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 heavily-fortified French coastline forming the largest amphibious attack in history....
Category: On this day
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 (Unidentified Flying Objects) were released to the public. They had...
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 Herald of Free Enterprise ferry which had capsized shortly after...
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. The first test flight of Supermarine’s Type 300 K5054 prototype...
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 after carrying out operations overnight around the French ports. The...
Channel Dash – The Bravest of the Brave
12th February 2017 marked the 75th anniversary of the Channel Dash in 1942. Three of Germany’s largest battleships were to run the gauntlet of the Dover Strait from their location...
