Fighter Command Grass Cutters.

Discussion in 'Weapons, Technology & Equipment' started by Gage, Apr 17, 2011.

  1. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Hi all.
    Does anybody know what equipment the RAF used to cut the grass on Fighter airfields in 1940? Were they big tractor cutters like they use nowadays?
    Does anybody have any pictures?
    Many thanks.
     
  2. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    The organic solution.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  3. Stormbird

    Stormbird Restless

    In my beautiful but barren homeland the flat areas of airfields - apart from the strips most adjacent to operational surfaces - are used for farming. One major air base is the leading grain producer of the nation - all inside the fence. I would suppose in hungry wartime Britain that would have been the case, too ?
     
  4. phylo_roadking

    phylo_roadking Very Senior Member

    Well, RAF fields were usually lousy with tractors...

    [​IMG]

    ...so I would imagine some sort of towed reaper like used to be used to cut my school playing fields.

    Fighter Command and other fields were after all supplied by the autumn of 1940 with huge gurt ploughs to destroy the flightline if threatened with being captured...

    IIRC there was quite a regime of cutting and rolling to prepare and maintain a grass flightline.
     
  5. Oldman

    Oldman Very Senior Member

    Either tractor drawn cutter or horse drawn cutter, plus there are references to attacks on 11 group airfields where they have actually had to unhitch the horse form a roller during or after a raid.

    One thinks it would vary from station to station or landing ground.
     
  6. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Gage likes this.
  7. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Thanks guys. I was hoping for pictures on what probably sounds like a strange question anyway.
     
  8. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    I do like off-the-wall queries.

    Speculative, and reliant on my addled memory, but I'm still pretty sure the bloke showing this mentioned previous use on an airfield:
    Name that vehicle
    (Post #1511 onwards).

    Presumably, if you want to know what was mowing the airfields, look up 1940s gardening/light agriculture machines:

    MP063: Greens Monitor | The Old Lawnmower Club
    Like most of the other mower manufacturers Greens had turned production over to the war effort between 1939 and 1945. A few companies continued to manufacture machines for essential duties such as mowing airfields.
    They have a little forum too - bet they'd welcome your question mate.

    British Lawnmower Museum

    Chap here has a dedicated USAAF 'Mower' Tractor, and is looking for the mower:
    G503.com Message Forums • View topic - tractors

    Same bloke:
    WWII Air Corps Tractor-Mower

    Mentions a 'Case-Detroit Sickle mower'.
    CASE DETROIT AGRICULTURAL SICKLE MOWER 1948 OPR MANUAL | eBay
    Case-Detroit Sickle mower - Google Search


    Personally, I want one of these:
    [​IMG]
     
  9. Cobber

    Cobber Senior Member

    Wow so much about the humble lawn mower I did not know.
     
  10. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Took A's advice and e-mailed the BLM.
    My reply.


    Hi Craig,
    Thank you for your enquiry.
    Unfortunately we do not have the pictures you requested. Different machines were used depending on the airfield; however the Allen Scythe would have been used at that time.
    Regards
    Madeleine

    Many thanks to them for taking the time to reply.
     
  11. Roxy

    Roxy Senior Member

    As a slight aside, personnel at RAF Woodvale have been given preferential treatment at the Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club in recognition of the support given to the club (mostly in the form of petrol for the mowers!) to permit them to keep their greens in order during the War.

    Roxy
     
  12. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    An excerpt from 'Wheels of the RAF', by Bruce Robertson
    Oversees between the wars, levelling and grass-cutting were normally done by native labour by hand, and at aerodromes at home the Air Ministry laid down scales of payment per acre for grass-cutting by private contractors. During the Second World War, the contract method was continued, but in East Anglia the contractors could not keep up with the demand. Equipment was bought up from sports clubs, and aircraft tractors towed the equipment on the airfields.
     
  13. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    An excerpt from 'Wheels of the RAF', by Bruce Robertson

    Many thanks.
     
  14. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    Farmers usually cut the grass on airfields using their hay cutting equipment.The jobs would be undertaken to contract as determined by the "Ministry".One point to take into consideration was that many airfields were disguised as normal fields with artificial hedgerows and together with decoy airfields,closeby were constructed to deceive the Lufwaffe.

    Hay, when cut usually requires to be turned to effect continual drying otherwise any stored in a silo would run the risk of spontaneous combustion taking place.Overall,no matter what farming operations took place,the first priority was not to compromise the location of the airfield by uncontrolled farming activities.

    I heard of a prewar regular who was a member of an army contingent and whose role was to guard RAF Northolt during the B of B.He told me that after driving a tank across the grass airfield,he was given a rollicking by a RAF officer for making tracks across the airfield which he considered would easily be interpretated, from the air, as a site where military activities were taking place.
     
  15. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Farmers usually cut the grass on airfields using their hay cutting equipment.The jobs would be undertaken to contract as determined by the "Ministry".One point to take into consideration was that many airfields were disguised as normal fields with artificial hedgerows and together with decoy airfields,closeby were constructed to deceive the Lufwaffe.

    Hay, when cut usually requires to be turned to effect continual drying otherwise any stored in a silo would run the risk of spontaneous combustion taking place.Overall,no matter what farming operations took place,the first priority was not to compromise the location of the airfield by uncontrolled farming activities.

    I heard of a prewar regular who was a member of an army contingent and whose role was to guard RAF Northolt during the B of B.He told me that after driving a tank across the grass airfield,he was given a rollicking by a RAF officer for making tracks across the airfield which he considered would easily be interpretated, from the air, as a site where military activities were taking place.

    Thanks Harry. Never thought about camouflaged airfields (not sure how much of this still happened during the BofB.
     

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