Royal Air Force Manorbier, or more simply RAF Manorbier, was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

airfield near

Manorbier Manorbier (; ) is a village, Community (Wales), community and parish on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name means the 'Manorialism, Manor of Saint Pyr, Pŷr'. The community includes Jameston, Lydstep and Manorbier Newton. An Wa ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The site was first used in 1933 as a mixed civilian/military airfield and was the base for 'Y' Flight of

No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF This is a List of Anti-aircraft co-operation units of the Royal Air Force. Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight RAF (1931–36) became Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight, ...

in 1937, using de Havilland DH.82 Queen Bee unmanned radio-controlled

target drone A target drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, generally remote controlled, usually used in the training of anti-aircraft crews. One of the earliest drones was the British DH.82 Queen Bee, a variant of the Tiger Moth trainer aircraft operation ...

. The airfield was passed on to the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

in September 1946. Air Defence Range (ADR) Manorbier is located within the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park () is a National Parks of England and Wales, national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of the three National parks of Wales, the others ...

. It is currently used by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and is the sole UK range used for the

High Velocity Missile Starstreak is a British short-range surface-to-air missile that can be used as a man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) or used in heavier systems. It is manufactured by Thales Air Defence (formerly Shorts Missile Systems) in Belfast, Norther ...

in the

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

role. The range comes under

Defence Training Estate Defence Training Estate is an organisation within the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence. It is the operating division of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, and is responsible for the management of the 78% of the MoD's estate allocated as ...

Pembrokeshire, and was formed out of merging the anti-aircraft school of Artillery at Larkhill and the field at Manorbier in 1972. It is now the main UK Close Air Defense (CAD) range for the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

History

RAF Manorbier started as a mixed

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

and

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

airfield in 1933. Algernon Capell, 8th Earl of Essex kept his aircraft there while the RAF used it as a landing ground for land-based aircraft visiting the

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

base of RAF Pembroke Dock, however this ended in 1935. The site, consisting of a grass

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

and canvas tents, was then used as an anti-aircraft training school from the spring of 1937 with

'Y' Flight being based at the airfield. The unit operated the de Havilland Queen Bees, a pilot-less

radio-controlled Radio control (often abbreviated to RC) is the use of control signals transmitted by radio to remotely operate a device. Examples of simple radio control systems are garage door openers and keyless entry systems for vehicles, in which a small h ...

version of the de Havilland Tiger Moth trainer, which was used for anti-aircraft gunnery practice. The runway was enlarged in 1940 and the airfield acquired

catapults A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of sto ...

to launch Queen Bees from clifftops so gunnery practice could be continued when the grass runways were flooded. Defences were also fitted to the airfield, including the Pickett-Hamilton retractable

pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military) A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, often ...

, which can be fitted with different

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, but not artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or wher ...

guns and can be raised or lowered hydraulically. The Pilotless Aircraft Unit (PAU) was based permanently at Manorbier, using a tender to retrieve drones from the sea and return them back to the base. The unit continued to use the airfield even after the war. The airfield was occupied by No. 11 Group RAF in 1944, it was also occupied by No. 595 Squadron RAF from 1 December 1943. The squadron flew a wide variety of aircraft, including the Hawker Henley Mk III,

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

Mks IIC and IV,

Miles Martinet The Miles M.25 Martinet was a target tug aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) that was in service during the Second World War. It was the first British aircraft to be designed specifically for target towing. Work on t ...

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd, Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombin ...

Vultee Vengeance The Vultee A-31 Vengeance is an American dive bomber of World War II that was built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was called A-35. The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States but was operated as a front-line aircraft ...

and the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

Mks VB, XII, IX and XVI. The squadron left on 27 April 1946.

Royal Air Force Operational History

Anti-Aircraft Co-operation

‘Y' Flight of

(1 AACU) was equipped with the de Havilland DH.82 Queen Bee a pilotless radio-controlled

variant of the Tiger Moth aircraft, used from RAF Manorbier for training artillery gunners, at the nearby Royal Artillery Camp, with their

Anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

target practice. The unit initially operated at RAF Manorbier between the 29 June and the 4 October 1938, before arriving for a second time, on the 15 May 1939. 'Y' Flight of 1 AACU disbanded on the 16 August 1942 at RAF Manorbier. ( ''see Pilotless Aircraft Unit below'' ) No. 595 Squadron RAF operated a detachment at RAF Manorbier from December 1943. It provided anti-aircraft co-operation for the School of Artillery, helping to calibrate their equipment by flying at a fixed course and speed and target tugs. The detachment left RAF Manorbier, when the parent squadron moved from RAF Aberpoth to RAF Fairwood Common.

Pilotless Aircraft Unit

The Pilotless Aircraft Unit arrived at RAF Manorbier in May 1942, relocating from

RAF St Athan Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan ( Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as Royal Air Force St Athan, or more simply RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, sou ...

. It was originally known as Pilotless Aircraft Section, redesignating from Section to Unit around December 1940. Although it mainly used the de Havilland Queen Bee, the unit operated a number of pilotless aircraft, and also used various support aircraft alongside: *

de Havilland DH.60 Moth The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Development The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane. T ...

Avro Tutor The Avro Type 621 Tutor is a two-seat British radial-engined biplane from the interwar period. It was a simple but rugged basic trainer (aircraft), trainer that was used by the Royal Air Force as well as many other air arms worldwide. Design ...

Westland Wallace The Westland Wallace was a British two-seat, general-purpose biplane of the Royal Air Force, developed by Westland Aircraft, Westland as a follow-on to their successful Westland Wapiti, Wapiti.Philpott, pp. 431-432. As the last of the interwar ...

Mk II *

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary traine ...

II *

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), R ...

I *

Miles Magister The Miles M.14 Magister is a two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the United Kingdom, British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft. It was affectionately known as the ''Maggie''. It was authorised to perform aerobatic ...

I *

Blackburn Botha The Blackburn B.26 Botha was a four-seat reconnaissance and torpedo bomber. It was produced by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft at its factories at Brough and Dumbarton. The Botha was developed during the mid 1930s in response ...

Mk I * de Havilland Queen Bee *

Airspeed Queen Wasp The Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp was a British pilotless target aircraft built by Airspeed Limited at Portsmouth during the Second World War. Although intended for both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy use, the aircraft never went into series pro ...

I *

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British Army cooperation aircraft, army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operat ...

III *

Percival Proctor The Percival Proctor is a British radio trainer and communications aircraft of the Second World War. The Proctor is a single-engined, low-wing monoplane with seating for three or four, depending on the model. Design and development The Proctor ...

IV * Queen Martinet 'Y' Flight,

(1 AACU), which was operating de Havilland Queen Bee at RAF Manorbier, was absorbed by the Pilotless Aircraft Unit on the 16 August 1942. The Pilotless Aircraft Unit disbanded at RAF Manorbier on the 15 March 1946.

Other Units

The following units were here at some point: * No. 2767 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 4109 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment

Current use

Air Defence Range Manorbier

The site is currently used as training and testing range for the

known as Air Defence Range (ADR) Manorbier, the testing range fires a maximum of 750

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

each year on 100 designated testing days. Established in 1972, it is the British Army’s main UK Close Air Defence (CAD) range and is used to fire a variety of CAD

missiles A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this u ...

and machine guns. Both Army and Commando CAD units utilise the training facilities, along with the Defence Air Warfare Centre. While Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Welsh Office, Nicholas Bennett, Member of Parliament for

, confirmed for 1989 that the range at Manorbier was used by

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

units for practice firings of

Man-portable air-defense system Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable Shoulder-launched missile, shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. They are guided missile, guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters and ...

s (MANPADS or MPADS) including

Javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

and Blowpipe.

and

Army Reserve Army Reserve refers to a land-based military reserve force, including: *Army Reserve (Ireland) *Army Reserve (United Kingdom) *Australian Army Reserve *Canadian Army Reserve * New Zealand Army Reserve *United States Army Reserve *United States Navy ...

use totalled 11,067 and 11,294 man training days respectively. The principle weapon system fired at ADR Manorbier was fitted for night operation in 2005, the only suitable site for testing new

night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night v ...

technology at the time. The

also proposed a plan to launch a maximum of 100 missiles for 20 nights a year. This was met with opposition from the locals who claimed that should the plan be approved, tourism will suffer and

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

in the area will increase.

Geography

The range is part of Defence Training Estate Pembrokeshire. The installation covers 102 acres (41 hectares), however, the danger area is around , extending up to out to sea and upwards.

Nearby military sites

As well as the Manorbier range, DTE Pembrokeshire (DTE P) consists of the

Castlemartin Training Area Castlemartin Training Area is a British Army military training area and armoured fighting vehicle range located in the Wales, Welsh county of Pembrokeshire. It was originally established for tank training by the Royal Armoured Corps in 1938. Th ...

and ranges at

Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire Castlemartin () is a village and parish in the community (Wales), community of Stackpole and Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The village is on a sandstone ridge, southwest of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire ...

, the Penally Training Camp just outside

Tenby Tenby () is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies within Carmarthen Bay. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the 13th-century Tenby Town Walls, me ...

, and the Dry Training Area at Templeton about south of

Narberth, Pembrokeshire Narberth () is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was founded around a Welsh court and later became a Norman stronghold on the Landsker Line. It became the headquarters of the hundred of Narberth. It was once a marcher borough ...

Nearby places

ADR Manorbier is located between

Pembroke, Pembrokeshire Pembroke ( ; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 7,552. The names of both the town and the county (of which the county town is Haverfordwest) have a common origin; both are derived from th ...

to the north west,

to the north east, and the former

station,

RAF Carew Cheriton Royal Air Force Carew Cheriton, or more simply RAF Carew Cheriton, is a former Royal Air Force station located near Carew, Pembrokeshire. It was situated north west of Tenby. It covered and more, the same site of the First World War airship ...

, near

Carew, Pembrokeshire Carew () is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community on an inlet of Milford Haven (harbour), Milford Haven in the former Hundred (country subdivision), Hundred of Narberth (hundred), Narberth, Pembrokeshire, West Wales, east of Pembrok ...

to the north.

National park

The range is located within the

, and also includes the

Pembrokeshire Coast Path The Pembrokeshire Coast Path (), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly at cliff-top level, with a total ...

which is a designated

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government, and Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh Government, Welsh ...

Current operations

High-velocity Missile

The Royal Marines Air Defence Troop, from 30 Commando (IX) Group, specialise in using the High Velocity Missile (HVM), known as

Starstreak Starstreak is a British short-range surface-to-air missile that can be used as a man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) or used in heavier systems. It is manufactured by Thales Air Defence (formerly Shorts Missile Systems) in Belfast, Northe ...

. Within one second of launching, the HVM reaches

Mach The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Austrian physi ...

3. Missile firing camps at ADR Manorbier are highly technical and require months of planning. In order to live fire a HVM, an operator must do hundreds of simulator shots and target

drone Drone or The Drones may refer to: Science and technology Vehicle * Drone, a type of uncrewed vehicle, a class of robot ** Unmanned aerial vehicle or aerial drone *** Unmanned combat aerial vehicle ** Unmanned ground vehicle or ground drone ** Unma ...

tracking with a

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

. Banshee drones are used and are operated by technicians from

QinetiQ QinetiQ ( as in '' kinetic'') is a British defence technology company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire. It operates primarily in the defence, security and critical national infrastructure markets and run testing and evaluation capabili ...

. Designed to survive the missile engagement, the drones have a

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

which enables estimation if the HVM would have successfully hit an aircraft. A specialist team at the range, from the

Gunnery Training Team (GTT) based at

Larkhill Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury. The settlement ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, co-ordinate

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. The missiles are fired from land out to sea and range staff ensure all

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and sea traffic is monitored.

Lightweight Multirole Missile

In 2019 the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

tested the Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) system, known as

Martlet A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing. It is a compelling allegory for continuous effort, expr ...

, to take out airborne targets at Air Defence Range Manorbier. Air Defence Troop of Plymouth-based 30 Commando (IX) Group were the first sub unit to use the system. Drones were launched and the

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

s used the

laser-guided Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

s to fire at their targets. The Martlet, which has a range of more than 6km, is intended to complement the High Velocity Missile (HVM).

Banshee A banshee ( ; Irish language, Modern Irish , from , "woman of the Tumulus#Ireland, fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or kee ...

target drones were used in the exercise, with

instructors and

Thales Air Defence Thales Air Defence Limited (TADL), formerly Shorts Missile Systems (SMS), is a defence contractor based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, producing short range air defence missiles. Shorts Missile Systems was established as a joint venture betwee ...

technicians to gauge the success of the engagement. During March 2019,

undertook ground firing

trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, wh ...

of 6 x Lightweight Multirole Missiles fired from the Thales designed launcher system, at a small

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

target at sea a

distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects, points, people, or ideas are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two co ...

of away, at Air Defence Range Manorbier. This formed part of the Integration testing phase of the Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Light), FASGW(L) programme. The programme included testing of all parts of the weapon

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...

including the missile itself, the launcher system to be fitted to the AW159 Wildcat military helicopter and relative equipment. The missiles used were fitted with telemetry software and had no

warhead A warhead is the section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket (weapon), rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: *E ...

. The data gathered enabled analysis of the launcher, the guidance system and missile performance.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

Royal Marines Air Defence Troop High Velocity Missile live firing at ADR Manorbier

LMM fired from Wildcat helicopter pannier at ADR Manorbeir
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manorbier Bombing ranges Royal Air Force stations in Wales Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Military airbases established in 1933