And the opposite of new technology, at RAF Manston (sadly now used to process small boat immigrants) they were so close to the coast that the fighters had to get airborne in just 2 minutes, a fantastic achievement that other battle of Britain stations couldn't manage. The reason that they could do it was that the ground is very chalky, so didn't get waterlogged, allowing light fighter aircraft to land and take off on grass. This meant that all of the Spitfires and Hurricanes could take off at the same time, instead of queuing up to take off on a runway.
Runways were however built later, this was needed because all sorts of Allied aircraft had to make emergency landings there, including heavy bombers. They would struggle across the channel, unable to make it to their home base, and would land at Manston because that was as far as they could manage. In one night alone, there were 46 emergency landings.
Another strange thing about Manston is that there are, apparently and obviously, a series of tunnels and buildings below the airfield. We know this because one of them collapsed recently, but there are no official records of any work done there, or at least any records are still secret.
And, at the time that Border Force took over there, there was a locked doorway, leading underground, with 2 armed guards outside it 24/7. Nobody knows why
www.bbc.co.uk
