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

#OnThisDay1943

No.609 Sqn F/Lt de Selys (on bail) and F/O Peter J. Nankivell in Typhoon R8838 PR-N (under police supervision) take off at 0823hrs on the first standing patrol. Enemy is reported 10 miles east of Deal. F/O Nankivell claims 1 Fw190 destroyed.

No.609 Sqn fly eight other patrols, on one of which F/O Baldwin hears two Spitfire pilots clottishly discussing whether the Typhoons they spy are Typhoons or Bf109s, also mentioning that Typhoons patrol in that area.

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.