the latest FP has an interesting article on Orfordness – well worth one of the NT guided tours you can do in the summer although the tours don’t give you access to the whole site. They do however get you access to a couple of the pagodas. Those pagodas are an interesting concept – if there was an uncontained explosion, the concrete struts holding the roof up would be blown out and the heavy roof would then fall down onto the reinforced walls like the lid of a box keeping everything within the pagoda (hopefully)
The article makes reference to the existence of a wing section – perhaps from a Stirling. Given the fact that the Stirling prototype was used for ballistic tests there after it broke its back on landing, i wonder whether this could be the source of the wing. If so, surely such a section needs recovering rather than being allowed to rot where it currently lies
By: hindenburg - 7th May 2016 at 10:54
Wow…hope it is Stirling..be one hell of a task to recover it ,if it’s full of mud and shingle…be good to investigate by someone who knows their stuff..I’m sure Peter Howell would enjoy the trip!!
By: georgeparr - 1st April 2016 at 12:02
the latest FP has an interesting article on Orfordness – well worth one of the NT guided tours you can do in the summer although the tours don’t give you access to the whole site. They do however get you access to a couple of the pagodas. Those pagodas are an interesting concept – if there was an uncontained explosion, the concrete struts holding the roof up would be blown out and the heavy roof would then fall down onto the reinforced walls like the lid of a box keeping everything within the pagoda (hopefully)
The article makes reference to the existence of a wing section – perhaps from a Stirling. Given the fact that the Stirling prototype was used for ballistic tests there after it broke its back on landing, i wonder whether this could be the source of the wing. If so, surely such a section needs recovering rather than being allowed to rot where it currently lies
The National Trust also do a photography tour of the site. This offers a lot more access to the AWRE buildings than the guided tour does.
By: georgeparr - 31st March 2016 at 22:23
I think this is the wing section, Which can be seen from the bailey bridge, Bottom left of the picture.
By: 12jaguar - 31st March 2016 at 13:24
Hi Chaps
Just to confirm that we’ve been working with Flypast to identify if the wing is indeed Stirling. 🙂
John
By: FarlamAirframes - 31st March 2016 at 13:18
The interior of one of the mounds.
By: TempestV - 31st March 2016 at 07:37
the latest FP has an interesting article on Orfordness – well worth one of the NT guided tours you can do in the summer although the tours don’t give you access to the whole site. They do however get you access to a couple of the pagodas. Those pagodas are an interesting concept – if there was an uncontained explosion, the concrete struts holding the roof up would be blown out and the heavy roof would then fall down onto the reinforced walls like the lid of a box keeping everything within the pagoda (hopefully)
The article makes reference to the existence of a wing section – perhaps from a Stirling. Given the fact that the Stirling prototype was used for ballistic tests there after it broke its back on landing, i wonder whether this could be the source of the wing. If so, surely such a section needs recovering rather than being allowed to rot where it currently lies
I read this with interest yesterday. On behalf of the project, I’m going to investigate this to see what it is.
By: Supermarine305 - 30th March 2016 at 22:20
I spent a week there about ten years ago on a National Trust working holiday. Fascinating place. I wonder where the wing section is? I have not been able to find a copy of FP in a while at my local Smiths for a while.
When I was there the ranger at the time talked about the old WW1 hangers having to be demolished when the NT acquired the site (they like a lot of buildings were in a very bad way) bridges still wired up for demolition and stuff buried in the shingle no-one dares to dig up to find out what it is. And of course there are planes buried in the old airfield. 😉
Another story I was told was some AA gunners getting court martialled because they fired upon a german bomber with prototype ammunition.
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March 30, 2016 at 9:37 pm