Has anybody any details of the radar trials iin 1940 at Worth Matravers Dorset. It was to see if gilders could be picked up by RDF (radar) as we where expecting the German gliders to come.
The Glider’s flew from Christchurch. I have read the Phillip Wills book ‘On being a bird’. I was also part owner of Slingsby Kirby Kite1 BGA400 which had the wings of the Radar Kite. The radar Kite was built with minimal metal fittiings in 1940. I have never heared the out come of these trials.
Dave
By: Arabella-Cox - 23rd February 2012 at 23:23
Trouble is having lived in Maccelsfield and still having family there I know the viaducts over the railway between Macc and Congleton and the viaduct in that photo isn’t either of them. I also have a photo of an uncamouflaged Kite near a viaduct which doesn’t look like any that are near Macclesfield (its too long), yet in other photos it is obviously the viaduct over the River Dane as Bosley Cloud (a hill) is visible in the background. Interestingly one photo shows a Hotspur Mk 1 in a ploughed field with the viaduct over the road visible in the background.
From all this I conclude that the exercise of landing gliders near railway bridge ‘targets’ was done more than once and at more than one location. As I said previously, the early work of the CLE were poorly reported.
By: G-ASEA - 23rd February 2012 at 20:16
I think its the Macclesfield viaduct. The first glider opperation by the British a Kirby Kite and a Rhonbuzzard where use. They where uncamoflaged at the time. Most historians say they where camoufaged, but photo’s show different.
Dave
By: Arabella-Cox - 23rd February 2012 at 20:05
Here’s a photo from Laurence Wright showing the CLE’s collection of sport gliders on the road (to and from where I know not).
[ATTACH]203374[/ATTACH]
By: G-ASEA - 23rd February 2012 at 16:46
They then stripped a Kirby Kite of as much metal as possible by replacing cables and pushrods with wood and non-metalic materials. Again, they could still detect them.
The Slingsby Kirby Kite C/N 355A was built for the radar trials. On the main spar was the date 3/jul/1940. The wings never had any mods. Thats how it was built.
Dave
By: Arabella-Cox - 23rd February 2012 at 10:11
Sorry guys no chapter and verse.
I’ve had a look at the listing of reports held by QinetiQ and I can see no report from those trials although there are later ones conducted with Whitleys and Horsa.
In some ways the lack of reports is not surprising, it is a situation I’ve become used to when researching the CLE/AFEE and it was even mentioned in the post war monograph about the AFEE.
Lots of ideas were tried but very few were written up and those that were written are masterpieces of brevity.
By: Arabella-Cox - 23rd February 2012 at 09:36
I have scant details in my head and a few in various books at home.
I think it was basically to see if the chain home RDF could pick up wooden gliders and sailplanes that might of been used as part of a enemy invasion force.
Civilian gliders impressed during the war were towed out to 10,000′ over the channel by Avro 504’s and let go and flown back to the coast while the operators at Worth Matravers tried to detect them which they did without too much trouble.
They then stripped a Kirby Kite of as much metal as possible by replacing cables and pushrods with wood and non-metalic materials. Again, they could still detect them.
Thus, it was decided that enemy gliders weren’t impervious to radar and we all had a cup of tea and a nice site down.
Again, that’s my recollection from memory and I’m sure aeronut will be along in a moment with chapter and verse :).
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February 22, 2012 at 10:02 pm