RAF Peterhead (Longside) Visited March 2008

[Seahorse]

I'll have a look at them all when I get home and get more pics.

It's not exactly pig country around there, and what there is tends to be all done in sheds. There used to be plenty of sheep roaming around though, but I'd hardly think they'd need wee huts to shelter in.

 

[Bryag]

It is definitely the remains of a Stanton shelter. Whether is stood there originally or was moved there by the farmer is anyones guess. Here are three pics of two of several remaining Stanton shelters in a field at Longside.

Can you see what it is yet?

Another oner

Inside

 

[Seahorse]

I was on the heliport side of the site getting some pics of a farm that has work underway, so took the opportunity to grab some quick shots of the other two pillboxes that are over that way.

The first one, beside the farm...

T'other one...

Sorry to hi-jack yer thread, but it didn't seem worth starting my own for just the 2 pilboxes.

 

[smiffy]

Those pill boxs are really great....A very unusual 'lid' on them ..........what kind/type are they someone????...
Not seen any with a shaped roof like that...especially seeing as they are 'tactical' pillboxs presumably built soley for the protection of the airfield rather than as 'strategic' boxs that were built as part of a stop line defence and therefore would have been built with the expectation that they'd probably have to stand up to armoured assualt .............whereas an airfield defence pillbox was only perhaps gonna get attacked by summat like a paratrooper attack which would have been 'lightly' armed...............Assumption formed by guessing that if a 'full ground force' was approaching the airfield with intent on attacking............ all the airbase personnel/ aircraft spares etc and ground engineers etc would be evacuated ASAP and the airstrip would probably be destroyed/mined/sabotaged to prevent/delay its use to the enemy ????)...........I dunno.... all speculation????............ Krela has done a lot of research into stop lines and 'home' defences in general...maybe he knows what the various 'defence policies' may have been regarding certain locations such as airfields ?????

 

[Seahorse]

There ones at least face the runway, so I assume the idea being to hammer an attacking force coming into the airfield itself. I'll have to go back and check the orientation of the other 4, but I assume the same.

Although, if I'd been planning an attack, I'd have dropped the guys way off the airfield and have them tab in and attack from behind. I'd imagine the somewhat substantial walls around some of the farms in the area would have made for wonderful cover while the lads banged a few covering mortar rounds off. And if they could have got as far as the farms and cottages bordering the place, they would have made a heck of a mess.

A long way to come though. Somewhat risky having paratroopers in the air for a couple of hours flying in from Norway.

 

[smiffy]

Yeah the whole policy of defending airfields is a bit weird ain't it ???.......
I 've always been a little intrigued as to why exactly airfields had such heavy duty 'static' defences such as pillboxs at all....some entrenched positions would serve just as well cos any attacking force would (cos of the very nature of the ground an airfield is always on ...ie: very flat ground with no 'hills' usually in the vacinity) simply manouvere around the airfield to attack from where they pleased rather than just from the direction they had approached the airfield from.................. And as I said...if it was a 'major ground force' that had already fought its way through the country then the shit had already hit the fan in some order ..so.......... if you had any sense you would evacuate the base and fiight from a lot better position to defend than a flat field in the middle of very flat surrounding countryside....Well ...thats how I would have seen things anyways...
Tactically speaking an airfield is almost impossible to defend...whereas say.......a narrow road going through a valley is a lot better prospect for snaring an enemy and holding them up..........
Sorry to ramble probably off topic

 

[Bax__]

Finally got around to it!!! Here's some photo's of my return visit with Bryag....

The thing for aligning the guns (sorry can't remember the technical name tonight!)

Rifle range...

Building next to the control tower - looks like some sort of admin building...

The Control tower...

Fire Station and adjoining buildings...

Store Building...

A little surprise inside that made us s**t ourselves as we heard it priming itself for action....

Thats all folks...

 

[Bryag]

A little surprise inside that made us s**t ourselves as we heard it priming itself for action....

Thats all folks...

Yes, well if you had told me what was about to happen instead of running off, I might still have my hearing

I totally shat it when that went off! I have heard them before but never seen, so I had no idea what it was. I thought I was dead!

Nice pics Bax__, If I ever get around to it, I will try to get some of mine up. Last time I tried my hard drive crashed and I had to reinstall Windows

It was a good day out, though!

 

[Seahorse]

HAHA. Yes! Seeing as how there's an explosives factory in the vicinity, I think I might have needed a new pair of kecks too had I been there.

I'll need to remember that next time I visit.

I didn't know about the range. It looks like it's still in use.

 

[smiffy]

Yes, well if you had told me what was about to happen instead of running off, I might still have my hearing

I totally shat it when that went off! I have heard them before but never seen, so I had no idea what it was. I thought I was dead!

Nice pics Bax__, If I ever get around to it, I will try to get some of mine up. Last time I tried my hard drive crashed and I had to reinstall Windows

It was a good day out, though!

Hah ha hah.... the old gas gun hey???? yep ...
Sure is a good bang ain't it????
A very similar effect can be had by filling a black bin bag with a mix of propane and oxy (snuff out a cutting lamp and then hold the nozzle in a bin bag with yer hand clamped around the nozzle to stop the gas escaping)..........when the bag is nice and full....about the size of a big beach ball ............. fold the top of the bag over and slip an elastic band around the top of the bag nice and tight to stop the gas mix escaping..........next............ attach a length of paper masking tape or baler twine or parcel string (summat that burns well and easily but not too fast...... just like an old style dynamite fuse basically)............ to the bag for your fuse...............at least 3 feet or so.......settle bag against summat to stop it blowing away and also to stop the 'fuse' accidentally touching the bag before you want it to.......(very important that bit!!!!) ...........light 'fuse' with fag lighter and retire to safe distance (at least 100 feet or so for one of this size).......cover ears and enjoy......................

 

[RichardB]

When I was at school there was an explosion at a hotel in the local news. Our chemistry teacher explained how just the right (or wrong, if you happened to be near it) amount of gas had escaped to make the most explosive gas/air mix.

He then proceeded to demonstrate with a balloon. The bang was heard all over the school.

 

[smiffy]

When I was at school there was an explosion at a hotel in the local news. Our chemistry teacher explained how just the right (or wrong, if you happened to be near it) amount of gas had escaped to make the most explosive gas/air mix.

He then proceeded to demonstrate with a balloon. The bang was heard all over the school.

....replace the 'air' with oxygen and the noise is really summat else I can assure you heh heh!

 

[RichardB]

....replace the 'air' with oxygen and the noise is really summat else I can assure you heh heh!

I think he did.