This is the second of three WW2 airfields
situated close together on the Blackdown Hills, the others being
RAF Upottery and RAF Culmhead. The first two are in Devon, whereas RAF Culmhead is
just over the border in Somerset. Because the airfields are so huge,
with additional dispersed sites, the three more or less run into each
other and the area is literally dotted about with nissen huts and other
WW2 buildings. Although almost all of them were intended to be
temporary, the original buildings on the technical site at Dunkeswell
are still in use as an industrial site. Some have been maintained and
look quite posh, whereas others are still in their original state and
used as workshops. Some of the remaining buildings were prefabricated in America and shipped over and put together here. The RAF Upottery article can be seen on the previous post.
Originally planned to be a Fighter Command then a Coastal Command, Dunkeswell was transferred for use by American units and was the only base used by the US Navy on UK land. Their Anti-Submarine Unit played a vital role in the 'Battle of the Atlantic, operating against German U-Boats in order to keep the supply line open between the USA and Great Britain. 181 USN airmen were killed in action, including Joseph Kennedy, the elder brother of the late President JFK.
This really is an amazing place to visit. The airfield itself is still active for light aircraft flying, parachute jumping, gliding and paragliding, but the hidden gem is the truly extensive WW2 Technical Site and other remains.
The first two photos show the memorial to those who were stationed here, and the Google aerial map below.
Our 'Ground Crew' consisted of Ricasso, Herts Digger and myself. Visiting in February 2009, we first checked in at the Flight Centre to let them know we were there. Our next port of call was the original WW2 Control Tower site, which involved walking around the perimeter to the opposite side of the airfield - after making sure there were no aircraft coming in as it also meant walking across one of the runways!
As I did with Part One in the previous post, I've divided it into sections with subheadings for the individual buildings and areas to make it easier; like RAF Upottery, there are a lot of photos.
No Entry sign on the tarmac to the Watch Office (the WW2 Control Tower), above.
The Watch Office
Unlike the watch office at Upottery airfield, the metal stairway and railings are still in situ, and we can see how they marry up with the jutting balconies and wrap around three sides of the building.
Crash Crew Stand-By Hut
Only the hard standing remains, below, where the hut was situated.
The purpose of the two buildings near-by is a little hard to fathom, as according to the 1940 map there were several buildings clustered together. However, I think they were the radar workshops and stores.
Radar Workshops and Stores
If I remember correctly, the nearby tripod was something to do with a later weather research project, and nothing to do with WW2. I think! ;)
After
having a good look around there we met a local farmer who regaled us
with stories of what the American servicemen did with the airplanes
and other remains on site before leaving the airfield for the last time -
including burying whole fighter planes and caches of live bombs. Much
of this was apocryphal, however, as many years later I received an email
from an American gentleman who'd served here during the war, after seeing photos on my now defunct website. We
exchanged emails for quite some time and he told me a lot about his time
here, including the fact that they demolished the planes and burnt them.
As a mechanic, he said how devastating it was, after nursing and
continually patching them up throughout their service.
On a lighter note, other people who'd visited to explore the WW2 remains were also waylaid by the same farmer, reminding me of Samuel Coleridge's poem The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner who 'told his tale to one of three', lol. ;)
Walking on from the watch office site.
Pyro Store
Dispersal Runway
Hangars
According to the 1940 map these weren't situated in this area, and may have been moved from elsewhere. This first one is a bit of a mystery. Not mentioned in the WW2 types of hangars, and after much searching, I finally found a photo of two of them at Heston Air Park, taken in 1930. It's obviously old, so may have been brought here from another airfield during the war.
Blister Hangar
Blister Hangars were specifically built for a single small aircraft on fighter and trainer WW2 airfields.
This one might be partially used as a storage shed as there were a lot of bits of pieces outside. A couple of garden gnomes seem to be on guard; one on top of the lean-to and the other on the grass, lol.
T2 Hangars
These were back over the other side of the modern day usage of the airfield, on what was the WW2 Technical site. The T2 was the largest of three types, this one being the standard and spanning 115 feet. Others were the T1, spanning 95' and the smallest is the T3 at 66'.
The other side of one of the hangars, now industry premises.
Squadron Office
The sign on the letter box says Bunker Records and we think it was the name of the last company that occupied it until no longer in use at the time of our visit.
Mech & Eng Plinth
The low, brick building next to it is a Mechanics & Engineers Plinth, abbreviated to Mech. & Eng Plinth on the 1940 map. Having a map was absolutely essential with the amount of huts and buildings remaining; not so much at the time but afterwards when sorting out the photos and putting names to them. Available from the RAF Museum, they can be ordered online to be sent by post at a reasonable price.
Flight Office
This hut was used by South West WW2 Heritage at the time of our visit, with this portable control room outside.
Airfield Mess
As it says on the tin! Speaking of tins, my American correspondent told me that because of the cold and the horrendous work schedule of hard, heavy work for the ground crews, they had to put away a lot of calories. Rather than having plates, they were each given a tin tray filled with piles of spaghetti for their meals.
Parachute Store
Many of these original buildings are used as workshops by small businesses. I believe the parachute store was occupied by vehicle mechanics, with the addition of a gantry winch at the side.
Various other huts as we walked on. There was so much to see, we spent four hours there and could see many more buildings - that we couldn't even get to - behind the ones we managed to see close up.
The amazing thing is that most of these buildings were only temporary, and not meant to last for more than a few years. And yet even the Nissen Huts, above, have lasted all this time and are still in good use, albeit some better than others.
Station Armoury
Crew rest & Locker Room
A partially demolished block with its original windows and doors, below.
The road surface rubble, below, some of which came from local quarries, such as Kilmington.
M.T. Bays
The cement doorstops were used for propping open the doors when in use, above.
M.T. Workshops
Gas Clothing & Respirator Stores
Petrol Installation M.T.
Photographic Block
Tecnical Latrines, Bombing Trainer and Link Trainer Blocks
The Bombing Trainer (first photo above) was essentially tall with a high top floor to allow trainees to use the equipment as they would on the airplane, looking down to target the bombs.
Equipment Store
Incongruously, there were also these two railway carriages on site. I don't know if they were anything to do with the airfield during WW2 or if they were brought here afterwards.
A M W D Works Services
This is a block comprising five huts for the works services.
Fire Tender House
My last photo, of the last building at the very end of this site. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see absolutely everything but we did manage to cover quite a lot of the main site and also the smaller site on the opposite side.
One of the 'must see' parts is the museum which is dedicated to the Fleet Air Wing 7, United States Navy, and was situated on the new industrial site opposite the technical site. Only a small place when we were there (now a larger building according to photos recently seen online), but absolutely chock full of interesting artefacts and hundreds of photos. Very well worth visiting after a good four hours exploring!
And, coming up next is the last of the three WW2 Blackdown Hills airfields, RAF Culmhead. :)
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