Quality Military History and Aviation Books!
Author(s): Joe Bamford, John Williams
Having been classified by the Air Ministry as a ‘Master Diversion’ airfield, RAF Manston was for many years open twenty-four hours a day and available to both civil and military aircraft 365 days a year.
It was also later equipped with the Pyrene Foam Landing System, which both civil and military aircraft could use when they had problems with their undercarriage: there is no doubt that the foam carpet saved many lives.
The most spectacular occasion that it was used was on 20 April 1967 when a British Eagle Britannia made a complete wheels-up landing. It is claimed that Manston was the only station to serve in every command of the RAF and until its closure in 1999 and probably dealt with more diverse types of aircraft than any other station.
During its eighty-three years as a Royal Naval/ RAF airfield, it played host to the Sopwith Camel, Spitfire, Bf 109, He 111, B-29, B-47, Tu-104, F-84 and Concorde, plus many other types that are too numerous to mention.
| BOOK ISBN | 9781781557648 |
| FORMAT | 234 x 156 mm |
| BINDING | Paperback |
| PAGES | 192 pages |
| PUBLICATION DATE | 02 March 2020 |
| TERRITORY | World |
| ILLUSTRATIONS | 67 black-and-white photographs |
Joe Bamford served for six years in Royal Air Force (1968-74) as an assistant air traffic controller. He served at Manston and Akrotiri in Cyprus. Joe has a B.A. Honours in Sociology from Warwick University.
He is the author of The Salford Lancaster, Eyes of The Night and Devotion To A Calling.
John Williams was a former archivist/historian at the Spitfire Museum and is a local historian for Margate Museum and Margate Cemetery Walks.
