Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Manston Airport’s 3,000 yard tarmac 3-parallel runways were specifically designed to accept aircraft making crash-landings.

Monument Types

• MILITARY AIRFIELD (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• PERIMETER TRACK (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• RUNWAY (Modern - 1943 AD to 2014 AD)

Full description

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RAF Manston’s 3,000 yard tarmac 3-parallel runways were built in 1943 and were specifically designed to accept aircraft making crash-landings. Prior to the runways’ construction, aircraft took off and landed on a series of grassed runways to the north of the current runway. During the 1950s the tarmac was replaced with a concrete runway.It is the tenth longest civilian runway in the United Kingdom (after Heathrow x2, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands, Doncaster and Prestwick). (1)

The crash runway and salvage bays of Second World War date were visible as structures in US/7PH/GP/LOC286 V 5010 19-APR-1944. Plans for a proposed emergency landing runway at RAF Manston were discussed from mid-1943. Its construction during 1943-44 involved diverting some roads and a water main, removing some earlier military features and providing a complex runway lighting system. Salvage bays were constructed on the south side of the runway and it was also provided with a Fog Investigation and Disperal Operations (FIDO) system (see MKE104167).

Although the crash runway has more recently been adapted, and some of the salvage bays have been removed, it was recorded as an extant structure in Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 07-APR-2021 and was mapped as part of the Historic England Isle of Thanet project in 2024. (2-4)

<1> KCC, 2016, Survey of Buildings and Structures Associated with Manston Airport and the Surrounding Areas. (Unpublished document). SKE31558.

<2> Historic England Archive, 1944, Historic England Archive USAF vertical aerial photographs, US/7PH/GP/LOC286 V 5010 19-APR-1944 (Archive). SKE57114.

<3> Next Perspectives, 2003-2021, Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 07-APR-2021 (Archive). SKE57110.

<4> Joe Bamford, John Williams, Peter Gallagher, 2016, A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1941-1945. Invicta - The Undefeated (Bibliographic reference). SKE58205.

Sources and further reading

Related records