Aerial photos of BoB Airfields?

[No1 Cheese]

Hi guys,not being lazy,i have googled etc.Can anyone point me in the direction i can get aerial pics of BoB Airfields,at the moment im trying to populate Biggin Hill and im finding it surprisingly hard to come across any pics.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Cheese

[Ali Fish]

i tried this about a month back and promptly gave up, but will bump you anyway :)

[bongodriver]

Hi guys,not being lazy,i have googled etc.Can anyone point me in the direction i can get aerial pics of BoB Airfields,at the moment im trying to populate Biggin Hill and im finding it surprisingly hard to come across any pics.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Cheese

Heres a strange thing......you can view historic aerial images in google earth but when you look at biggin hill in 1945........it dissapears (twilight zone music)

[Sauf]

Here is a diagram I have of Kenley, am sure I have others, just have to find the right books as the missus has packed them all away.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c93/spritzen/KenleyAirfield1940001.jpg

[Letum]

Many airfields from the period still exist in some form today.
Take a look at a modern satellite image and you will still see runways, hard stands, munition bunkers and control towers and rotting Nissan huts on many ww2 fields.

my closest field is here:
http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=54.233318,-0.974157&spn=0.011664,0.033023&t=k&z=16

It still has plenty of features, including the tower. It is far from unique.

[Sauf]

A Luftwaffe map of Biggin Hill no details unfortunatley, not sure if it will be much help.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c93/spritzen/BigginHill.jpg

[No1 Cheese]

Thanks Gents.Im amazed at just how hard it is to hold of this stuff.Kenley map is spot on mate,i wish i started on Kenley now but its just that i was brought up 10 miles away from "The Bump" and as a kid i used to cycle up there on a sunday morning and have a wonder about.

Cheers
Cheese

[MadTommy]

Try this site

http://aerial.rcahms.gov.uk/database/results.php?search_term=airfield&searchdb=tara_scran

[No1 Cheese]

Cheers for that MadTommy great link.
Couldnt find Biggin Hill on it though LOL.

Cheers

Cheese

[KG26_Alpha]

That's an old site showing only Scottish AF's

But....................

Even on here between Downe and Leaves Green/Hill, Biggin Hill airfield is missing.

Select date from the top.

http://www.ukaerialphotos.com/viewer.asp?X=541648&Y=160843&name=Biggin%20Hill%20Airport,%20BROMLEY&town=Biggin%20Hill%20Airport,%20BROMLEY&county=

http://www.ukaerialphotos.com//home-variation2.asp

[bongodriver]

Biggin Hill is where I work from and most of the paved surface is 'as was' during 1940, the original hangars are all gone but certainly there were 2 big hangars on the south west portion of the field where a certain F1 personality currently has their hangar, all the original barracks and mess are still there....it's like looking back in time when you drive past, plenty of the bomb shelters are still in place too.

[No1 Cheese]

Hi Bongo,im sure i used to remember there being2 hangars in the S/E of the field i used to live in Bromley and im sure they were there as little as 20 yrs ago?
Oh well ill keep looking :)

Cheers
Cheese

[bongodriver]

I hope you find all the data, it really bugged me seeing how sparse Biggin Hill is in game....and I have no idea what ramsgate airfield is doing there too....Manston is my second home airfield.....or first as I live closer and learned to fly there.

[KG26_Alpha]

Bernie used to own a lot of the "out buildings" at Biggin Hill for car storage.

Not sure if he's still keeping his collection there anymore though.




.

[bongodriver]

I havent seen any of his other stuff but he has a modest fleet of private jets in the hangar.

[Doc_uk]

Biggin Hill is where I work from and most of the paved surface is 'as was' during 1940, the original hangars are all gone but certainly there were 2 big hangars on the south west portion of the field where a certain F1 personality currently has their hangar, all the original barracks and mess are still there....it's like looking back in time when you drive past, plenty of the bomb shelters are still in place too.
I remember reading, just the other day, but i cant find the link, That it had 3 Hangers 2 big, 1 small all of witch were bomb during the battle of britain

[KG26_Alpha]

Is this still down the bottom end.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/alpha1/DSCN0794.jpg

[No1 Cheese]

this is what ive got,but as i said cant believe there is so little on this very important station.
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt34/cheesepilot1/Launcher2011-06-0516-19-43-19.jpg

[bongodriver]

Is this still down the bottom end.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/alpha1/DSCN0794.jpg

Hmmm....can't say it rings any bells, the greenery makes it look like it should be near Singh's hangar (falcon flying services), what aircraft is that?....I thought a cessna 180 but I realise it's not now.

[bongodriver]

this is what ive got,but as i said cant believe there is so little on this very important station.
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt34/cheesepilot1/Launcher2011-06-0516-19-43-19.jpg

I would put the hangars on the other side of the perry tracks.....too close to the runways I think, but the general idea is probably close, it still makes you realise how under modelled the airfields are, I would trade alot of the eye candy for decent airfields, trade some of the density of the villages for propper barrack blocks and mess buildings.

[ATAG_Dutch]

Heres a strange thing......you can view historic aerial images in google earth but when you look at biggin hill in 1945........it dissapears (twilight zone music)

Very True.

In bored moments at work over the last 4 years, I took to sticking pins in every airfield I could find on Google earth, then googling the name of the local villages with 'RAF' in front of them to name the airfield. Zoom in to anywhere in Norfolk and you'll spot the typical letter 'A' shape of the runways, even if it's long disused.

Which brings up a further question. The arrangement of the runways at Biggin in the game looks 'wrong' as they more or less come to an apex at one point rather than the classic 'A' shape.

Does anyone know if this is accurate or not?

Cheers.

[Bakelit]

Maybe this thread from another BoB sim helps a little:

http://shockwaveproductions.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=25227&sid=d294320c4a7c59411bd0b0152dfab935

Not a lot but it's a start. The A2A BoB2 modding crew has a wealth of historical knowledge and there should be much more info buried in other forum threads. And... I love that sim for its AI!

[bongodriver]

Very True.

In bored moments at work over the last 4 years, I took to sticking pins in every airfield I could find on Google earth, then googling the name of the local villages with 'RAF' in front of them to name the airfield. Zoom in to anywhere in Norfolk and you'll spot the typical letter 'A' shape of the runways, even if it's long disused.

Which brings up a further question. The arrangement of the runways at Biggin in the game looks 'wrong' as they more or less come to an apex at one point rather than the classic 'A' shape.

Does anyone know if this is accurate or not?

Cheers.

it is pretty much correct, Biggins runways indeed did come to an apex, but now only 2 of the runways are still used and the central one is a taxiway, the main runway is 03/21 and the smaller 11/29 is for light aircraft only.

[ATAG_Dutch]

Ok, thx bongo.

[No1 Cheese]

Maybe this thread from another BoB sim helps a little:

http://shockwaveproductions.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=25227&sid=d294320c4a7c59411bd0b0152dfab935

Not a lot but it's a start. The A2A BoB2 modding crew has a wealth of historical knowledge and there should be much more info buried in other forum threads. And... I love that sim for its AI!

BLOODY BRILLIANT,cheers mate :)

Cheese

[bongodriver]

The fields do look infinitely better than Cliffs but I can't make any sense of what they have done with Biggins runways.