RAF Harrowbeer
RAF · Devon · England · United Kingdom
RAF Harrowbeer.
Set on moorland on the edge of Dartmoor just above Plymouth, this three runway fighter station was placed here to protect the ports of Southern Devon. This is one of the best ex RAF airfields of a wartime period to walk and discover what was and is there, take a plan and spend many hours wondering the lovely Devon moorland and discovering the 12 fighter pens, the MT section, bomb store, where the watch office was and many other details, they are all there to find. Imagination will also help a lot. This is where Spitfires, Typhoons, Hurricanes, By-plane Walruses, twin engined Anson's and even an American President landed here.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
''The museum in our Tearooms is open on our RAF Harrowbeer Archive Weekends two or three times a year BUT if the Tearooms is open and I am around I will always open up the museum.''
Kind regards
Michael & Lucy (owners of the Tea Rooms)
RAF Harrowbeer.
Fighter Station.
1 x Watch Office with Met. section - 518/40.
2 x Bellman hangars.
8 x Over Blister hangars.
12 x Fighter Pens.
18 x Aircraft dispersals.
69 x Officers.
139 x SNCO's.
1260 x Other ranks.
230 x WAAF's.
Runway 1 - 3900ft x 150ft QDM 11/29.
Runway 2 - 3300ft x 150ft QDM 17/35.
Runway 3 - 6000ft x 150ft QDM 05/23.
00-00-00
RAF Harrowbeer.
On the left the is Knightstone tea shop which was the original watch office. The main RAF watch office/control tower was built in the middle of the airfield.
On the right 'Ravens Croft' was the Station HQ and Officers Mess, there was also an annexed Officers Mess in a house in Axtown behind.
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer.
Knight Stone tea shop.
The original Watch Office was a three story, square tower built alongside the existing house ( known as 'Knightstone House') and thought to be built early in 1939. It was used for the duration of Harrowbeer's operational life and after the second Watch Office (a 514/80) was built and opened in early 1942 close to the Technical Site operated as a Plotting Room.
The ground floor of Knightstone House comprised five rooms and a staircase to the first floor.
The five rooms were: -
A Flight Office,
2 Crew Rooms,
2 Workshops ( one of which was used for repairing wireless transmitters and radios ).
On the first floor of Knightstone House were a number of rooms used by Squadron Officers and Intelligence Rooms ( and debriefing was carried out within the building ). (RAF Harrowbeer Archive)
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer.
'Ravens Croft' was the Station HQ and Officers Mess. Now a rest home.
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer.
Dispersal Pen for Fighters type BFCW4513
What is a Fighter Pen: -
Dispersal Pen for Fighters type BFCW4513 with a shelter for 25 personnel. There were two sizes, one was for a Blenheim sized aircraft and the other a Hurricane type. An open E type shape with earth traverse where an aircraft could be reversed in and parked on an asphalt area with a stronger floor area for the aircraft to park and an even stronger area where the wheels were going to stand. Built into the rear is an air-raid shelter for 25 personnel in the event of an aerial attack. There were three entrances, one in each pen and one at the rear.
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer.
Dispersal Pen for Fighters type BFCW4513
You can see the concrete base for the aircraft to stand.
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer.
Squadron of Flight offices.
A mangle of different buildings
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer.
Squadron of Flight offices.
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer.
Squadron of Flight offices.
The drains for the urinals.
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer.
Third pen along and this one has a defence position in one wing.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Anti aircraft position.
With these early airfields they were paranoid about an attach by German paratroops, so defences were put up all over the place. After 1942 the war changed and the Allies were more on the offensive and ground defence took a back foot to air defence..
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
A twin bay machine gun position. It is just like the ones below.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Fighter pen.
A Rocket firing Hawker Typhoon.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Whistley Down.
This road was the perimeter track down to two Over Blister hangars and a fusing point to fuse bombs for the fighter bombers that used RAF Harrowbeer.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Where a Blister hangar stood.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Site No4. Sick Quarters.
This building looks to be the centre section of three section sick quarters and annex. There was also an ambulance garage and mortuary, picket post, orderlies quarters and annex.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Trimal House.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Village war memorial.
Crapstone War Memorial. 64 names from both world wars.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Air-raid shelter.
There were a lot of quarters along this hedge line and for every 26 men/women an air-raid shelter was built.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Air-raid shelter escape hatch.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Delivery road on the bomb store type C variant of AM Drawing 3164/42.
A two bay bomb store, this was a later construction. As the war progressed the airfield turned from defence to offensive operations and fighter bombing became part of their duties.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Loading bay trammel rings.
Bombs were off loaded from lorries onto the ramp and trammeled down the slope.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Unloading ramp.
Delivery road on the bomb store type C variant of AM Drawing 3164/42.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
This is the return side of the store.
Bombs rolled down the opposite ramp and were stored in the space in the middle. Then the bomb trains would collect them from this side.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Unknown building.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
MT office on the right and then parking bays both sides of the road. 30 vehicle MT garage.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
MT yard.
The two buildings were open fronted with concrete pads for the lorries to park on and the rest of the floor would have been filled in with coke ash and there would have been in one bay a pit for lorry servicing.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
MT yard.
One of the bays.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Pill box.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Inside the pill box.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Another defence position.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Rifle defence pit.
A lined trench roofed over with rifle slits down each side. First it may have been Home Guard or a local army unit and later the RAF Regiment.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Entrance to the Trench.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
A second covered rifle trench.
The side entrance, what a place to be caught in a fire fight with a very mobile attacking airborne force.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
A second covered rifle trench.
Inside. No chance of escape from a hand grenade.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Part of a Pill Box embrasure.
This is an armoured shutter for a pillbox and bellow are two images of pill boxes at RAF Culmhead showing how they were used.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Bulk petrol instillation - aviation type 'C'.
This is where the aviation petrol was stored for the airfield. Possibly 24,000 gallons. The pump house stood under the tree where bowser's filled up with petrol and the oblong piece of concrete set into the road is where the petrol tankers from MOS (Ministry of Supply) delivered and being level so their tanks could be dipped before delivery and then again after and the amounts recorded. Everything had to be written down.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Bulk petrol instillation - aviation.
The pump house was under the bush on the right and the concrete level slab for a bowser to park on and fill up with fuel.
21 Aug 2010
RAF Harrowbeer.
REF-KREET.
Still going as a company they produce fire backs for open fires and may have come from one of the huts when it was dismantled.
21 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Nissen hut frames.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Runway 11/29.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Bellman aeroplane Sheds (Hangar).
There were two Bellman hangars here designed in 1936 by
N.S. Bellman. Built as a transportable hangar able to be assembled, dismantled and moved to another site easily. There were 400 erected at home and abroad. Used extensively on fighter and training stations. Here two were placed either side of the control tower and were used for repair and main servicing.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Bellman Aeroplane Sheds (Hangar).
Although a very good hangar. Later on the T2 shed (hangar) came in and was stronger and bigger so Bellman's were gradually fazed out.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Main Store
A store was very important to an air station, it needed aircraft, motor, office, equipment, paper, and the list goes on. A main store that was here was the first type after the expansion period and used temporary brick (half brick) construction and a corrugated asbestos roofing sheets with steel A frame purlins In three parts and a receiving room where all stores entered and signed off.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Main Workshops.
In here all repairs that cannot be completed on the aircraft would be brought in here, not only aircraft repairs but also most items on the camp.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
30 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Watch Office with Met Section 518/40.
21 May 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Watch Office base.
21 Aug 2010
RAF Harrowbeer.
Signal mortar.
A flair signal mortar was placed in the device and by pulling a wire attached to the base it fired the flair.
21 Aug 2010
RAF Harrowbeer.
Signal mortar.
When its cloudy and a plane is circling above the cloud. Firing a flair which the pilot would see coming up through the cloud and know where he was.
21 Aug 2010
RAF Harrowbeer.
Signal Square from the air.
An aid to show pilots the landing conditions on the airfield. QB is RAF Harrowbeer's pundit code, a radio code for the airfield. Usually they used the letters of the airfield but as there are several airfields beginning with H another code had to be found QB.
RAF Harrowbeer.
Compass platform.
Aircraft compass need to be set to due north. This piece of concrete has no iron or steel in its construction so that an aircraft placed on it and pointed due north and the compass would then be adjusted.
02 Aug 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Memorial stone at Yelverton.
Placed here on the 40th anniversary of the airfield.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Fighter pens.
There are six more fighter pens on the south side.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer.
Fighter pens.
02 Sept 2004
RAF Harrowbeer..
The Rock.
Behind this fighter pen is the Rock , a huge lump of stone sticking out of the ground and could cause a flying hazard. There were plans to remove it but actually no body ever hit in and it be came a landmark for pilots landing here, also a good defence position.
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer..
The Rock.
You can see it behind this pen where may generations of children have climbed its dizzy heights.
00-00-00
RAF Harrowbeer..
Alan Williams Turret.
There were two defence AW turrets near here and can be found easily.
02 Aug 2004
RAF Harrowbeer..
Another defence position just over from the AW turret.
There would have been many defence positions from Pill boxes that we have seen, turrets, defended fighter pens to just trenches. The trenches were a hazard to everybody. At night they were unseen and became a hazard and also some as a casual toilet. So later on most were filled in under (a very little known at the time) Health and Safety.
02 Aug 2004
RAF Harrowbeer..
The Rock.
Looking onto the airfield.
02 Aug 2004
RAF Harrowbeer..
A track passing the Rock.
Between the Rock and the Fighter Pen was a Blister hangar.
02 Aug 2004
RAF Harrowbeer..
Battle Head Quarters.
By 1941 the threat was imminent of invasion and many structures were designed and built. One was the BHQ 11008/41. Dated 1941 the plan was for a three roomed under ground shelter with a heavy domed viewing cupola on the top. It had to dominate the whole airfield and so it was placed in the best position to do this. Its aim was to control the airfield defence and a senior officer, several airmen/soldiers would occupy the BHQ and via a telephone network and runners unify the defence from a safe place. Here on RAF Harrowbeer we have two BHQ which is very rare, this one (smaller model) and another by the Watch Office, now dismantled and filled in. This was not used as a fighting post.
02 Aug 2004
RAF Harrowbeer..
Battle Head Quarters.
View into the Cupola.
02 Aug 2004
RAF Harrowbeer..
The view.
This is the view down towards the airfield and remember the trees would have been kept shorter and they would have had a much better view.
02 Aug 2004
RAF Harrowbeer..
An Alan Williams Turret.
Found somewhere in the Plymouth area and used as a night watchman's shelter I think. Now in the Cafe car park.
Links: -
RAF HARROWBEER
YELVERTON
"This website is dedicated to all those who lived, worked, or gave their lives,
whilst serving at RAF Harrowbeer, Yelverton, Devon"
RAF Harrowbeer archive.
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer..
Anderson air-raid shelter.
The Cafe has I a small museum dedicated to the airfield, every time I seem to visit I am too late and its closed.
20 Sept 2014
RAF Harrowbeer..
