In the flightpath of heroes
Above: A Dakota flies above Manston, Kent (Kent Life Magazine)
Above: Invicta passengers in the 1960is often experienced a bumpy ride (Kent Life Magazine)
Above: A Battle of Britain crew plays a game to ease the tension between scrambles (Kent Life Magazine)
Above: Unloading A1GP cars at Manston, Kent (Kent Life Magazine)
As holidaymakers walk across the runway at Kent International Airport, near Ramsgate, to their waiting planes, how many of them realise they’re walking on the very spot from where a great British victory was won?
It was from RAF Manston, in the summer of 1940, when the heroes of the Battle of Britain risked their lives to fight off the might of the Nazis who held most of Europe in their grip. During the Second World War the aerodrome in this corner of east Kent was home to dozens of young pilots and their ground crew.
They spent many hours waiting for the call to ‘Scramble!’ before jumping into their Spitfires and Hurricanes to engage in deadly dog fights in the skies above Kent and the English Channel.
Lapse of concentration
As one pilot, Sgt ‘Ginger’ Lacey, said at the time: “One had to be very careful in mass dogfights where there would be 100-plus fighters, that it would take only the slightest lapse in concentration for you to shoot down one of your own.”
In August 1940, three lightning raids almost brought Manston’s aviation days to an end. On 12 August some 50 enemy fighters attacked as 65 Spitfires were taking off, swooping down in a surprise bombing raid that miraculously only took out one British aircraft. But the ground crew suffered badly, with four people killed and eight injured.
The Germans returned for a second raid on 20 August, and again on 24 August, destroying hangars and littering the airfield with huge bomb craters, forcing ground crew to be evacuated to safety at Birchington and Westgate.
The damage to the station was so great, and the pilot losses so heavy – 14 pilots and gunners were killed in the space of just three days – that there were calls to close Manston, but for morale reasons it was kept open and is remembered as one of the key players in the Allied victory, thanks to the Few who gave so much.
RAF Manston – now Kent International Airport – had its roots in the pioneering days of flight, being first established in 1916 as a Royal Naval Station for seaplanes. It grew enormously during the First World War and when peace came, it was one of the top five RAF airfields in the country.
Manston is remembered as one of the key players in the Allied victory, thanks to the Few who gave so much
It was from Manston in 1943 that the great engineer and aircraft designer, Barnes Wallis, oversaw a practice session of his famous Bouncing Bomb as his Dambusters flew a training session along the coast at Reculver. The Dambusters’ plane, the Lancaster, also tried out a rehearsal off the coast of Broadstairs, using live munition which they bounced across the water.
In the years after the war, Manston was used by the US Air Force and RAF training rescue crews. This year sees the 50th anniversary of the departure by the Americans, many of whom had grown fond of the area during their tour of duty, so much so that some settled in Thanet.
By the early 1960s, the airfield was witness to another invasion, as Brits came to Manston to fly to sunny climes in the early days of the package holiday. These were the early years of independent airlines, as aviation historian Malcolm Finnis, who used to work at Manston recalls.
He said: “The halcyon days of inclusive tours at Manston were between 1963 and 1968, with Air Ferry Ltd and Invicta Airways flying passengers to Osted, Rotterdam, Luxembourg, Basle, Perpignan and many other destinations.
Turbulent ride
“The aircraft mainly used were unpressurised propeller driven airliners, Vickers Vikings and Douglas DC-4s, carrying 42 and 48 passengers respectively. Flights to Basle averaged two hours and 20 minutes each way and at the heights these airliners flew, any bad weather was difficult to avoid, leading to some very bumpy journeys.”
These early package deals offered flights that connected to coach tours of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Longer flights to Italy followed, although in those days it took six hours to fly one way from Kent to Naples.
Today, Kent International currently flies holidaymakers to eight destinations, including the latest tourist hotspot, Croatia.
The airport has continued to play its part on the world stage. More recently, Oxfam has used the airport for aid flights carrying water purifying equipment to war-torn Darfur in the Sudan.
When the Spice Girls launched their recent worldwide reunion tour, and Sting and the Police also got back together for a farewell tour, they had their sound equipment flown out from Manston, and a cargo of A1GP racing cars was safely unloaded en route from China to the race track at Kent’s Brands Hatch
Airports are synonymous with hellos and goodbyes. Kent International has said ‘hello’ recently to the iconic Red Arrows and the sleek body of the modern successor to the Spitfire, the Eurofighter was also seen gracing the runway.
Today, Kent International currently flies holidaymakers to eight destinations
And this summer, it was ‘goodbye’ to two survivors of the Second World War, when the Douglas DC-3s, popularly known as the Dakota, made their final passenger flight from Kent International Airport. Dakotas used to fly from RAF Manston and the last two passenger-carrying examples in the UK took part in a farewell tour before EU health and safety rules forced them into retirement.
And what of the future? The airport’s 1.7 mile long runway is capable of hosting all commercial aircraft types in use, including the Airbus A380, which makes it one of the most significant pieces of aviation infrastructure in the UK.
Matt Clarke, Chief Executive of Kent International Airport said: “Since taking ownership of the airport in 2005, Infratil has invested in an ongoing development programme for the site, which we envisage being every bit as successful and vibrant as its sister airport, Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
“We are working with a number of airlines with the aim of establishing scheduled passenger services from Kent and will shortly be consulting with the community about the long term future of the airport.
“The last 12 months have been significant with the recruitment of more people, investment in new freight handling facilities and the launch of new charter routes to exciting and popular destinations for Kent holidaymakers.”
When it comes to horsepower, Kent International has always been associated with the winged variety but that might be about to change. Plans are being developed to create an equine Border Inspection Post, which will allow horses to be brought in and out of the country for sale or for sporting events.
The museum
The RAF Manston History Museum is open daily until the end of October from 10am to 4pm, and from November to February on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10am to 4pm. Admission is £1 for adults and 50p for children over 6.
The Spitfire and Hurricane Museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm until the end of September and from 10am to 4pm from October to March. Admission is free, but donations are gratefully received.