All Posts

No.600 Sqn Bristol Blenheim I crashes at Manston – 11th March 1940

Bristol Blenheim Mark I, L1295 in flight above the clouds. This aircraft commenced service in August 1938 with No. 107 ...

Herald of Free Enterprise Disaster, 6th March 1987

RAF Search and Rescue teams in helicopters from No.22 Sqn at Manston were part of the rescue operation for the ...
Spitfire F37/34 Prototype, K5054, ground view. © IWM (MH 5212)

Spitfire Prototype K5054 maiden flight from Eastleigh airfield – 5th March 1936

Not directly related to Manston at the time, but the birth of another aircraft closely linked to Manston's later history ...
Crew of Lancaster NF988 or ME428

No.550 Sqn Avro Lancaster NF998 BQ-D Crash Landing – 24th February 1945

No.550 Sqn Lancaster I NF998 BQ-D crewed by Sgt. Melvin Tomas "Tom" Ditson RCAF (R.285781) - Mid Upper Air Gunner, ...
Avro Anson K6158

Avro Anson K6158 crashes near Ewell Minnis – 22nd February 1937

No.48 Sqn's Avro Anson K6158 flown by Sgt Plt Gwilym James Maurice (pilot, aged 23), Flt Lt George Edward Strangman ...

The Valentine’s Day ‘Battle of the MTB’ – 14th February 1943

In the channel a Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) had been disabled near the French coast between Dover and Cap Griz-Nez ...

Channel Dash – The Bravest of the Brave

12th February 2023 marked the 81st anniversary of the Channel Dash in 1942. Three of Germany's largest battleships ran the ...

Loss of F/O Henry “Harry” Hector MacKenzie (RCAF) – 3rd January 1944

No.198 Sqn Typhoon JR523 piloted by F/O Henry “Harry” Hector MacKenzie (RCAF) took off from Manston at 1143hrs as "Blue ...

A New Year’s Day present to the Germans of a Handley Page O/100 – 1st January 1917

A Handley Page O/100, #1463 flown by Flt Lt Henry Connell Vereker accompanied by HP 1462 of Sub Lt Sands ...

South Goodwin Lightship Disaster, 26/27th November 1954

On the night of the 26/27th November 1954, the South Goodwin Lightship's anchor chains failed during a hurricane force 12 ...

Air Speed Record set at Reculver, 7th November 1945

On 7th November 1945, Group Captain Hugh Joseph Wilson, CBE, AFC, Royal Air Force, Commandant of the Empire Test Pilots’ ...

An unexpected passenger in a Handley Page O/100 on 4th November 1916

Published with permission from 'Bloody Paralyser - The Giant Handley Page Bombers of the First World War' by Rob Langham (Fonthill ...

Manston’s role in Operation Market Garden, 17th September 1944

Troops preparing to board British Horsa type gliders at Manston Air Base, England. Believed to be before or during Operation ...

Battle of Britain Day, 15th September 1940

Pilots of No. 601 (County of London) Squadron run to their waiting Hurricane aircraft at RAF Northolt, 9 January 1941 ...

Prime Minister, Winston Churchill visits Manston on 28th August 1940

On this day, 28th August 1940 The Prime Minister Winston Churchill inspects bomb damage caused by Luftwaffe night raids in ...

On this day, 28th August 1942, 56 emergency landings

No.218 Sqn Short Stirling N3717 that crash landed at Manston early on 29th August 1942 and FAA Fairey Albacore. Photo ...

Heavy Luftwaffe raids on Manston and Ramsgate on 24th August 1940 leave the airfield unserviceable

Luftwaffe Recon photo some time after raids of 24/08/1940 Six heavy attacks, the first at 0600hrs (TBC) when approximately 80 ...

Gotha raid of 22nd August 1917 – Part of the first “Battle of Britain”

Flt Lt Arthur Frank Brandon with Sopwith Camel B3923 'Springbok'. Photo from Joe Bamford. During the First World War, the ...

Manston attacked on ‘The Hardest Day’, 18th August 1940

EVENING REFLECTION by Richard Taylor, used with permission © The Military Gallery www.militarygallery.com With soft evening sunlight radiant behind them, ...

The second large attack on Manston during the Battle of Britain, 14th August 1940

Bofors gun crew ready for action, November 1939. Location unknown. © IWM (H 145) At 1140hrs, a large formation of ...

Manston takes the full force of Luftwaffe attack against airfields, 12th August 1940

Manston, 12th August 1940 by Gerald Coulson. A depiction of No. 65 squadron taking off as the attack on Manston ...

Jet engine development, the Gloster Meteor and the V1 threat

RAF Manston yet again played its part in history when the jet engine age was born. In July 1944, the ...

Gloster Meteor Mk.4 “World Speed Record” 1:72

The very first British jet engine-powered fighter to see operational service was the Gloster Meteor. Following the wartime Meteor Mk.Is ...

Manston’s role on D-Day, 6th June 1944

On this day, 6th June 1944, known as D-Day, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of ...

USAF F-86D from Manston ordered to fire on UFO – May 20th 1957

Secret files are released In October 2008, a number of previously secret UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) files concerning UFO ...

Dambuster Bouncing Bomb Tests at Reculver and Manston

In May 1943, a top secret weapon was used against dams in the German Ruhr valley in an attempt to ...

F/Lt Baron Jean de Selys Longchamps’ Attack on Secret Police HQ and a hectic day for No.609 Squadron – 20th January 1943

F/Lt Baron Jean de Selys Longchamps DFC and dog (sometimes referred to as "Bullsh*t", sometimes "Spit") - Biggin Hill, October ...

Hurricane Homecoming by Stephen Brown

Hurricane Homecoming by Stephen Brown A Hawker Hurricane Mk IIB in the markings of 174 (Mauritius) Sqn based at RAF ...

The Manston Spy

One of the most notorious German spies of the Second World War period landed in Harwich on 29th August 1935 ...

Messerschmitt Bf109 “Black 12” crash lands at Manston, 27th November 1940

By Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK (Messerschmitt Bf109E-4/B ‘4101 / Black 12’ (DG200)) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia ...

Messerschmitt Bf 109 shot down by No.54 Sqn, crashes into Byron Avenue, Margate, 24th July 1940

No.54 Sqn's P/O Gray attacks a Bf 109 piloted by Lt Josef Schauff of 8/JG 26 over Margate. The German's ...

Two Messerschmitt Bf 109s land at Manston, 21st July 1944

Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/U2 (W.Nr. 412951) 'White 16' of 3./JG 301, one of two aircraft which landed in error at Manston ...

US Author John Steinbeck visits No.609 Sqn, writes article on William de Goat, 29th June 1943

No.609 Sqn ORB: This morning’s Roadstead consists of aircraft of all 3 Sqdns: 609, 3 and 184. Taking off at ...

A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1945-1999

BOOK DESCRIPTION Having been classified by the Air Ministry as a 'Master Diversion' airfield, RAF Manston was for many years ...

Last Round at Reculver by Paul’s Aviation Art

Last Round at Reculver by Paul’s Aviation Art. 8-14th May 1943. From the artist:Three Type 464 (Provisioning) Lancasters lead by ...

Evening Trials at Reculver by Paul’s Aviation Art

Evening Trials at Reculver by Paul's Aviation Art. 8-14th May 1943. From the artist:Local (Herne Bay and East  Kent) Dambuster's ...

Valor over Ramsgate by Paul’s Aviation Art

Valor over Ramsgate by Paul’s Aviation Art. 8th August 1940. Notes from the artist:Blenheim IF L8665 BQ-A of 600 sqd ...

Manston: 100 Years of Flight Project

As part of the RAF Manston Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum’s first ever Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) project, they aimed ...

Defiants over Dunkirk by Mark Postlethwaite

'Defiants over Dunkirk', by Mark Postlethwaite, used with permission. Boulton Paul Defiants of 264 Squadron engage Heinkel 111s of III/KG51 ...

Insight #3: Publication of updated Squadron and Units Timeline

During the lifetime of this project, we have been attempting to put together a more complete timeline of Squadrons and ...

Manston, 12th August 1940 by Gerald Coulson

Manston, 12th August 1940 by Gerald Coulson A German raid catches the airfield at Manston by surprise, and Spitfires are ...

Insight #2: Expanding the detail on Manston’s history

We hope to continue to expand posts on both Facebook and the website in due course after referring to the ...

The Mallon Crew

We are delighted to be able to share with you another book that has a connection to Manston. The author ...

“Typhoon Attack” by Robert Taylor

This classic piece by Robert Taylor contains all that a true Typhoon enthusiast could ask for! The scenario was inspired ...

Account by Doreen Maddison WAAF on International Women’s Day

On International Women's Day, it seems appropriate to remember the role played often behind the scenes by the WAAF, WRNS, ...

A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1941-1945

The third of the "Detailed History" books about RAF Manston was officially launched on 2nd March 2017 at the Holiday ...

Sanctuary! – The Stories Behind the Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum

Peter W J Neale has written a book (new for 2017) that details the history behind The Spitfire and Hurricane ...

From Battle of Britain Airman to PoW Escapee

This is the Second World War story of a champion cyclist turned airman who lived to tell the tale against ...

Insight #1: On This Day at Manston

Trying to piece together a more comprehensive day by day timeline for Manston was the initial goal that the current ...

“Evening Reflection” by Richard Taylor

With soft evening sunlight radiant behind them, Hauptmann Wolfgang Ewald, Gruppenkommandeur of 1./JG52, leads a schwarm of Bf109s back to ...

“Typhoon Scramble” by Richard Taylor

Led by Squadron Commander Roland “Bee” Beamont, Typhoons of 609 Squadron are dramatically illustrated as they scramble from their base ...

“The Channel Dash” by Robert Taylor

Undetected, the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, together with the cruiser Prinz Eugen and supporting vessels, had escaped from the French ...

“Winter of ’41” by Philip E. West

Heavy snow during the winter of 1941 often kept pilots and their aircraft grounded, despite the best efforts of the ...

“Channel Dash Heroes” – by Philip E. West

The Straits of Dover, 12th February 1942. Sub Lieutenant Edgar Lee helps his badly wounded pilot, Sub Lieutenant Brian Rose from ...

Operation Cerberus – The Channel Dash by Philip E. West

The Channel Dash was one of three operations during the Second World War for which the Swordfish was to become ...

“The Pride of Britain” by Philip E. West

The winter of ’41 is remembered well by Geoffrey Wellum, pilot of Spitfire ‘G’ for George. Bitter cold and heavy ...

Hawker Typhoon RB396 Restoration Project Launch

It was a very interesting afternoon yesterday (29th Oct 2016) at the Hawker Typhoon RB396 Restoration project launch, held at ...

Restoration of Typhoon RB396 has links back to Manston

After following the Hawker Typhoon RB396 Restoration page for a little while, we were very interested to find the link ...

Bloody Paralyser: The Giant Handley Page Bombers of the First World War

Bloody Paralyser: The Giant Handley Page Bombers of the First World War tells the story of the largest British bombers ...

Hawker Hurricane Survivors

With 2015 being the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain – arguably the Hawker Hurricane’s ‘finest hour’ – it ...

RAF Westhampnett – A Fighter Command Station at War

Situated close to the South Coast, on flat land to the north of Chichester in West Sussex, lies Goodwood Aerodrome ...

Battle of Britain Voices

DESCRIPTION July 1940, and Britain is the only European country which hasn’t caved in to Hitler’s Third Reich. Hitler’s stated ...

The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain

Unrivalled for its synthesis of all previous historical accounts, for the quality of its strategic analysis and its truly compulsive ...

A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1931-40: Arise to Protect

Throughout the 1930s, RAF Manston became established as one of the most important airfields in the country. No. 48 Squadron ...

Whirlwind: Westland’s Enigmatic Fighter

Faster and better armed than the Spitfire, the Whirlwind was the RAF’s counter to a new generation of armoured German ...

263 and 137 Squadrons: The Whirlwind Years

References to Manston to be confirmed. For many, the Westland Whirlwind conjures the image of yellow air-sea rescue helicopters, not ...

Lympne Airfield At War and Peace

Lympne Airfield: At War and Peace is the story of ‘Kent’s Garden Airfield’, so called because of its location on ...

A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1916-1930: The Men Who Made Manston

A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1916-1930: The Men Who Made Manston covers the development of aviation in Thanet up ...

Kent’s Own: The Story of No. 500 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force

‘Shrieking from the clouds, the Stukas achieved the measure of surprise they needed. The accuracy of the raid was good ...

From Moths to Merlins: RAF West Malling: Premier Night Fighter Station

As a small club airfield during the 1930s, West Malling was very popular with flyers. Taken over by the RAF ...

Tales from the Control Tower

Tales From The Control Tower is based on the author’s personal experiences of the Royal Air Force. It starts in ...

Run The Gauntlet: The Channel Dash 1942 (Raid)

In February 1942, three of the major ships of the German surface fleet - the battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and ...

To Scale the Skies: The Story of Group Captain J.C. ‘Johnny’ Wells DFC and BAR

With humble beginnings as an RAF apprentice, Johnny Wells progressed to pilot and rose to the higher echelons of command ...

Detling Airfield: A History 1915-1959

This is the story of Detling airfield, from its earliest days through its role in the Second World War - ...

The Battle of Britain (James Holland)

The Nazi Blitzkrieg was unlike any invasion the world had ever seen. It hit Europe with a force and aggression ...

Battle of Britain Airfields

References TBC DETAILS Hardcover: 160 pages Publisher: Midland Publishing (23 Sept. 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 1857803280 ISBN-13: 978-1857803280 Product Dimensions: ...

Finding the Foe: Outstanding Mysteries of the Battle of Britain and Beyond Investigated and Solved

DESCRIPTION A follow-up to Finding the Few, this companion volume deals with the postwar discovery and recovery of wartime Luftwaffe ...

Battle of Britain: A day-to-day chronicle, 10 July-31 October 1940

From the bestselling author of Fighter Boys and Bomber Boys, Battle of Britain is a magisterial and stunningly illustrated account ...

The Last Enemy

DESCRIPTION The Last Enemy is the story of Richard Hillary, one of Sebastian Faulks' three 'fatal englishmen'. In this extraordinary ...

Westhampnett At War

DETAILS Hardcover: 150 pages Publisher: Privately Published (2010) ASIN: B00V5510LM Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 16.7 x 2.8 cm ...

Airfields of the D-Day Invasion Air Force

As part of the Aviation Heritage Trail series, the airfields and interest in this book are concentrated in a particular ...

Arnhem 1944: The Airborne Battle

Arnhem was meant to end the war in Europe. The Germans were in retreat from Normandy and seemed to be ...

Kent Aviation – A Century of Flight

Using over 300 photographs, Roy Humphreys tells the story of civil and military aviation in Kent. From the excitement and ...

Manston Memories 1916-2006

Written by Doug Cockle (of the RAF Manston History Museum) - Details and availability TBC. DETAILS Paperback: 128 pages Publisher: ...

William de Goat: The Story of Air Commodore William de Goat DSO DFC, the extraordinary Mascot of 609 (West Riding) Squadron during the Second World War

Then we were up in the air; I tried to move around but was restrained. I really was special - ...

Heroes of Fighter Command – Kent

Kent remained at the centre of the conflict throughout the war, and the courageous pilots of Fighter Command received countless ...

Twilight of the Pistons: Air Ferry – a Manston Airline

Details to be added. DETAILS Author(s): Malcolm Finnis Publisher: Michaels Bookshop Date of Publication: 01/05/2007 Language(s): English Format: Paperback ISBN-10: ...

Throwley 1917-1919: Kent’s Forgotten Airfield

The forgotten airfield at Throwley, Faversham, Kent, which existed between 1917 and 1919, was created to aid Britain's coastal defence ...

Rise and Defend – The USAF At Manston 1950-1958

Taken over by the United States Air Force in 1950 as a direct result of the developing chill of the ...

The RAF WWII Logbooks of Wing Commander R.P. Beamont

This book is a facsimile copy of the pages of a pilot's flying logbook recording the operational tours of Wing ...

The Military Airfields of Britain: Southern England

This series of books provides a fresh user-friendly look at the military airfields of the British Isles. The series is ...

Battle of Britain – Airfields of 11 Group

The Royal Air Force's 11 Group played a leading role in the Battle of Britain. It included the airfields at ...

A Glint in the Sky

This compelling account of the German air raid on Folkestone and the appalling aftermath is the first comprehensive history of ...

Erprobungsgruppe 210: ‘Bombsights Over England’

Bombsights over England records in depth the activities of Erpobungsgruppe 210 over southern England during the bitter fighting of summer ...

RAF Manston Album

The airfield at Manston has played an important part in the lives not just of those who served here but ...

To Live Among Heroes

This is a unique book. There have been many books about aerial combat in World War Two, quite a few ...

Kent Airfields in the Second World War

A full account of the part played by Kent's airfields during the Second World War. The history of each airfield ...

RAF Manston in Old Photographs – A Second Selection

Description to be added. DETAILS Author(s): Royal Air Force Manston History Club Publisher: The History Press Ltd Date of Publication: ...

Wings Over Westgate

RNAS Westgate played a leading role in the defence of the Thames Estuary when the British Expeditionary Force (that 'Contemptible ...

RAF Manston in Old Photographs

DETAILS Paperback: 160 pages Publisher: Sutton Publishing Ltd (25 Nov. 1993) Language: English ISBN-10: 0750901357 ISBN-13: 978-0750901352 Product Dimensions: 21.6 ...

Kent Airfields Remembered

PRODUCT DETAILS Paperback: 160 pages Publisher: Countryside Books (29 Sept. 1990) Language: English ISBN-10: 1853060992 ISBN-13: 978-1853060991 Product Dimensions: 26.2 ...

The History of RAF Manston

Details the history of RAF Manston from 1916 to 1986. DETAILS Paperback: 104 pages Publisher: RAF Manston; 3rd Revised edition ...

The Manston Spitfire

Details to be added ...

Hawkinge, 1912-1961: An in depth history of the former Royal Air Force Station Hawkinge

DETAILS Hardcover: 192 pages Publisher: Meresborough Books; First Edition, First Printing edition (May 1981) Language: English ISBN-10: 0905270355 ISBN-13: 978-0905270357 ...

Kent Airfields in the Battle of Britain

PRODUCT DETAILS Hardcover: 192 pages Publisher: Meresborough Books; First Edition edition (May 1981) Language: English ISBN-10: 0905270363 ISBN-13: 978-0905270364 ...

The Story of 609 Squadron: Under the White Rose

DETAILS First Edition Hardback: 336 pages.Publisher: TBS The Book Service Ltd (1 Jan. 1971).Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0356036413 ISBN-13: 978-0356036410 Product Dimensions: ...

The History of RAF Manston (FO W Fraser)

Details to be added ...

(no title)

Test ...