particular application. Still might be something else entirely, though........

Had a look at the History of the RAF regiment and I could find no pictures of guns being in hardened positions

[Kitty]

It's certainly odd isn't it? I understand there were some guns at the Wellington factory next door, and then they would also have been protected by the HAA at Crewe. A few miles away is the airfield's Q-Station site, so maybe it was deemed only a few LAA for protection.
As to asking people who lived and worked there, we've asked the few we know and nobody can seem to recall what they were for, and tracking down people who actually served there is an impossibility so far.
This is beginning to get on my nerves.

[the_historian]

Any more news on this, Kitty?