Warbird Information Exchange

How many of the control towers are still standing and which one(s) are best preserved?

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Pat
You'll find a lot of photos and information here under the 8th AF heading, including whether they still exist and in what condition. Enjoy!

http://www.controltowers.co.uk/site%20map.htm

Interesting website. Thanks for posting the link. It goes to show there is a web site about any and everything out there.

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Andrew King
Air Museum Director with no Museum to Direct
Open to Suggestions

Thanks, very interesting and informative.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

I have a small chunk of Sta 128 control tower. 401st grp, Deenethorpe. One of my cousins picked it up for me back in the 80's.

You've got a nice little piece of history there. Deenethorpe's tower was demolished not very long ago, of course. The airfield looks even more sad and empty without its silent silhouette. Back in 1973, I picked up a 50 cal case next to a hardstand. It had been fired, almost certainly in anger ...

Why was it demolished...?

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

Probably for health and safety reasons as it was in a pretty bad state. Paul Bellamy will be along soon maybe to confirm or otherwise!

Probably because it was already falling down. I was looking thru the aforementioned control tower website. Most of the towers are now gone. As much as they are a great piece of history, its just not feasable to save all of them.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Pat, the weather looks pretty bad over there, especially your part of the USA, so I hope you're not snowed in! If you are, this site will pass a few days:

http://www.airfieldinformationexchange. ... /forum.php

The only problem with this forum is the massive amount of information and photos and the number of sub-sections. The East Anglia and East Midlands regions have the most 8th content, of course. You'll really get an idea of what is left.

Stay warm!

Dave

No official reason was ever circulated to my knowledge, and it was done early one Sunday morning before anyone knew what was happening.
However, the Royal Observer Corps post built on the roof in the 1950s was slowly crushing the structure, and someone was living rough inside, so the landowner's staff probably covered their potential liabilities by flattening it.

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Paul Bellamy

401BG Association Historian & Honorary Life Member
401BG Historical Society (UK) Member
1st Air Division HQ Historical Society (UK) Founder Member
Director of Archives & Collections, Airfield Research Group Archive, Alconbury
RAF Alconbury Base Historian

Thanks for that info, Paul. A pity they hadn't removed the ROC post and then bricked the tower up. This has been done to the similarly derelict tower at RAF Tilstock up here in Shropshire and the building is now a Listed one with the eventual aim of restoring it. If only more local councils were so enlightened.

Thanks for the link Dave. I will check it out. I'm just heading outside now to use the snowblower on the latest winter storm before it gets too cold to even think about going outside.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Here are some of towers that are used as museums; 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum www.100bgmus.org.uk , Seething Control Tower Museum www.seethingtower.org , Tower Museum Bassinbourn "Wartime Home of the Memphis Belle" www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk , 306th Bomb Group Museum www.306bg.co.uk , the 489th Bomb Group Museum www.489th-bomb-group-museum.org , and the 493rd Bomb Group Museum www.493bgdebach.co.uk My hats off to these organizations for keeping the history of these bases alive.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Station 153, Parham Airfield Museum.

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Sur Le Nez