RAF Elvington - A Pictorial Tour.

T Bolt said:

Another great museum tour thread! Looks like Karl needed a heaver coat there!

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F*****G right i did, it was cold but dry on the morning and then the lads turned up dragging the rain with them at lunch time !!!!!!

I would have been out of place in my Shorts! great pics Terry...

Wayne Little said:

I would have been out of place in my Shorts! great pics Terry...

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just a bit mate !!!!

Wayne Little said:

I would have been out of place in my Shorts! great pics Terry...

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Just about as much as a kangaroo somewhere around the north pole mate....

Yep, it was rather wet, cold and windy, which brought it home to us what it must have been like to be stationed on a typical bomber base in WW2. No central heating or hot water on demand in those days, with bare tin huts or concrete buildings the only shelter from the wide-open spaces lashed by rain and wind.
A short deviation now from looking at the aircraft exhibits, with a little background history to this preserved airfield, a real time capsule.
The airfield closed after the war, and was used by RAF Maintenance Command until 1952, when it was expanded for use by the USAFE SAC, the runway being lengthened to 1.92 miles. However, it was never used by SAC, being vacated in 1958.
The runway was used by Blackburn Aircraft Company, in the early 1960s, to test-fly the prototype Buccaneer and, after this, for 'touch-and-go' landings by training aircraft from the nearby RAF units at Church Fenton and Linton-on-Ouse, the facility finally closing for good in March 1992.
In the early 1980s, a local volunteer group had started to clear the heavy undergrowth which had enveloped the original wartime buildings, and made a start on refurbishing the Control Tower, and other buildings, searching and scouring the country for period artefacts to ensure an authentic and accurate presentation of how the base looked in 1944.
Today, the hard work of these stalwart volunteers is clearly evident in the superb reconstruction of the wartime base, exactly as it was, and this will be illustrated here, and later in the 'tour'.
PIC 1. A general view across part of the rain-lashed Operations Site (Tech Site in US parlance), showing the original concrete and brick 'Maycrete' huts and corrugated iron 'Nissen' huts. The drab camouflage colours are typical of the war period.
PIC 2. Even the transport for the Museum's volunteer staff is period correct !
PIC 3. A fine replica Spitfire guards the entrance to the hut containing the 609 (West Riding) Sqn memorial exhibition.
PIC 4. The main exhibition display in the 609 Sqn hut.
PICS 5 to 11. Some of the items on display, including a panel from the Typhoon flown by Roland Beamont, and a section of fin from a Ju88, shot down by the Squadron in October 1940, for their 100th victory.
PIC 12. 'Lest we Forget ....'
I hope you are enjoying the 'tour', and I'll post more pics very soon.

wow that pic through the window turned out great Terry

Great stuff. The rainy day seems to capture a suitable mood.

Thanks Andy. And yes, the poor weather certainly gave some idea of what it must have been like on such a base, as some of the photos of the airmen's billets will show later in the 'tour'.

Excellent shots Terry! And I'm with Karl, the shot through the window is great!

Thanks Aaron.

Good shots Terry!

Thanks Hugh.
I'll post some more later tonight. Unfortunately, due to the weather, and the conference the day before our visit, getting good shots of the aircraft was limited. Those normally displayed in the main 'T2' hangar were crowded around the Halifax, instead of being accessible as normal, and the rain really did make photography difficult - it was coming from all directions, and seemed to have an affinity with my camera lens!
However, I will be returning to the Museum three weeks from now, and hope that conditions, and the displays, will be better.

Great shots Mr Bigglesworth!

Thanks awfully Bertie old chap !
And on with the rain ... er, I mean show!
Some of the aircraft were still wearing their winter covers and others, like the Mirage and Tornados, are in the early stages of being re-painted and restored.
PICS 1 and 2. Dassault Mirage III. This one has French markings on one side, and Argentine markings on the other!
PICS 3 and 4. Hawker Hunter T7 in the colours of 'The Blue Diamonds', the 92 Sqn aerobatic display team from the 1960s.
PIC 5. Tornado GR1, with Dutch Air Force Hunter FGA78 behind. The Museum also has a later Tornado GR4, which will be shown later in the 'tour'.
PIC 6. Another view of the Nimrod shown earlier.
PIC 7. Taking shelter from the rain, we visited one of the larger 'Nissen' huts, which is now the 'NAAFI', more than once! Hot meals, snacks and drinks are served throughout the day, at reasonable prices. This view shows half of the building inside, with some nice, large-scale flying models hanging from the ceiling.
PICS 8 to 11. Some of the models glimpsed in the previous shot.
PIC 12. Just part of the 'VC Exhibition' in another section of the 'NAAFI', which covers all the VC holders in the RAF during WW2.
With luck, from the almost 300 pics I took, I should be able to keep this going up to my next visit in three weeks time, when I hope to get some better pics of the aircraft, and some areas of the Museum we didn't have time to view properly. Meanwhile, thanks for looking, and I'll post some more tomorrow.

Brilliant pictures Terry, shame about that infernal rain though. The Victor shot at the beginning is fantastic and was always one of my favourite 'V' bombers and it was a shame they were taken out of that role so soon.

Great stuff, Terry, the tech center buildings were reminiscent of some of the buildings we had at Lakenheath back in the 80s.

More excellent shots! Thank you for taking the time Terry.

Some great shots there Terry.

Thanks very much chaps. I'll post some more tonight.

Looking forward to those Terry.