Battle of Britain Day, 15th September 1940
New Luftwaffe tactics On 15 September – now known as “Battle of Britain Day” – the Luftwaffe launched two huge bombing raids on London. Believing that the RAF was close...
Category: On this day
Prime Minister, Winston Churchill visits Manston on 28th August 1940
On this day, 28th August 1940 Manston’s importance was recognised when the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, paid it a personal visit. He saw an airfield barely serviceable, still with craters...
On this day, 28th August 1942, 56 emergency landings
Fifty six emergency landings on the night of 28th August 1942 left devastation that would lead to the approval for the new runway to be built. The Station Commander had already...
Heavy Luftwaffe raids on Manston and Ramsgate on 24th August 1940 leave the airfield unserviceable
Six heavy attacks, the first at 0600hrs (TBC) when approximately 80 aircraft crossed the coast to Thanet, left Manston unserviceable after the heavy raid at 1520hrs, despite its many tunnels...
Gotha raid of 22nd August 1917 – Part of the first “Battle of Britain”
During the First World War, the earlier raids by Zeppelin airships had brought the war to the civilian population on home soil. However, their impact was slight compared to the...
Manston takes the full force of Luftwaffe attack against airfields, 12th August 1940
12th August 1940 marked the first major raid inland against RAF airfields by the Luftwaffe and Manston was to feel the full force of the offensive. By the end of the...
