Nuuumannn's UK Tour of 2018

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Dover Castle is a fascinating place and like many of these sites I visited, I only had time to drop in and see what I wanted to see before departing again, although you really need a whole day to spend there to see everything. On the grounds is this wee memorial.

2307 Dover Bleriot Memorial inscription

The Bleriot memorial is located on a slope to the eastern side of the point on which the castle stands and takes the shape of the Bleriot XI he flew.

2307 Dover Bleriot Memorial

The following image, stolen off the net, was taken from just past the furthest wee bollard, around where the gap in the two wooden fences is, in the previous photo:

https://doverhistorian.files.wordpr...july-1909-plane-courtesy-of-dover-library.jpg

This is the entrance to the tunnel network beneath the castle grounds, from where the RN conducted cross-channel operations and, significantly, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation at Dunkirk was managed. This is where the guided tours start from. Access is via a tour only and is strictly controlled. I don't understand why, but there was no photography allowed, but I didn't find this out until the guide caught me taking a picture of the ops room!

2307 Dover Castle tunnel entrance

Graffiti on the tunnel walls by those who built them.

2307 Dover Castle tunnels graffiti

On the tour, as with most things there days visitors have to suffer rather naff audio visual presentations that give stock video footage of the war up to the point of Dynamo. Really dull, but good to be in the place from where the operation was conceived and conducted.

2307 Dover Castle tunnels

This is the Ops room, from where Dynamo was managed. I was told off for taking photographs in here!

2307 Dover Castle Ops Room

Above ground again, this was an operations bunker built during the Great War and was used for air defence; there was a searchlight on the roof and anti-zeppelin guns in the surrounding spaces.

2307 Dover Castle OP

Dover Castle. Owing to time, I avoided going into 'Medieval World'.

2307 Dover Castle

The ramparts surrounding the castle were far more interesting to me. A 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun in its purpose built enclosure. This was in operation during WW2.

2307 Dover Castle AA gun

Aaah, the White Cliffs...

2307 White Cliffs of Dover

Just outside of Dover on the back road to St Margarets Bay is Swingate and surviving Chain Home towers. Built in 1936, their repurposing in modern times is obvious. Following the decommissioning of Chain Home, they became part of the Swingate Transmitting Station for FM transmissions and there were three towers in existence.

2307 Swingate Chain Home towers

A rather lengthy explanation here: Chain Home - Wikipedia

Swingate itself has considerable significance; the towers are located on the landing ground of a former airfield. Swingate was an RFC and RNAS airfield during the Great War, from where the first aeroplanes to head across to the continent departed. No.s 2, 3, 4 and 5 Squadrons, RFC and the RNAS Eastchurch Flight took off from this field and flew to France in August 1914, where they remained for the next four years. Nothing remains of the hangars that were built here, with this roadway being the only remnant of the site.

2307 Kent Swingate airfield

A memorial to the site's history.

2307 Kent RFC Swingate memorial

Next, Manston airport and the last, last visitor sites.
 
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Back from fixing broken aeroplanes... Manston airfield has one of the biggest runways in the UK and of course played a significant part in the Battle of Britain, being quite close to France. As a result, there are two aviation museums there, separated by a car park. The RAF Manston History Museum is surprising in its depth and content, with a number of airframes hemmed into its building, which served as motor transport sheds dating back to 1916 when Manston was an RNAS airfield. Buccaneer S.2B XV352 forward fuselage section, one of a few noses noseying around.

2307 RAF Manston History Museum Buccaneer nose

Westland Wessex HU.5 XS482 devoid of rotors.

2307 RAF Manston History Museum Wessex

The hot end of a J79 from an F-4J(UK) Phantom, as opposed to the F-4K and M powered by two Rolls-Royce Speys.

2307 RAF Manston History Museum J79

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11 surrounded by crap, as is accepted practice in British aviation museums. The Meteor is one of the more fascinating airframes on display, but it is difficult to photograph.

2307 RAF Manston History Museum Meteor

CT-133 Silver Star decorated as T-33A 51-17415 of the 512th FIS stationed at RAF Manston in the 1950s - again, surrounded by crap.

2307 RAF Manston History Museum T-33

PZL TS.11 Iskra; I suspect this type has never been based at Manston...

2307 RAF Manston History Museum Iskra

Jaguar GR.3 XZ106 is hiding behind steel barriers, which, playing the same game I indulged in at Farnborough, I managed to avoid getting in my photo.

2307 RAF Manston History Museum Jaguar

Lightning F.6 XR770, formerly stored at RAF Waddington. The Lightning oozes power from every angle.

2307 RAF Manston History Museum Lightning

A reproduction of a Fieseler Fi 103 outside the museum entrance, with the old airfield site stretching out into the distance.

2307 RAF Manston History Museum Fi 103

Next, the very last visitor site of my trip.
 
Just across the car park is the appropriately named Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum, with, you guessed it, a Spitfire and Hurricane squashed in among sundry other interesting things. The Spitfire is LF.XVIe TB752 and formerly saw action with 66 Sqn during the war against road and rail traffic in occupied Europe. Placed on the gate at Manston, it rotted away until enterprising locals raised funds for it to be memorialised in a purpose built enclosure.

2307 Manston Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Spitfire XVI

The 222 Sqn Honours board is a section of wing from a Messerschmitt Bf 109.

2307 Manston Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial 222 Sqn Battle Honours

This remarkable piece of machinery is the tail wheel unit of a Short Stirling, with its retraction motor at right.

2307 Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Stirling tail wheels

A mini bouncing bomb used for ballistics trials that was dropped at Reculver Beach, just round the coast from Manston. This was one of six bouncing bombs I saw on my trip.

2307 Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial mini bouncing bomb

Hurricane IIc LF571 never saw wartime squadron service, and stood on guard outside RAF Bentley Priory for 30 years, before undergoing refurbishment and display here. It's in the markings of BN230 of 43 Squadron.

2307 Manston Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Hurricane

Manston's old control tower and watch office has been extensively modified, but is no longer in use.

2307 Manston old control tower

This stone is a memorial to the men of the Fleet Air Arm that flew from Manston. A section of it reads: "This stone overlooks the grass field from which 18 men took off in their outdated Fairey Swordfish Biplanes on the 12 February 1942. Affectionately known as Stringbags, the planes set out to intercept three heavily armed ships of the German Navy on passge through the English Channel to safe haven in Germany. The action became known as the Channel Dash. Thirteen of the 18 crewmembers lost their lives in the action. Five survived, only one of whom was not injured. All of the Swordfish were destroyed."

2307 Manston FAA Memorial

That was the last memorial I photographed on my trip. This was my hire car, a 2018 Mercedes A-Class with out of balance wheels.

2407 Mercedes A200

My ride home.

2407 Big Bird Come Take Me Home

So, that, folks, concludes my 2018 tour of the UK. I drove over 1,300 miles in three different hire vehicles and travelled over 2,500 miles in a tour bus, as well as flights to Edinburgh and back to London. I had the time of my life and took thousands of photographs, a small snippet of them you have seen here. If you go to this link, you can see them in sequence, with a few more that I haven't added here.

United Kingdom Tour 2018

Thanks for looking.
 
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Great stuff!
I thoroughly enjoyed your tour, though not as much as you obviously did There are some places you visited that I didn't even know existed.
I've been following the entire adventure, but waited to say thanks until the end.
Cheers
Steve
 

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