Manston's twin Museums Visit, Sept. 2024.

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Airframes

Benevolens Magister
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Aug 24, 2008
Cheshire, UK
The Hurricane & Spitfire Memorial Museum, and The RAF Manston History Museum.

Karl and I visited both of these Museums on September 11th, with the highlight of (and main reason for) our visit being the "flying" sessions in the superb Avro Lancaster simulator, and the Spitfire Mk.XVI cockpit simulator, of which more later.
Some of the photos and descriptions have already been posted in my "The Travels of Tel's Tin Tent" thread, but this thread is intended to provide more in-depth background on the Museums, their location and exhibits.
Both are relatively small Museums, literally next door to each other, and located on the northern edge of the perimeter track of this former RAF airfield, situated on the north east coast of the county of Kent, one mile north of the coastal town and port of Ramsgate.

The present airfield opened in 1915, originally as a Royal Naval Air Service station, and was expanded between the wars, when it became RAF Manston, originally still a grass airfield.
Possibly one of the most famous RAF airfields of WW2, Manston was heavily bombed during the Battle of Britain, but survived and continued to operate. It was from here, from 1941 onwards that many of the early fighter sweeps into France were launched, and the station continued to operate as a fighter base throughout the war, with aircraft such as Hurricanes, Spitfires and Typhoons regularly being based there.
Manston was the base used during the trials of the Barnes Wallis "Upkeep" mine, the famous "bouncing bomb" used against the Ruhr dams in 1943, when the Lancasters used in the trials took off from here to drop the weapons on the nearby Reculver range.
Later in WW2, the airfield was designated as one of three Emergency Landing Grounds (the others being Woodbridge, in Suffolk, and Carnaby in East Yorkshire), and the runway was surfaced and vastly extended, being 9,000 feet long, and 750 feet wide, with a further clear area at each end measuring 1,500 feet. This was to allow seriously damaged bombers to safely land, close to the coast, on their return from operations over Europe, and no doubt helped in saving numerous crews, both RAF and Allied.
The station was also used as one of the launch points during the "Market Garden" airborne operation to Holland in September 1944 and, earlier that year, in July, the first Gloster Meteor jet fighters in service arrived on the airfield, when RAF 616 Squadron took up residence.
Post war, the RAF continued operations at Manston, until the USAF used the airfield, operating such types a the B-47, F-84 and F-86.
By 1960, the USAF had moved out, and the airfield returned to RAF control, operating various types, including Whirlwind, Wessex and Sea King helicopters in the SAR role, and was also shared by civilian airlines operating "package holiday" flights.
In 1989, the airfield became known as Kent International Airport, with a new terminal building, and various charter and regular operators providing services, as well as general light aviation using the airfield.
Manston was also a Master Diversion Airfield, being open for emergencies 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.
The RAF maintained a presence here, with the Defence Fire Training School providing fire and rescue training and development until its closure in 2021, the duties being taken over by the Army.
Although the airfield itself closed at this time, many aviation companies still use the facilities around the perimeter, and many WW2 era buildings and installations can still be seen. Manston was also one of the airfields considered as a "base" for the filming of the recent Apple TV mini-series "Master of the Air", although ultimately the former RAF airfield at Abingdon (now an Army base) was used instead.
It is believed that the airfield will re-open for civilian use with in the next couple of years.

I'll cover the Museums separately, the order that we visited them, as described below.

The Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum.

The first set of pics below show the location of Manston on the north east coast of Kent in relation to northern Europe, the airfield, and the location of the two Museums (note the main runway in the centre of the WW2 extended runway, and compare the width of the latter in relation to a "standard" runway).
Also shown are the exterior of the Museum building, some of the monuments outside the main entrance, and a general view of part of the excellent cafe, with a view of the adjacent RAF Manston History Museum, taken from the cafe terrace, and, finally, the Museum as seen from the perimeter track.

Much more to come, with the exhibits from this Museum, and the fantastic Lancaster simulator............


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Thanks chaps.

The first of the main "attractions" at this museum is Hurricane Mk.IIc, LF751.
This aircraft saw varied use in the training role during WW2, and then spent almost 30 years as a "gate guardian" outside RAF Bentley Priory.
The Hurricane was restored to static display standard by Medway Aircraft Preservation Society, and now wears the colours and codes of RAF 43 Squadron, with the serial number BL230, being representative of one of that Squadron's aircraft.
Displayed alongside the Hurricane is a smaller, scale cockpit section, intended for children up to 10 years old, where they can "get a feel" for what it was like to fly a Hurricane, a neat idea to encourage the younger generation.

More to come soon ..................


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The other "main attraction" of the Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum is, of course, a Spitfire, in this case Spitfire LF.XVI serial number TB752.
The aircraft is displayed as it looked during its final wartime service, with 403Sqn, RCAF (the aircraft's history is shown in the final pic of the display board).
There is some debate concerning the black tail band, which was applied during the restoration by MAPS, following the study of a wartime B&W photo.
Some think that the "Sky" tail band was overpainted in black in line with the March 1945 directive to remove the "Sky" band, whilst another reason that has been put forward is that it was possibly intended as a recognition band when the Spitfire was used as the formation aircraft for the victory fly-past in Copenhagen in 1945.
Although the latter is possible, I personally think that a brighter colour would have been used (unless the intention was a mark of respect for the civilian lives lost during the attack on Shell House in March 1945 ?).
Having seen the photo at the Museum, my belief (and I could, of course, be wrong !) is that the tone in the wartime B&W image was misinterpreted, where the original "Sky" band was overpainted with fresh Dark Green and Ocean Grey (or perhaps just one of these colours), and the resultant darker shade and angle of lighting was thought to be black.

Anyway, here are the few shots I managed to obtain in this crowded area, including a couple of detail shots. Note the case and link deflectors at the ejector ports beneath the wing.

Back with more from this Museum soon ...............


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There is another Spitfire on display in this Museum, or at least a substantial section of the fuselage and cockpit.
This is Battle of Britain veteran MkIa, P9337 of 222 Squadron, and had been flown by Douglas Bader on seven sorties from Duxford between April and June 1940.
The aircraft is known to have scored one "kill", a Me110, when flown by "Tubby" Mermagen over Dunkirk, and the history of the aircraft, details of its crash, and details of the victory, are shown on the information boards included in this set of photos.

The aircraft is destined for further restoration, hopefully to airworthy status, and the colour of the cockpit interior is worth noting. More like US Interior or Bronze Green than the standard RAF Cockpit Grey Green, I was unable to ascertain if this shade was applied during an earlier restoration stage.
Although difficult to determine, the overall appearance and patina look almost original, but I doubt that this colour was ever used in production, and some areas show what appear to be patches of the original Grey Green finish beneath the darker shade.

The first photo shows a German MG17 in the foreground, rescued from a downed Bf109E, with the starboard side of the Spitfire fuselage behind.
Note the later style "blown" canopy, not quite correct for a BoB period Spitfire, but at least it has a genuine canopy, and is an extremely interesting and valuable exhibit.

Still more to come from this Museum, with some general exhibits, and the Lancaster and Spitfire cockpit simulators..........


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Continuing with just a small selection of some of the artefacts on display, including memorabilia from 403 Sqn, RCAF, the 222 Sqn wartime "scoreboard" on a section of Luftwaffe aircraft panel, some of the many models, and, showing Manston's association with the Glider Pilot Regiment, a Sten Mk.III SMG and the much improved Sten Mk.V, the latter for some reason without the wooden foregrip.
The final pic in this selection shows a captured Luftwaffe flying suit and helmet, described by a fairly mature, male visitor as being from "The German RAF" !!!
Still more to follow ...................


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The Lancaster simulator experience.


And now on to the main reason for our visit, and very definitely the highlight of the day - the sessions "flying" the Lancaster and Spitfire simulators.
I'd pre-booked and paid for a session for both of us on the Lancaster, with an option for the Spitfire for Karl too, as I knew I wouldn't be able to get Into and out of the Spitfire cockpit (unless there was a HIAB hoist handy !).
As it happened, I was far too stiff and in a bit of pain on the day, and was therefore unable to manage the climb into and out of the Lancaster pilot's seat. Consequently, I did the "flight" sitting/standing in the Navigator's position, taking photos of the whole set-up, whilst Karl "flew" the beast.
I arranged for my Lancaster "fee" to cover Karl's flight in the Spitfire, and donated the remainder of the fee to the Museum (entry is free, but donations are always welcome).

First, a little background about the Lancaster forward fuselage replica, and the instructor for the day.
The superb replica was built, over a six year period, by 86 year old Norman Groom, using genuine Lancaster parts and fittings inside the fuselage which was constructed using Avro drawings and careful measurement of the IWM, Lambeth, Lancaster nose section, and was acquired by the Museum earlier this year.
The exterior is painted to represent a Lancaster of 75 (NZ) Squadron, RAF, as flown by Jerry Abrams, who completed 31 missions on Lancs towards the end of WW2. Jerry was a long-standing member of the Museum team, but sadly passed away in January, at the age of 99. The Lancaster simulator is maintained as a tribute to Jerry, and all of the young men who served with Bomber Command during the war.
As can be seen in the photos, the fuselage consists of the cockpit and Navigator's station, and stretches aft to include the W/Op (radio operator) station, with the seat for this position exactly as it would be, mounted on the main spar. Fortunately, the spar itself is not included, making it much easier to access the interior (even for the able-bodied!)
The attention to detail is outstanding, with even the radio and navigation equipment presented in "live" mode, and I've attempted to illustrate this in some of the interior shots.
The pilot's controls and instruments have been linked to a simulator, working in "real time", and everything works as it would in the "real thing".

Our Instructor / Flight Engineer on the day was museum volunteer Steve Tinsdale, a former RAF F.E on the C-130 Hercules, who had also done a "tour" as F.E. on the BBMF Lancaster, and his experience and knowledge really showed (he was also rather complimentary to us both, being pleased that we were knowledgeable and "knew our stuff".)
The "flight" was due to last around 30 minutes, although I'm fairly sure we had over 45 minutes, and involved a take-off from Manston, heading towards the Thames estuary, before turning west to fly up the river, then under the Dartford bridge (to simulate the low-level flight of the Dams raid), before a "touch and go" at London Heathrow, then back down the river heading east, under the bridge again, and a return to Manston and final landing.
As in the real aircraft, Steve, as Flight Engineer, operated the throttles, flaps and landing gear etc, whilst instructing as Karl did the flying.
Even though I was only observing, I thoroughly enjoyed the session, experiencing a sense of motion and watching the instruments as the various adjustments were made. Also, having been in three "real" Lancasters (one in flight), I was very impressed at how authentic and accurate the whole experience was.
I was also impressed at how well Karl did, especially after getting more accustomed to the controls, and overall he "flew" very well, with only a couple of minor errors (to be expected), but I won't mention being partly submerged in the Thames during the second pass under the Dartford bridge - er, oops !!

The first set of photos below show the Lanc fuselage, the interior, with Karl receiving his initial briefing (using available light for "atmosphere"), a simulated "night" shot of the H2s displays in the Navigator's position, and some of Karl "flying" with Steve Tinsdale operating as F.E./Instructor.
Look closely, and the variations in rate of climb and altitude can be seen in the "flying" shots.

More to follow of this, and the Spitfire simulator soon ..........................


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Continuing with the Lancaster, and some general shots showing the overall attention to detail inside the fuselage, with the radio and "Fishpond" equipment, the Navigator's station complete with A.P.I., P.P.I., "Gee" and H2s displays, the swivel seat and a rather poor shot of the drift meter. Note the authentic control units beneath the Nav table.
Also shown are the details around the cockpit, with U/C and trim controls and Pilot's seat, the folding Engineer's seat and webbing back support, and part of the main Engineer's instrument panel and fuel cocks etc.

Back tomorrow with the Spitfire simulator, and more ..............


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Looks like an amazing display Terry and, as you say, an impressive attention to detail. Catching up a bit here so here's a rather poor wartime shot of Spitfire KHoZ from which the black interpretation of the band may have been made. I would support your view of it having been done with fresh Dark Green though.

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EDIT: Further to this, I found this picture of 403 Sqn Spitfires at airfield B.56 in Belgium, January, 1945. Perhaps a case could be made for the black band?

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