Report - RAF Morpeth - Northumberland - 08/01/08

[sellers]

Visited RAF Morpeth today. This site is huge but with very little remaining. As well as what I saw there is probably loads of other stuff in the woods but be warned it is shooting season! and there were loads of guns going off in the area. I explored 3 different areas and have tried to identify the remains / structures wherever possible. However I would appreciate if anybody can help me in identifying the rest (or correcting me if I am wrong). Answers on a post card to……..?

History of RAF Morpeth

Opened in January 1942 as an Air Gunner School and fulfilled this role until December 1944. The site was home to No.80 (French) Operational Training Unit. Today the site has reverted to agriculture, several of the buildings remain and are used for storage. Parts of the hard standing remain and are used for a weekly car boot sale every Sunday.
The official title of this airfield during WW2 was RAF Morpeth and initially housed No 4 Air Gunnery School (4 AGS). Accommodation was in 10 dispersal sites to the north and east of the airfield near Tranwell village and The Whitehouse Centre (following the war this area became a childrens hospital). The main aircraft used during its early existence for teaching air gunners was the unpopular Blackburn Botha, which was very heavy and under powered, often taking the whole of the runway to get airborne. Following several crashes and collisions, it was eventually replaced with the Avro Anson. Most of the air gunnery practice occurred off shore at Druridge Bay where several of the original war time structures still exist at the National Trust site.

Anyway on with the pics.

Main site next to houses.

Hardstanding Area / Start of Runway?

Miskin Blister Hanger

Front View of Small Bunker

Rear View of Small Bunker

Main view of Small Bunker

Unidentified Blocks on Structures Surface

Site 2 - Approx 1 mile away from main site

Side view of firing butt

Rear view of firing butt

Main view of firing butt

Unidentified Structure

Unidentified Structure with remains of runway infront.

Unidentified Structure built into ground

Row of unidentified structures adjacent to runway remains

Area 3 – Opposite end of woods recently used for car boot sales

Miskin Blister Hanger

Remains of runway 23

 

[IronMaidenFan]

Hi nice photo's but just to correct you.
Photos 4,5,6 are a blast shelter.
Photo 7 shows some tie-downs from after the war which were to hold large balloons to detect nuclear activity/contamination after a Russian PowerStation had an incident.
Photo's 11,12,13,14 are the polices clay pigeon shoot used by the armed response for target practice.
I have the plans for the site from the RAF which show all the buildings.

 

[Oxygen Thief]

Photo 7 shows some tie-downs from after the war which were to hold large balloons to detect nuclear activity/contamination after a Russian PowerStation had an incident.

With all due respect, what Russian powerstation was this?

 

[IronMaidenFan]

With all due respect, what Russian powerstation was this?

Not known but it was in the 60's I think I will have a chat with my contact who should know. Sorry!

 

[Ordnance]

Interesting about balloons being used to detect nuclear activity/contamination.

Would more than one balloon be needed? as the RAF had a Transporter/Winch to take it up & down as needed which also towed the Gas Bottles to inflate it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_and_radiation_accidents_and_incidents

The Kyshtym Nuclear disaster in 1957 seems a good bet?

 

[IronMaidenFan]

Thanks for the info and the photo. Do not know how many balloons were there but if I remember correctly it was not run by the army or RAF. Will have a word with the farmer (who can remember it) he is still there now, he was just a kid then..

 

[rednax]

Update on this
visited today as is pretty close by good walk around the place most things still there sadly didn't get up the water tower ( maybe another day).
but theirs loads of rubble piles dotted about in the woods


anyway here are some photos.
apologies for the quality i only have a compact camera.

Enjoy

The hanger from across the field

A blast shelter i think but this one was different to the other two I saw

Another Blast shelter

Pile of rubble with hangar in the background

Inside the hanger

Outside the hanger

Across the air field with back to the hanger

Blast shelter in the woods

Shooting butts in the woods

The water tower a few km away could get up with out a ladder but theirs anti climb paint about 7 ft of the ground so i would recomeng using a ladder to get to the fixed ladders going up witch is about 12 ft of the ground.

do note that the roads around the airfield people go very fast.
definitely recommend checking it out if local tho.