Also known as Admiralty Aerodrome Manston · Kent International Airport
The story of RAF Manston
In September 1939 No. 3 Squadron flew in with Hurricanes under No. 11 Group. Manston was bombed hard in August 1940 and littered with unexploded bombs. In May 1943 No. 617 Squadron loaded inert bouncing bombs here for trials at Reculver. No. 616 Squadron, the first Meteor jet squadron, arrived in July 1944. Manston also became an emergency landing ground, with a runway 9,000 ft long and 750 ft wide. Damaged bombers made for it from across the North Sea.
In the 1950s the US Air Force used Manston for fighter units escorting Strategic Air Command bombers. The 406th Fighter-Bomber Wing flew F-84s and then F-86 Sabres until 1958. From 1960 the airfield was shared between the RAF and civil flights. Search and rescue helicopters flew from here from 1961 to 1994. The RAF left in 1999, and Kent International Airport took over the flying side. The airport itself has since closed.
Flying units
| Unit | Years | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Squadron | 1939–1939 | Hawker Hurricane |
| No. 616 Squadron | 1944–1945 | Gloster Meteor |
| 406th Fighter-Bomber Wing, USAF | 1952–1958 | Republic F-84E Thunderjet, North American F-86 Sabre |
| No. 202 Squadron (search and rescue flight) | 1988–1994 | Westland Sea King HAR.3 |
What survives
- The long wartime emergency runway
- Hurricane and Spitfire memorial building and RAF Manston History Museum beside the old airfield
- A bouncing bomb prototype displayed at the history museum
The museums on the airfield
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum, ManstonRamsgate, Kent | Free | 3 | Free-entry memorial museum holding Spitfire TB752 and Hurricane LF751 plus a dense Manston story — the emergency runway where crippled… |
| RAF Manston History MuseumRamsgate, Kent | £7 | 22 | RAF Manston's history museum spans 1916 RNAS days to Cold War Meteors, with strong 1940s room-sets — and it sits next door to the… |