Bombing Ranges

**PNK** · 16th April 2011, 21:29

mbriscoe -

I couldn't find the Portmahomack arrow but then I have only aerial photos from 1988 or later.
The other one at the lat/long you gave also caused me problems until I zoomed right in. Many thanks indeed for that one as it shows an RN 15ft arrow made out of heaped stone and painted white. I have a drawing of one (Admiralty Drawing No. 753/44) but have never seen one. Hopefully this is not a unique survivor. I think this was for the Tarbat Ness range I recently found in an Admiralty list.
Your mysery buildings are a bit of a poser. First thoughts would have been radar or AA. I wonder if it war range accomodation for the nearby Rockfield and Tarbat Ness ranges and if the arrow at Portmahomack was a range that too?

AL90 -

Your list has thrown up two ranges that I haven't heard of before. Glennifer Braes and Kinshaldy. Glennifer could be the mystery range used by the Glasgow Auxiliary sqns before WW2. There is mention of ranges being rented under local inititive. If this is the location then another problem may be solved. Proof is the main stumbling block and I doubt whether any markigs would be visible today or even in 1946 aerial photos. A similar range was rented by the Edinburgh Auxiliary sqn.
Kinshaldy is at the bottom of the Tentsmuir Forest so I wonder if it was part of Tentsmuir? The 2.5" OS maps show an "observation post" nearby but that could be unrelated to ranges and more to do with forestry. It could,however, be part of a seperate range and since a lot of Scottish coastal ranges had land targets it fits quite well.
Do you have any other information on this one?

Regards

Peter

**PNK** · 16th April 2011, 21:39

thorne83 -

Thanks for the date information for Cherrington. I have found a list thats says the danger area radius was 600yds but worryingly it was crossed through. Since the list was dated 1946 it implies it was out of use by then. You have also confirmed that it was probably used for both Day and night. I wonder how it was lit? Generator probably.
The 'self help' bit sounds interesting. I have come across references of stations being asked to arrange their own ranges but this was dated 1939 and the quadrant shelters were to be made of aircraft packing cases!

So yes it has helped

Thanks

Peter

**AL90** · 16th April 2011, 22:33

Glennifer Braes range was at NS444601 which incidently was a starfish site during WW2. Back in the early 80's there were still a large number of 10lb practice bomb bodies turning up near the wall behind the power station, still have two as door stops and will check the manufacture stamps tommorrow. Anson K6320 which crashed on 1/4/38 2km to the west at Whittliemuir dam ( now drained) had practice bombs in the wreckage around 1979. My understanding was that Kinshaldy range referred to the offshore target area next to Leuchars.

Alan.

**PNK** · 20th April 2011, 20:47

Had a closer look at Kinshaldy on Canmore. There is a possibility that there was a range on the sands NE of Leuchars but may have been closed when the runways were extended in 1942. This would be an inland range of the type found at Kingston and Innes Links. Sadly only likely looking buildings could be seen on the 1941 aerial photos
and no give away target.

Peter

**alain charpentier** · 20th April 2011, 21:14

Hello,

from the logbook of several airmen of 1 Group I have some practice bombing on Misson, Hamilton Hill and St Tudwal .
Is it of interest for you ?

Alain.

**PNK** · 22nd April 2011, 10:02

Yes it is. Misson became a Bloodhound site in the late 1950s. St Tudwal is interesting as it was an islet off the coast of Wales which was used as a target. I assume 1 Group must have used it for longer range navigation and bombing exrcises.
It begs the question did all bomber groups have a specific long range target?

**alain charpentier** · 22nd April 2011, 21:10

Hello !

For St Tudwal or Tudwalls I have from a logbook: date 12 may 1944 , at night, X19, flares and T.I, duration of flight 3.00, the flight was made from Binbrook .

Alain

**Geoff L** · 10th June 2011, 22:23

I wonder if anyone could help me please. I would be interested to know if there's an available picture of the camera obscura building at the bombing range on an island in Lough Neagh in September 1939, and which island it was on. The background is this.

My father was in training then Fighter Command from roughly six months before the war until six months afterwards, with ab initio training in Tiger Moths at Yatesbury and finishing flying Meteors. He did his intermediate training at RAF Sealand from June to October 1939, except as follows, which is taken from a bit I'm currently writing for the rest of the family on what Dad did during his wartime flying career.

"Towards the end of intermediate training at RAF Sealand in September 1939 (all flown in twin-engined Airspeed Oxfords) Keith’s course temporarily transferred to what was known as a ‘practice camp’, at RAF Aldergrove. This was close to an island in Lough Neagh where there was a bombing range with targets, and with a camera obscura at the edge of the range. The camera obscura was a dome-shaped building containing a camera looking upwards, used for elementary bombing training. The 1st pilot flew the aircraft towards/over the camera obscura at about 12,000’, as directed by the 2nd pilot/pupil bomb-aimer, who looked through the bomb-sight. When the pupil bomb-aimer considered the aircraft was in the correct position, he pressed a switch which operated a flashlight on the underside of the aircraft. The camara below recorded where the flash took place in the path of the aircraft, and the resulting film was evaluated by the Instructor to assess the success of the bombing-run. After bomb-aiming practice on the camera obscura, they also did actual bombing runs using 12-pound practice bombs at a target on the range. (Practice bombs emit smoke, rather than causing an explosion)."

Any useful comments much appreciated,

Geoff L.

**thorne83** · 11th June 2011, 07:36

Hi Peter,

another location for you is Chetton, near Bridgnorth, Shropshire. I have recorded the death of an airmen who fell from the back of an RAF lorry 'while proceeding in the back of a service vehicle to Chetton Bombing Range' on the 22nd June 1942. The airman was from 3 (O)AFU, Bobbington, so presumably the range was used by the Anson crews there.

Cheers,

Tom