Turweston

**Gypsymoth** · 05-12-2010, 15:02

Would the bomb store area have been a wooded area when Turweston was an operational airfield? Trees would have provided good camouflage & the area looks thick with trees now from the arial pictures I've seen here. Thanks. Terry Wallis.

**Richard Drew** · 05-12-2010, 22:45

Bomb stores were usually out in the open, some may have used woodland but most I have seen were completely open and Turweston may also have been open and the undergrowth has grown up in the last 60 odd years.

RAF Keevil is in the open.
RAF Blakehill Farm is in the open.
RAF Acaster Malbis is now in woodland as the area has been turned into a nature reserve.
The RAF as far as I know did not camouflage their bomb stores after a certain date (date not known by me) as I did find some camouflage fittings at RAF Keevil (although they could have been American?), but the Americans did and I have seen several photos of US stores camouflaged.

I have just been looking at an earlier post and Peter has a link to a bomb store on Pathe News and that has a camouflage net,http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=23323

**Carnaby** · 06-12-2010, 18:01

Originally Posted by Richard Drew

The RAF as far as I know did not camouflage their bomb stores after a certain date (date not known by me)

Just checked this - it was during 1942. Evidently it was costing £15,000 per station.

Graham

**Richard Drew** · 06-12-2010, 20:11

Dear Graham

So that does answer the question thanks.

**Gypsymoth** · 06-12-2010, 23:02

Thanks. The Bomb Stores plan on P3 appears to have trees represented & this is how I was going to do it at my Turweston. I realise just because something is shown on a plan, that doesn't mean it happened in reality! However, that there are trees there now led me to assume they were there in the 40s......

**PETERTHEEATER** · 07-12-2010, 04:33

Originally Posted by Gypsymoth

Would the bomb store area have been a wooded area when Turweston was an operational airfield? Trees would have provided good camouflage & the area looks thick with trees now from the arial pictures I've seen here. Thanks. Terry Wallis.

The use of existing woodlands to locate bomb stores was much favoured for the reasons Richard stated; concealment and blast containment.

The main wood at Turweston where the HE Bomb Stores were located exisited during WW2 as can be seen from the 1940s OS map:

http://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepat...z=14&oz=7&gt=6

**Gypsymoth** · 07-12-2010, 10:17

Thanks Peter. The link is unreliable & the 40s map doesn't show but I take your word the wood was there. I've planted trees there now & they provide a good screen.

**PETERTHEEATER** · 08-12-2010, 05:06

Just go to Where's the Path and look at the toolbar top right. The left hand window should say 'OS + Satelite'. Click the tab and select OS + 1940s OS and you will see the old features.

**Peter Chamberlain** · 11-06-2012, 19:50

Just to help keep up to date with activities at Turweston the active runway has had a refurb with new tarmac and markings. Photos by Roger Syratt from a Cessna 172 I was flying.