OS and Aerial Views

[Timbo]

Hello all,

I don't know if you guys might find this remotely useful, but one of my hobbies on cold rainy days is to use memory map OS and Aerial charts to try to find airfields that are otherwise long gone. I start either by looking at the OS charts for the tell tale criss-crossing of runways, or by simply searching for the ghosts of runways in crops.

When I find an airfield, I'll try searching on the internet for what airfield it was and plot it's outline.

This is what I have for the West-Midlands, I'm restricted from uploading a higher resolution due to the rules on posting pictures, so I apologise if it's of no use. Some of what I've found has been helped by a book called Shropshire Airfields (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shropshire-Airfields-Toby-Neal/dp/product-description/0954853024) by Toby Neal.

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt229/ombit73/WestMidlandsOS.jpg

OS Map of the West Midlands.

**EDIT: Removed Aerial photo of Shropshire as it served no purpose.**

I find it fascinating how many airfields were located so close together and how there weren't many collisions.

Just my two pennies worth.

Timbo

[mawganmad]

Nice way of doing things, thanks for sharing Tim.
is memory map OS and Aerial charts an online thing or purely paper?

[PNK]

Timbo,

Got a job for you. You know structure of the airfields section of the forum? Well how about..............................

Your approach is the more upmarket/high tech approach to the marker pen on the AA/Phillips road atlas that most of us use.
Great idea but a bit pricy buying all the Memory Map disks. The outlines are a good idea for comparing site sizes. If only the 1946-1950 aerials were on Google Earth!

[Timbo]

Your approach is the more upmarket/high tech approach to the marker pen on the AA/Phillips road atlas that most of us use
Great idea but a bit pricy buying all the Memory Map disks. The outlines are a good idea for comparing site sizes. If only the 1946-1950 aerials were on Google Earth!

I agree it is much more techno way of doing things and the aerial photo is pretty pointless at that resolution, but similar aims can be achieved by using plain old OS Maps and Google Earth. I was lucky enough to get a cut price version of the software and disks off ebay, and it allows me to upload the maps to my GPS capable phone, so that I can get exactly to the edge of an airfield etc. I'm sorry, I am a techno geek and I think that occasionally technology can be useful.

What I was trying to demonstrate was how close many of these airfields are, given circuit patterns etc. These weren't relief landing grounds, they were all operational airfields operating different types and each with a different task. Look at Hinstock and Peplow, one an RAF Base and the other Navy, how could these airfields get on being so close to each other, given the rivalies that existed at the time? It must have needed LOTS of coordination.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Was Monkmoor an airfield? I thought it was another one of those sites that was considered but not used (12 SLG??)

[Timbo]

During WW1 Monkmoor was an airfield used for the Observers School of Reconnaissance & Aerial Photography the landing strip itself is thought to have predated WW1. During WW2 the airfield was use by 34MU as a salvage site for damaged aircraft. When the runway was removed I don't know, but some of the buildings are still there and are used for retail and industry.

The exact site of the runway I believe was over the sewage works that is there now.

Hope this helps.

EDIT:

A quick search on google brings up some interesting pages.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=RAF+Monkmoor&meta=&rlz=

[PNK]

I bought an iPaq to load maps on (No GPS) as I work in Hertfordshire and live in Kent the public transport system frequently dumps me in hostile territory so maps come in very handy. The problem was the battery didn't last a day so it never worked on the way home! Luckily I only paid £65 for the iPaq (refurb). A new battery was not justifiable for what I used it for. I did consider a small Sat Nav but trying to find one that just shows you where you are and doesn't want to chat to you all the time proved fruitless.