RNAS St Merryn, HMS Vulture, Cornwall. Bomb Store

Bomb storage area. Naval aircraft could carry torpedoes but I am not sure they were stored here as they are very heavy and complicated to store, so here would have been light bombs, rockets, small arms ammunition (SAA) and flairs. A safe area to the south of the airfield was picked and any blast would be deflected away by the slope of the hill. Bomb tractors and trailers (bomb trains) could drive in and around the road system without having to maneuver, picking up bombs, bomb tail assemblies and rockets as needed. Taken to the fuzing point and tails fitted and fuzes set. Then trundled out onto the perimeter to awaiting aircraft. The bombs and rockets may be inert, practice or the real thing. They could be dropped locally at a range not far away, where targets would be laid out for them and a team of observers watching the "fall of shot". Also air to air firing from the observers position or the main aircraft armament. A target tug would fly along a set course with a drogue being towed behind and the bullets of the attacking plane dipped in a paint, that would leave colour on the drogue if and when hit. If another plane was attacking the same drogue, then they would have different colours. Thus you could see who hit the target drogue. British aircraft would have had .303 ammunition and 20mm cannon. The Americans usually .5 Browning guns. Rockets used were 'RP-3 60lb SAP/HE', equivalent of a shell from a cruisers gun. Usually carrying four on racks under each wing. On D-Day Swordfish carrying rockets were still being used to patrol the western approaches, covering the right flank against E-boats and submarines and flying from Cornish airfields..

Bomb storage area.

Bomb storage area.

Bomb storage area. We walking out onto the airfield and then it started to rain. Summer in Cornwall what more do you need.

Bomb storage area. Next runway. Why five runways when the RAF only had three. Aircraft landing on an aircraft carrier, always landed into wind and never had to land in a cross wind. So the Navy in its usual way decided pilots did not need to learn cross wind landings and only landed into wind. Using which ever runway was into wind at the time. Often one runway would have a deck landing strip, the length of an aircraft carrier and with arrester cables to train pilots for deck landing. I am not sure if St Merryn had one??

Bomb storage area. Perimeter track leading off to the NE. The farm buildings are built on an aircraft parking apron.

Bomb storage area. You can see the route of the bomb store roadway running in a circle allowing tractors and their bomb trains to move smoothly around the roads. Able to arrive, pick up and drive off to the planes via the fuzing point. Without having to manoeuvre or reverse.

Bomb storage area. A on left B on right.

Bomb storage area. A - This store would have had a berm of earth around three sides, if there was an explosion. It would contain it withing the earth walls.

Bomb storage area. A on the plan.

Bomb storage area. A - Bomb road that was tarmacked came down the bank and passed in front of the building, where munitions could be taken out and placed on a trailer. Usually pulled by a tractor.

Bomb storage area. B on the plan.

Bomb storage area. B - Inside. Bombs may have been stacked up here ready for use, the tail fins would be stacked outside and brought up to the fuzing point to have them assembled and fuzed.

Bomb storage area. B - on the plan.

Bomb storage area. C - Open storage.

Bomb storage area. D - on the plan. The spike is a metal angle that was used throughout airfield construction, to hold down Blister hangars or airfield tracking.

Bomb storage area. D - on the plan.

Bomb storage area. Route taken.

Bomb storage area. E - on the plan.

Bomb storage area. E- on plan. A grass covered store.

Bomb storage area. E- on plan. A grass covered store inside.

Bomb storage area. E- on plan. These we thought were either training rounds or inert rocket heads.

Bomb storage area. F - on plan the next two stores.

Bomb storage area.

Bomb storage area. Next another small store with a blast outer wall where the roadway ran between them to the next store. The roadway has been grubbed up and nothing remains of it in this field.

Bomb storage area.

Bomb storage area.

Bomb storage area. The small cupboard with a steel door frame, which means it would have had a steel door as well

Bomb storage area.

Bomb storage area. G - on plan. Fuzing point.

Bomb storage area. G - on plan. Fuzing point. Fuze store.

Bomb storage area. G - on plan. Fuzing point. Fuze store.

Bomb storage area. G - on plan. Fuzing point drive through cover.

Bomb storage area. G - on plan. Fuzing point drive through cover.

Bomb storage area. H - on plan. Type 24 pillbox. There are two type 24 pillboxes, they have modified entrances with a blast wall covering the door & extra embrasures added in the blast wall.

Type 24 Pillbox blast wall and embrasure.

Bomb storage area.

This entrance actually had a door fitted and was a very crude affair, the first I think I have ever seen.

The second pillbox of the same design but we were unable to enter it due to brambles I on plan.

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