RAF Cleave, Cornwall

Army & RAF Camps.
RAF Cleave north of the airfield with two Bellman hangars and four grass runways.
Cleave Anti-Aircraft training camp taking up all the south side.

RAF Camp Site Plan RAF Cleave: - Opened 1939 and closed 1945.
Control Tower - TB HOL.39/43.
4 x grass runways of all around 1000yds long.
Accommodation - Temporary.
Hangars - two Bellman, one Blister.
Before the RAF camp was built, up to three Bessoneau hangars were used.
RAF -     Officers - 11.                
SNCO's - 28.                
Other ranks - 380. WAAF - Officers - 2.                
SNCO's - 4.                
Other ranks - 74.

Anti-Aircraft Training Camp.
This is an early picture of the AA camp and the new airfield not yet extended. The white marks are where hedges have been grubbed out to make way for the extended grass runways. The army camp has a lot of tents and showing a very temporary look to it. Later wooden huts replaced the tents.
1939 and two flights of No.1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation moved in with Westland Wallace aircraft.

Possibly a Type24.
One of the very many pill boxes around the airfield. This pill box was constructed and sighted to cover the airfield. If an enemy was to parachute in or use a glider force. They would have been very vulnerable to being attacked the instant they landed and consolidating. The defenders could pour automatic fire down on an enemy forming up to take the airfield. Behind post war RAF Ministry housing for the camp.

96 & 97 Ammunition Store.
There are two ammunition stores which I would think its was small arms ammunition for airfield defence.

Another Type 26 pillbox covering the valley to the north west of the airfield. This pill box covers an attack from the beach and up a ravine, which would be an easy way onto the airfield without being seen.

Defence position.
Two concrete drain pipes sunk into the ground and this one looks like they are joined by a trench.

Defence position.
Two more drain pipe defence positions.

Defence position.
These were used a lot in early built airfields.

You have been Warned.
Typical over stating the obvious. There are two Stanton shelters here with Void signs on them and would you believe it they are totally sealed up anyway!!!!!!!!!!.

Motor Transport 9 - M.T. Sheds - T - 7274/39.
(9. = on the plan).
('T'= timber hutting).

Motor Transport.
The remains of concrete blocks to stop a driver reversing into the door post.

Officers Mess Building foundations.
You can just make out the roundabout that was in front of the Mess.

Boundary Stone.
A War Department boundary stone No.11. This must have been part of the army camp as if it was the airfield then it would have been an AM Air Ministry stone. Originally they were made of Bath stone, but this one replaces bath stone with reinforced concrete.

Fairy Battle re used as a target tug.

Close shave.

Queen Bee

de Havilland DH-82B Queen Bee was certainly the first truly successful pilot less aircraft with nearly 400 being manufactured over several years. The Queen Bee’s ability to fly without a pilot was indeed high technology at the time and it was demonstrated for dignitaries on many occasions. ©1936.

The basic idea was to be able to shoot at a plane and not killing the pilot, but I am not sure if the idea was to shoot it down or just near miss. More research needed. The Queen Bee was very successful for the period of pre computerisation Many of the Queen Bees were flown more than just the single time, some operating for months. Bad shots.

Queen Bee The base of the steam catapult like the type that was used on capital ships of the Royal Navy. Most AA gun practice was to fire at a drogue, a tube of cloth towed behind a usually out of front line service aeroplane.

The RAF remotely flying a Queen Bee.

A Queen Bee taking off.

The Army camp Site of several huts.

RAF Fighter Command      70 Group
639 Sqdn (Hurricanes/Martinets/Vengeance TTs)
AA (anti-aircraft gunnery) Co-operation unit.

U.S. First Army ‘V’ Corps.        
406th Field Artillery Group.
190th Field Artillery Battalion.

The Army camp bases of more huts.

The Army camp large wooden hut base.

This is a picture of the main gate and guard room of the AA camp, I found it on httpbudeandbeyond.co.uklocal-historycleave-camp. But this site seems not to be working.

AA camp.

A rare colour picture of one of the wooden huts.

Coombe Valley Anti-tank obstacles in the river bed.
I am not sure that tanks would ever have landed here.