Aircraft repair during WW2

[pbehn]

I remember seeing one emergency field that had a runway you could land on in any direction. Was it one of the three mentioned?

Well they were 9,000ft long and 750 ft wide with additional unobstructed areas 1,500 ft at each end and all close to the sea. The width of the runway was actually divided into three, two were controlled by air traffic control with the third left open for anyone to just land, for those who had no time to waste or simply no radio. All had FIDO (the fog clearing system using burners). Manston is in Kent (south England) Woodbridge is in Suffolk (East Anglia), Carnaby is in the most beautiful idyll you could imagine Gods chosen county of Yorkshire (see below).
RAF Manston - Wikipedia
RAF Carnaby - Wikipedia
RAF Woodbridge - Wikipedia
Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation - Wikipedia

To operate FIDO on the above airfields used 250,000 gallons of fuel per hour, which puts into perspective the difference in resources of the two sides, other normal airfields operating FIDO "ONLY" used 100,000 gallons/hour.



Post war Carnaby was used for motorcycle racing and I raced there many times. On the first meeting of the year in March 1982, 3 track marshalls were treated for exposure, it was completely wild. On what was the circuit the place was so huge you had no idea that it was a former airfield, just a massive area of concrete.

 

[billrunnels]

Well they were 9,000ft long and 750 ft wide with additional unobstructed areas 1,500 ft at each end and all close to the sea. The width of the runway was actually divided into three, two were controlled by air traffic control with the third left open for anyone to just land, for those who had no time to waste or simply no radio. All had FIDO (the fog clearing system using burners). Manston is in Kent (south England) Woodbridge is in Suffolk (East Anglia), Carnaby is in the most beautiful idyll you could imagine Gods chosen county of Yorkshire (see below).
RAF Manston - Wikipedia
RAF Carnaby - Wikipedia
RAF Woodbridge - Wikipedia
Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation - Wikipedia

To operate FIDO on the above airfields used 250,000 gallons of fuel per hour, which puts into perspective the difference in resources of the two sides, other normal airfields operating FIDO "ONLY" used 100,000 gallons/hour.



Post war Carnaby was used for motorcycle racing and I raced there many times. On the first meeting of the year in March 1982, 3 track marshalls were treated for exposure, it was completely wild. On what was the circuit the place was so huge you had no idea that it was a former airfield, just a massive area of concrete.

Thanks for the reply. I probably saw more than one and didn't realize it. It is great learning about things I saw or did at this ripe old age. Your response made my day. Thanks

 

[fubar57]

Again something new....FIDO. And the fuel consumption, mercy me.
Fido: Britain's first defence against fog

 

[fubar57]

View: https://youtu.be/gAIjxaJ2_Ag



View: https://youtu.be/fTNs8AfF2cs

 

[pbehn]

Thanks for the reply. I probably saw more than one and didn't realize it. It is great learning about things I saw or did at this ripe old age. Your response made my day. Thanks

My pleasure Bill. As a motorcycle racer, so many WW2 airfields were turned into race circuits that being part of the sport meant being a part of the history. I will never forget having a few beers in the "Pub" next to Snetterton race circuit called "The Angel". At the time the back room still had pictures and graffiti of the 386th and 96th bomb groups personnel who were stationed there.

 

[pbehn]

Again something new....FIDO. And the fuel consumption, mercy me.
Fido: Britain's first defence against fog

It is staggering. There were times when all of the UK was blanketed with fog, this wasn't just weather but also pollution. To operate all the FIDO equipped airfields for one hour is much more than 1 million gallons. This at a time when Me262s were being towed to take off to save fuel, I know they are different fuels but is a great illustration of the resource difference.

 

[pbehn]

Fubar, that video would have made a lovely present for Goering at Christmas 1944, something to make him feel all warm and optimistic.

 

[billrunnels]

My pleasure Bill. As a motorcycle racer, so many WW2 airfields were turned into race circuits that being part of the sport meant being a part of the history. I will never forget having a few beers in the "Pub" next to Snetterton race circuit called "The Angel". At the time the back room still had pictures and graffiti of the 386th and 96th bomb groups personnel who were stationed there.

A brush with history.I assume we left a lot of that in the UK. Thanks for sharing, it stimulates my memory of that time.

 

[pbehn]

A brush with history.I assume we left a lot of that in the UK. Thanks for sharing, it stimulates my memory of that time.

The pictures were obviously old but were a great collection, some formal groups others just guys having a good time, the whole room had a great atmosphere. When I posted "graffiti" it was in no way vandalism, it was names and messages written on certain parts, obviously with the consent of the owners. There is a memorial at Snetterton to the US aviators which is impressive and beautiful. As I said most UK circuits are based on WW2 airfields, usually built on the taxi perimeter but sometimes using the runways. Thruxton and Silverstone still have an airfield for light aircraft within them. Most still used the control tower for the commentators. At RAF Ouston you turned off the main straight otherwise known as the runway just before the white markings that showed where the runway started. Silloth still had a huge WW2 hangar about 30 yards from the race track while Elvington was still an airfield, one side car race was halted when a parachutist landed on the first corner just before the start.

 

[billrunnels]

The pictures were obviously old but were a great collection, some formal groups others just guys having a good time, the whole room had a great atmosphere. When I posted "graffiti" it was in no way vandalism, it was names and messages written on certain parts, obviously with the consent of the owners. There is a memorial at Snetterton to the US aviators which is impressive and beautiful. As I said most UK circuits are based on WW2 airfields, usually built on the taxi perimeter but sometimes using the runways. Thruxton and Silverstone still have an airfield for light aircraft within them. Most still used the control tower for the commentators. At RAF Ouston you turned off the main straight otherwise known as the runway just before the white markings that showed where the runway started. Silloth still had a huge WW2 hangar about 30 yards from the race track while Elvington was still an airfield, one side car race was halted when a parachutist landed on the first corner just before the start.

Thanks for the info. Is the US graffiti offensive in any way today or is it accepted as the norm?

 

[nuuumannn]

Pbehn, did you ever race up in Scotland at all?

Just getting back to aircraft maintenance during wartime, a good team of engineers can do any type of maintenance on an aeroplane anywhere - the big thing being availability of tooling and ground service equipment (GSE, cranes etc). Aircraft maintenance at a well supplied air base, with good workshops and ample space, means that the engineers can do what's required to the airframes, scheduled maintenance or otherwise in-situ, particularly if the base was far from repair depots. Every aircraft has a maintenance schedule based on cycles and flight hours, so inspections were regularly carried out and work arising based on these was also done. Obviously in wartime, unscheduled maintenance, i.e. defect rectification probably took on a priority unexpected in civil times, but it was always intended that regular inspections were expected and schedules kept. Different aeroplanes have different inspection and repair criteria and although these days things are a lot more structrued than they were in wartime, the same degree of planning was required. The big thing being available man hours, facilities and tooling and also space, particularly the latter on a busy airfield; a lot was done under the stars.

The big driver of course is requirement versus availability of aircraft based on their maintenance schedule, so sending airframes away unnecessarily was probably avoided. I'd imagine during the war that busy air stations were chasing their tails with repair work as much as attempting to keep the planned maintenance schedule for each machine. These days most MROs (maintenance, repair, overhaul facilities) have planning and maintenance control departments, but at a wartime airfield, such luxuries were probably not available and decisions as to which airframe gets taken off the line would have been made by the chief engineer. Depending on where the air base was and how close it was to a heavy maintenance base, the aeroplanes would have undergone everything where they were; there would have been no point sending an aeroplane away for maintenance if it could be done in-situ, like rebuilding flight controls, scab patches, even heavy maintenance (major structural inspections, in the airline industry C and D checks) etc, but again, this depended on the facilities available at the air base. Without good workshops and tooling etc, airframes and parts would have to be sent away.

In my job we have a team of guys who travel around the country doing maintenance at poky little airports around the place, but parts have to be sent with them and again, what is done is restricted by what GSE is available. Obviously engineers take their own tools with them, socket sets, screw drivers, ratchets, spanners etc, but if something needs to be done where a hydraulic line is opened and there's no rig to do pressure and integrity checks, the work is delayed until the airframe gets to home base and it's put under dispensation of sorts - in the airline industry this is called MEL, which is divided into categories depending on the severity of the defect and the system affected. For example, if you have a de-ice boot that doesn't inflate, the aeroplane cant fly in rain. If its a cargo bay light, an MEL item, then a bulb change has to be done within a period of time, but it won't ground the aeroplane. If its more serious, pax cannot be carried and a ferry flight is carried out to get the aircraft home as soon as possible. Obviously requirements during the war would have differed, but getting teams of guys to isolated places would have happened.

 

[pbehn]

Thanks for the info. Is the US graffiti offensive in any way today or is it accepted as the norm?

Well that bar has a web site and it looks like it has been completely re decorated.
The Angel Inn Larling

However such things are treated as a part of life and history, there is a famous mirror in a café in York which bears the signature of hundreds of Allied aviators (scratched by diamond rings) from all over the world, it was so popular that there was a joke/rumour that it was the only bar in the UK to be on a LW target list. It is perhaps the most elegant café in Northern England, and is very proud of its "vandalised" mirror.
Bettys Mirror

Where I live in North Eastern England was mainly areas of RAF and RCAF Bomber,Coastal and Fighter command. US forces were generally further south but all I have seen is that the people around these airfields were proud of the association.

 

[SuperFire]

May I make a title suggestion? "The Dopers." LOL! Kidding; look forward to your book! I love it when the least written about get written about.

 

[billrunnels]

Well that bar has a web site and it looks like it has been completely re decorated.
The Angel Inn Larling

However such things are treated as a part of life and history, there is a famous mirror in a café in York which bears the signature of hundreds of Allied aviators (scratched by diamond rings) from all over the world, it was so popular that there was a joke/rumour that it was the only bar in the UK to be on a LW target list. It is perhaps the most elegant café in Northern England, and is very proud of its "vandalised" mirror.
Bettys Mirror

Where I live in North Eastern England was mainly areas of RAF and RCAF Bomber,Coastal and Fighter command. US forces were generally further south but all I have seen is that the people around these airfields were proud of the association.

That's good news.

 

[Ascent]

The Eagle in Cambridge has the ceiling in one of the bars covered in graffiti from WWII airmen. Don't know how much is from US airmen but there were a lot of American airbases in the area and there is an American military cemetery just outside town.

 

[billrunnels]

The Eagle in Cambridge has the ceiling in one of the bars covered in graffiti from WWII airmen. Don't know how much is from US airmen but there were a lot of American airbases in the area and there is an American military cemetery just outside town.

Thanks for the info. Cambridge was one of our favorite places to go when we had time off. Our navigator and I would rent a canoe and float down the river. Relaxing time needed.

 

[C.Warren]

Hi Iana,
The CRU or Civilian Repair unit, No 1 Cowley Oxford.
Was a major site for repairs, pilots would fly their craft in if possible or it would be shipped in on trailer.

Oxford Times
Car workers' skills kept RAF planes in battle

Wiki
Civilian Repair Organisation - Wikipedia

And some parts of the plant are still unchanged still!

 

[Ascent]

Thanks for the info. Cambridge was one of our favorite places to go when we had time off. Our navigator and I would rent a canoe and float down the river. Relaxing time needed.

Cambridge is a lovely place. Where were you based? I live near a number of RAF bomber bases north of Cambridge.

 

[billrunnels]

Cambridge is a lovely place. Where were you based? I live near a number of RAF bomber bases north of Cambridge.

I was with the 303rdBG at Molesworth.

 

[Ascent]

I was with the 303rdBG at Molesworth.

That's about 30 minutes drive away, the other side of Huntingdon. I've seen signs for RAF Molesworth but never seen the camp.