History of Manston Airfield 100 years of flight

Because of some of the detail for the daily posts, you can see today’s events on our timeline page

#OnThisDay1942

No.142 Sqn Wellington III DF642 QT-J crewed by Sgt. F.B. Hough, Sgt. G.T. Reyburn RCAF, Sgt. B.P. Shaddick RAAF, Sgt. E. Watcham and Sgt. E.C. Woolard left from Grimsby at 1900hrs for a mission over Cologne. It was hit by flak and crash landed at Manston on return. It ran into a parked No.320 Sqn Hudson EW918 and damaged it beyond repair. Crew unhurt.

#OnThisDay1944

Exercise carried out at Debden of practice dogfights between three Meteors of No.616 Sqn and 20 fighters.

The History of Manston Airfield site is dedicated to the history of Manston Airfield, in Kent from its first official usage back in 1916.

It is intended to bring together the various sources of information at events, squadrons, aircraft and personnel that have been involved in the site.

The site and social media pages are currently all non-profit making. Obviously we do incur costs so any contributions via donations or online sales are appreciated to ensure this project continues.

We are not directly connected with either of the two museums currently at Manston, but may work alongside them.

Due to the amount of history, it is likely that this site will be continually updated and extended and is not intended to be a complete historical record for some time to come.