RAF Manston Battle HQ

Hi all;
Paid a quick visit to east Kent yesterday and managed to grab some shots of this little oddity !! It is on airfield land (as far as i know) but is completely open access.At first glance it seems to be fairly standard-except for the extra height cupola.


As can be seen it is in very good condition,the viewing slit obviusly being filled in quite a number of years ago(judging by the weathering of the concrete.)The entrance steps had been partially rebuilt and railings added around the top.On entering the layout of the rooms was the same as standard Except that there is an additional room to the right as you enter.The toilet door is still hanging and i have no reason to think that its not original.

The whole area has been whitewashed and power and telecoms has been installed (i would guess sometime in the last 15 yrs)This is the view looking thru the messengers/runners room into the PBX room.

This is the back of the PBX room

The next two shots are of the office showing the two hatches and the view thru the hatch to the PBX room.


Now looking from the office to the entrance to the cupola.

I was really suprised to see a ladder entrance the only ones i have been in before are stepped entrances.Right at the top of the ladder is the emergency exit whilst the 'hole'is the entrance to the cupola.

Once again i was very suprised to see a bloody great hole in the roof(obviously original)probably about 3 feet in diameter.

And finally a shot looking looking out of the cupola and one looking back down the ladder.


Well,there you have it.!!! The only gen i could find-from the nearby museum-was that it was on Care and Maintenance until 1999 and was used,believe it or not,as a rehersal area by a band !!! Anyone know anything else about it ?
PS Just along from the BHQ are these two stripped hulks awaiting a landing slot at the big airfield in the sky !!!!

Nice little explore, I want that 747!

Cracking find! PLEASE tell me you got into that 747? We drove under the 747 at the Top Gear track last year. Your one has a set of steps going up to it! Pictures please!!!!!

Looks in good condition considering!

Good pictures!

Bryag (old bean) No unfortunately i didnt-This place is a little bit surreal.You have these two great hulks just sitting there,probably 100yds away and there are no 'Dont even think about it'signs, no fences,no official plods or anything to deter you at all BUT it just seems TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE almost like a trap.!!!Later i was speaking to said museum guy and he told me that had i approached the scrappers i would have felt the weight of the long arn of the law,the RAF,the USAF,the Manston branch of the W.I and probably Phil and Grant Mitchell from E.20 !!!
BUT !! WAS THAT JUST A BLUFF !!
When you find out,post the pictures !!

It's like somebody has scraped the hill away from the brickwork, just leaving it as a standalone building. Weird.

I know one not to far from me that might conceivably be all the better for a visit from Mr JCB.

Nice! Them 747's are mint

Fluffy

That BHQ isn't listed in the Defense of Britain could you let me know its exact location?

Cheers

Steve

CptPies
Hope this helps !!

Many thanks, that one's in the overlay now.

Cheers

Steve

Nice report, great site, cant believe the condition its in looks great - well done

PS Might have overestimated the size of the hole in the roof of the Cupola - Just measured it on Google Earth and it seems about 18 inch diameter-. Forgot to mention that under this hole are three poles mounted to the floor in a triangular shape about 2 foot high.!!! Any ideas anyone ?

Very nice, I love little things like this. That jumbo is dying to be looked at closer .. But I think that's just scaffh
old going up to the wing?

Nice explore fluffy & great pics. It's certainly different to ant other airfield BHQ i've seen & not flooded for a change. Is the electrics still live in there? Now that 747 definitely needs an interior visit

Nice BHQ never seen one as clean as that, great find. As Seahorse said its very strange to see all the brickwork above ground but just shows us how they were constructed

Thanks for posting, I have visited the one at hunsden airfield wich is the same layout, unfortunately it is flooded and in a bit of a state so its nice to see how it should look.

Dave.

A cracking BHQ there mate! those two telecomm. terminal boxes in your second to last pic may be the original 40's ones with the lead cased wires, i have seen some very similar in the RAF Swinderby BHQ.
Bit of a job getting the gear in and out of there if it was used as a band practice room!

After watching Die hard, SWAT, Passenger 57 etc I'd say that there must be easy access into the 747 through the under carridge bay!

The 747 in Fluffy's picture is used quite regularly for escape drill training by BA, which uses Manston to train its 747 crews. They often pump one of them full of smoke!!!!

Hi Godzilla, have you got definite proof it's used for BA training? I often go to Manston & that is the area where old jets are left prior to being broken up. A 747 was broken up there last year over a period of a few weeks.
I'm pretty certain if someone tried to get inside the jet & were seen then there would be a visit by the local plod! However, if they weren't spotted entering.........
The battle HQ looks fab,i'll defo be in there on my next visit down....