Quote:
Originally Posted by Digvul
I spent most of my formative years playing on the shore or the links at Bondicar. I have a strong memory of looking at very small bits of wrecked aeroplanes which were lying in the dunes? Is this a false memory or does anyone else share it? If so how did they get there? I know I've read on other posts in the forum about wrecked aeroplanes elsewhere but was there also a wreck at Bondicar?
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Post WWII RAF Acklington was an air gunnery station. Squadrons rotated into the Unit to practice air gunnery out at sea. Their targets were light metal drones, shaped rather like the German Doodle-bug V1's and painted black and yellow. They were towed by an aircraft from Acklington. They were equipped with a fixed under-carriage and the idea was that they should be returned to base and the tow ejected and they could land on the grassy airfield and, perhaps, be used again. Some aircrew were better shots than others! On occasion the drones tow was broken by gun fire and on other occasions were brought back so shot-up that they twisted on the tow rope. I know all this because I lived at North Broomhill and often watched them leaving and being returned. The wheels, if one came by a crashed drone, were ideal for home made bogeys!
Wouldn't happen now of course with H&S around and, of course, the advance in capability of modern warfare to down an intruding aircraft.
When you realise that Meteor and Venom/Vampire's had 20mm cannon as armament there is no wonder that fewer came back. I also remember Sabres of both RAF and RCAF. Some drones would have crashed in the sea and others may have ended up on the links or be washed up by tides.