Hard runways in WWII (2 Viewers)

[BiffF15]

The BUFFs I serviced as a firefighter, doing standbys for MITOs, were lifting off not far past the midway-point of our 11,000' runway at Carswell. My truck was at the midpoint of the runways/taxiways there and they were lifting off not very far past me at all, perhaps 7,000' rollout all told?

I don't know what engines they had. 7th BW flew B-52H models when I was there. Smoky as hell, fo' sho. Peeling off left and right ASAP, too.

Not Carswell but Minot AFB, but you can see how much runway is underneath them at liftoff, these guys were bucking for altitude.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6VFeDJNNzw&t=4s

Thump,

I would think if they (B-52s) were airborne at the 7k they were not heavily loaded. Those runways were built for worst case max effort hot day take offs. That is probably what drove the original length.

While F-16s can take off in 5-6k it eats up even more on landing. I think their min runway length is in the 7-8k range when operating clean. The F15 min length was 1K less in the clean configuration and could be waived lower by the OG/CC. We both required cables at least one end of the field.

Cheers,
Biff

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Thump,

I would think if they (B-52s) were airborne at the 7k they were not heavily loaded. Those runways were built for worst case max effort hot day take offs. That is probably what drove the original length.

While F-16s can take off in 5-6k it eats up even more on landing. I think their min runway length is in the 7-8k range when operating clean. The F15 min length was 1K less in the clean configuration and could be waived lower by the OG/CC. We both required cables at least one end of the field.

Cheers,
Biff

They obvs don't have external stores -- neither did ours for our IG/ORI ops -- but I'm pretty sure ours had internal stores, since we'd done standbys on the uploads. I think they were inert.

They only launches of live weapons I recall was with the 301 TFW(R) which shared the base -- F-4s and later F-16s launching with missiles.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

This site has good information on Lutfwaffe airfields, with lots of information about infrastructure including runway types.

Just choose the country location of the airfield, and they are listed alphabetically.

Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-1945

Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-1945 by Henry L. deZeng IV

www.ww2.dk

 

[MikeMeech]

This site has good information on Lutfwaffe airfields, with lots of information about infrastructure including runway types.

Just choose the country location of the airfield, and they are listed alphabetically.

Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-1945

Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-1945 by Henry L. deZeng IV

www.ww2.dk

Hi
Reference WW2 German airfields, here is an early war image of Gutersloh Aerodrome from a 1940 British book 'Britain's Wonderful Fighting Forces' by Captain Ellison Hawks, RA. Written before the fall of France.

Mike

 

[MikeMeech]

Hi
Wartime images of wire netting type of reinforcement of landing grounds.
First from 1940 book mentioned in previous post, page 141:

And in later book 'Warfare Today', probably early 1944 (has images of invasion of Italy in), page 130, rolling out wire (possibly US Troops):

Mike