Yorkshire's East Coast

RAF Carnaby

RAF Carnaby is a former Royal Air Force emergency airfield that offered crippled bombers a safe place to land near the English coast during WW2.
It was one of fifteen airfields operating the fog dispersal system known as FIDO (the Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation). FIDO consisted of two rows of pipes, one on each side of the runway that burned petrol.
The heat from the flames cut a hole in the fog and provided crews with a brightly lit strip indicating the position of the runway.

This image shows a RAF Mosquito taking off with FIDO assistance (airfield and date unknown).

RAF Carnaby had one runway 2,700m long and 230m wide.

There was a further clear area of 460m at each end of the airfield and the main runway was divided into three 76m lanes.....the most southerly lane could be used by aircraft unable to communicate with Carnaby's flying control. During WW2 RAF Carnaby was used by over 1400 distressed aircraft.
The large circular dispersal area (bottom left corner) went on to be the base for Thor missiles between 1958-1963.

This image is not looking down the length of the runway but across......230m.

This amazing image of the former RAF Carnaby clearly shows the incredible width of the runway.
Image courtesy of Graham Hanson of Flamborough.



Click the image above or this link to read more about RAF Carnaby (opens in a new window)

In Carnaby village visible from Main Street, there is a memorial to RAF Carnaby and in particular to one airman who had a very lucky escape.


Click the image above or this link to read the full story (opens in a new window).