# RAF Charmy Down (Picture heavy thread)



## Bishop (May 16, 2008)

Theres already a few threads on RAF Charmy Down on here but none of the photos work so I thought I'd have a sort through some of Krela's and my own snaps from a few years back.

RAF Charmy Down, roughly three miles north of Bath. Opened: 11/1940. Closed: 10/1946.

Aerial photo from 1943.








RAF Charmy Down airfield was first used by the RAF for Hurricane Night Fighter aircraft in conjunction with Turbinlite Havocs, a twin engined light bomber which was fitted with a 2,700 million candela (2.7 Gcd) searchlight in the nose. The Turbinlite Havocs were unarmed and were supposed to illuminate targets for accompanying Hurricane fighters, but in practice they just made nice bright targets for German gunners. 

Wiki link below gives a good short history of Charmy Down.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Charmy_Down








Hawker Hurricane Night Fighter, personal a/c of 87 Sqn leader Dennis Smallwood. BE500 had the name Cawnpore I. The photo is taken during a flight from Charmy Down on 7 May 1942.









*Technical Site*

Stand by set house, would have contained a generator and switch board.







Three joined huts, kitchens, dining hall and concert hall. Small gray building is a toilet block.
















Gas decontamination block.






Accommodation block with small water tower.


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## Bishop (May 16, 2008)

*Perimeter walk*

Fuel Store (large underground tanks).






Aircraft pens with sleeping shelters (few different types, either 18, 24 or 32 men capacity).






Sleeping shelter interior.






Sleeping shelter and Krela.






Sleeping shelter.






Entrance to a aircraft pen Stanton type air raid shelter.






Inside aircraft pen Stanton shelter.






Aircraft pens.






Firing Butts. For aircraft weapons testing, machine guns would be harmonised which basically means they would be set up so the bullets would converge at a certain point (say two hundred yards). This building would have had a roof and would have been filled with sand to slow the bullets fired.






Pic below of Firing Butts shows the concrete or tarmac pad where the aircraft would sit, it would have been secured to the ground to counter the effect of recoil/vibration from the aircrafts machine guns during testing.






Rusting wire reel, looks original and could have been used for possibly communication cable or perhaps barbed wire?


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## Bishop (May 16, 2008)

*Airfield Defences*

About seven pillboxes remain around the airfield perimeter.

Embrasure on Type 22 (variant) pillbox.






Sea Gull trench and pillbox.






Entrance.











Three in a row.






Pillbox interior showing blast wall.


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## Bishop (May 16, 2008)

*Control Tower and nearby buildings*






According to the Control Towers website this is a Watch Office for Night Fighter stations, FCW4514. http://www.controltowers.co.uk/













Interior, ground floor, front.







Battle HQ observation cupola and control tower.






Main entrance to Battle HQ filled with crap.







Office in Battle HQ, the hole in the wall is for the passing of messages to messengers and runners. Doorway is to the main corridor. Note marks on the bottom of the wall from flooding, there was roughly six inches of water in there.






Steps from the office. Opposite the escape hatch ladder is a small doorway to the observation cupola.






Looking up at the escape hatch.






Battle HQ observation cupola (shame the viewing embrasure is sealed up). Hut to the left is the Flight Office.






Behind the Control Tower are two air raid shelters.

Main entrance to the first shelter.






Main entrance to the second shelter.






Air raid shelter interior, would most likely have had wooden benches down both sides and a ladder to the escape hatch at the far end.


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## Bishop (May 16, 2008)

Also at Charmy Down is the remains of a ROTOR (post war) radar station, these were set up across the country for air defence against Russian bomber aircraft.






Krela takes in the view.






Rusting plate covering one of the radar mounts.






Wiki page on ROTOR. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROTOR

Live Search aerial view of RAF Charmy Down (Birds eye view works).
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=51.428514~-2.345903&style=h&lvl=15&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=4250750&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1


B


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## Foxylady (May 17, 2008)

Excellent report and photos as always, Bishop. Really good to see this site again plus a lot of pics I've not seen before. Seagull trench? I haven't heard of that before. Interesting stuff! 
Cheers


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## Kaputnik (May 17, 2008)

that looks a great site, some v interesting pics and good info.
interesting to see the Battle hq pics, hoping the water level in my 'local' one drops to a reasonable level in the summer the shelters look to have survived well, Stanton iron works or what is left of it, is not far from me and the Stanton shelter concrete sections may have been made there! although due to the numbers needed they were prob cast at other locations too.


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## Scotty (May 17, 2008)

thats on way to park a tractor.





where about is this above bath?
never heard of it before.


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## sheep2405 (May 17, 2008)

Really nice photos dude, I enjoyed going there with you and Krela, shame about the pikeys though.


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## krela (May 17, 2008)

Top report Bish. I remember that day, it was freeze your nipples off cold.



Scotty said:


> where about is this above bath?
> never heard of it before.



It's on the A46 on the way into Bath from the M4.

If you go say hello to my parents, I grew up there and they still live there 

Really though if you do go be wary of the travellers camp near the entrance, and knock on at the farm to let them know who you are. They generally don't mind people looking around but prefer to be asked.


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## Scotty (May 17, 2008)

krela said:


> Top report Bish. I remember that day, it was freeze your nipples off cold.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



i know where you mean.
never knew it was there.
joys of this theses web sites


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## Bishop (May 17, 2008)

Thanks for all the comments. 

Scotty I agree with you about the tractor. When Krela, Sheep2405 and myself first spotted it we all thought it looked as though the farmer had been on the scrumpy and had a bit of an accident. Score is that he's knocked a big hole in the wall so he can work on the tractors engine in the dry.

Krela mentioned a few important points that are worth repeating.



> Really though if you do go be wary of the travellers camp near the entrance, and knock on at the farm to let them know who you are. They generally don't mind people looking around but prefer to be asked.



The travellers are ok but want their privacy, not a good idea to get too close to them and they really don't like it if they think you're taking pictures of them. The farmer and his family are great though, nice people.

B


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## sheep2405 (May 17, 2008)

I also recomend wearing wellies, cos some parts get really messy and boggy, I almost lost my boots.


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## Bishop (May 17, 2008)

Aye you're right Sheep, I'd forgotten how flaming muddy it was when we went.

Sheep2405 having a breather.






Cattle in a protected aircraft pen.






B


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## Bryag (May 17, 2008)

Cracking report, Bishop. Old airfieilds are the bees knees (I am trying to keep it clean here!) Great to see the control tower still standing, and it is amazing how many different types of pillbox there were!

I must get our reports from RAF Tain and RAF Fearn up. Lots of goodness!


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## sheep2405 (May 17, 2008)

Good god yes I been looking at looking at my photos from that day I cant believe how much crap I got covered in.


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## JulesP (May 17, 2008)

I lived in Bath for 29 years and must have passed this hundreds of times but never knew it was there!
Its on my sat nav now as a place to visit


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## chelle (Jun 20, 2008)

*cracking report*

Well done everyone...this is a lovely site.Big respect to the Farmer for putting up with me.Many thanx for all the history and info posted here.
regards
Stu n Chelle


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## smileysal (Jun 20, 2008)

Excellent pics Bishop, and cheers for the history of the site too. Love the control tower, and the shelters etc. and the descriptions of what is what lol. 

Cheers, enjoying seeing the pics,

 Sal


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## Engineer (Jun 21, 2008)

*Charmy Down.*

Super report & history, must have passed this place many times on the way to Monkton Farleigh in the 80,s, always meant to stop, never got around to it!


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