Isle of Man ATC in the 1940s
 Air Traffic Control during wartime and after
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 ATC in the 1930s         ATC in the 1950s
1940 - 1945  under Wartime Regulations
 
Ronaldsway Airport
A limited civil air service was continued during WW2 using Dragon Rapides initially to Liverpool and subsequently to Belfast. In July 1940 the services were transferred to Manchester Barton but by November were back at Liverpool, which acted as the control and authorization centre for civil Irish Sea area flights, including those between Dublin and Liverpool operated by the Irish Airline, Aer Lingus Teoranta. Although control of Ronaldsway Airport had been taken over from the civil commercial operators by the UK Air Ministry, no permanent military units were based initially and civil ATC carried on as before, although with only two Rapides flying the Liverpool and Belfast route it must have been rather quiet, on some days in June 1940 there are no flights logged for days on end.
 
Logbook Entries, March 1940 - click for larger
6th March 1940
7th March 1940
 
 
 
Development of RAF Air Traffic Control in World War Two
 
During the inter-war years there had been little need in the RAF for ATC as we understand it. Most flying took place in daylight hours in good weather conditions and aircraft recovering to land at an airfield would join overhead to observe the signals square and then integrate themselves into other circuit traffic. Control functions mostly concerned booking aircraft out and back in and alerting the Crash Crew in event of an accident and would have been performed by the 'Duty Pilot'.  In the run up to World War Two, most of the development revolved around detecting enemy aircraft and then vectoring fighters to intercept them. After the start of WW2 when much more flying was taking place at night and in poor weather it became apparent that a system of control was needed to help aircraft find their way back to airfields over a blacked out country and then not collide with other aircraft also returning to the same airfields. The military ATC system was developed through the war years with many specialist Air Traffic Control Officers trained to carry out procedures as specified in document AP3024 'Flying Control in the Royal Air Force'. Proper Control Towers were built to standard designs, but the actual control of aircraft landing and taking off was still carried out using light signals by the 'Airfield Controller'. He was situated in a moveable van to the left of the downwind end of the runway in use (where there were hard runways) but operated under the supervision of the Flying Control Officer in the airfield Control Tower.
 
Air Publication 3024 - click for larger 
The various RAF Commands operated very much as separate entities, so Fighter Command wasn't interested in what allied bombers were doing and vice-versa and neither were interested in Training, Coastal Command or ATA ferry flights.  Only Fighter Command had access to the new radar derived information which was steadily covering the UK, from the Chain Home early warning network to the Night Fighter radar Ground Controlled Intercept (GCI) stations being established around the country.  Non fighter 'friendlies' were largely disregarded as of no interest to the radar stations.
 
 
Mainly under the auspices of F.T.K. Bullmore, a safety organisation was set up at the Air Defence Sector Operations Rooms to guide lost bombers back to an appropriate airfield - amazingly, initially at least, against the wishes of the air defence organisation who were only interested in fighters and saw the air traffic control officers in 'their' control room as a waste of space! Known as 'Flying Control Liaison Sections' they were the forerunner of today's 'Distress & Diversion' cells and kept weather and serviceability information on all airfields within their area and using the air defence radar plots could often identify lost bombers and using the 'Darky' system or searchlight direction could assist the aircraft to a suitable diversion airfield.
 
The 'Darky' Procedure
This was an ingenious procedure that allowed a pilot of an aircraft in distress, whose radio operator may have been killed or injured, to talk directly to Flying Control at the nearest airfield. It operated by H/F R/T on a fixed frequency of 6440 Khz and transmitter powers were deliberately low to reduce range to around ten miles. For example, a pilot requiring assistance would transmit 'Hello Darky, Hello Darky, Hello Darky, this is Koska Freddy, Koska Freddy, over'. If Jurby Flying Control heard the call they would reply 'Hello Koska Freddy, this is Jurby, this is Jurby, over' Once two way communications were established assistance could be offered to home the aircraft to the visual circuit for landing.
 
Searchlight Assistance
Searchlights could be used to direct a lost aircraft towards a suitable landing airfield where a cone of 'Sandra' lights would be illuminated as it approached to show the location, much needed at the country was operating under blackout restrictions at night.  Other searchlights could illuminate barrage balloons if there was a risk of friendly aircraft colliding with them. Radio 'Squeakers' were installed on mountain tops. 
 
 The poster below was produced to inform aircrew as to how the searchlight system worked.  Its design was instigated by Bullmore after he interviewed a lost pilot who eventually landed at RAF Colerne more by luck than judgement after having ignored the searchlight assistance and even a 'shepherd' Beaufighter night fighter that intercepted him and tried to lead him to the nearest airfield.  The aircraft ran out of fuel right after landing on the runway!  The pilot said that he had seen the searchlights but didn't know what they were for and had thought that the Beaufighter was an enemy aircraft trying to shoot him down.  There had been plenty of 'notices' issued to flight crews about the searchlight assistance, but Bullmore realised that a colour poster on the crew room wall would maybe stick in the mind better.  Mike Potter of the Military Aviation Museum Virginia Beach, VA, USA has had the poster reproduced for display in their RAF/USAAF control tower that they moved from England.
 
RAF Snaith control tower with searchlight poster on wall
'Searchlight Assistance' reproduction poster
 
RAF Jurby
Under the 1930s RAF Expansion Program, a military airfield was planned for the north of the Isle of Man at Jurby, to be used for armament training. Construction started in 1938 and initially provided a grass airfield. Paul Francis' excellent study for Manx National Heritage records that between the 10th October 1939 and 16th January 1940 a total of 65 aircraft arrived for No 5 Air Observers School - 21 Blenheim's, 16 Henleys, 15 Battles and 1 Magister. 
 
On the 1st December the unit was re-named as 5 Bombing and Gunnery School, using the same aircraft for armament training, although reverting back to 5 AOS in July 1941. In February 1943 the unit had 60 Avro Ansons, 21 Bristol Blenheims and 10 Westland Lysander target tugs, although the Blenheims were in process of being retired from service. On the 1st February 1944 5 AOS was re-designated as the Air Navigation and Bombing School and in November started to receive a new aircraft type, the Vickers Wellington X. The unit designation was changed again on 31st May 1945 to 5 Air Navigation School before they departed for the UK in September 1945. After almost a year without a resident unit, 11 Air Gunners School arrived from nearby Andreas with Wellingtons, Martinets and Spitfires in September 1946. 
 
Although designed as a training airfield, from November 1940 fighter units were also based, initially 307 (Polish) Sqn with Defiant night fighters and then from January 1941, 258 Sqn with Hurricanes, being replaced in April by 312 (Czech) Sqn, also with Hurricanes. Another squadron rotation happened in May 1941 when 312 Sqn were replaced by 302 (Polish) Sqn, again with the Hurricane, staying until August when 457 (Australian) Sqn arrived, this time with Spitfires. The Spitfires stayed until Andreas airfield was available and they moved across to the in October. For a while there was a temporary Sector Operations Room operated at Jurby as part of 9 Group, whose headquarters were at Barton Hall, Preston, until a new operations room was opened at Ramsey, using the gymnasium of Ramsey Grammar School.
 
Jurby Airfield in 2001
Jurby Control Tower as preserved in 2001
 
Jurby Radio Room
 
Initial ATC facilities probably comprised the ubiquitous 'Runway Caravan', using light signals and Very cartridges to warn aircraft of dangers on final approach, but in the early 1940s a brick built Control Tower was added, probably at the same time as tarmac runways were laid and electric airfield lighting installed. Control instructions would be relayed by either telephony (R/T) or telegraphy (W/T) using High Frequency (H/F) radio with a range of 5 to 20 miles for R/T and 300 to 800 miles for W/T, depending on atmospheric conditions. An H/F direction finding station would have been established close to the airfield for providing bearings on aircraft transmissions and to enable Controllers to provide 'QGH' let downs, homing the aircraft initially to overhead the D/F station then on an outbound course before turning back towards the D/F station  letting down via a 'safety lane' until they were clear of cloud and could join the visual circuit and land. As the D/F station was remote from Flying Control, bearings obtained by the operator had to be passed back by land line to Control before the control officer could decide what instructions to issue. At longer ranges, communications would have to be by H/F W/T (Morse code) via a radio operator in the tower but at closer ranges the Flying Control Officer could use direct H/F R/T speech although in larger aircraft the messages would be received by the radio operator and relayed to the pilot on the aircraft intercom.  Actual control of aircraft using the runway remained with the Airfield Controller in a caravan that was moved according to the runway in use.  Light signals using an Aldis Lamp were the preferred method of control with Very pistol signals as a backup, the use of radio for local control was discouraged except in emergencies.
 
RAF 1944 QGH Approach Procedure
 
 The main runway was lengthened in late 1944 after a a series of accidents with aircraft running off the end of the runway. The Control Tower, along with aircraft and hangers, was badly damaged on the 20th May 1945 when a Short Sunderland flying boat crash landed at Jurby. Although a successful landing was carried out, after the crew had escaped depth charges on board exploded causing extensive damage around the airfield.
 
On the 15th October 1947 11 Air Gunners School was disbanded and the airfield was placed under care and maintenance for the rest of the decade until re-opened in 1950 as an officer cadet training establishment.
 
Preserved WW2 Control Tower at Elvington Airfield
At the Yorkshire Air Museum, located on Elvington Airfield to the east of York, the World War Two Control Tower has been restored to show the typical Flying Control provided at a bomber airfield. The facilities at Jurby Control Tower would have been very similar.
 
 
Elvington Flying Control
Approach Control
Approach Control Pinboard
Local Control Pinboard
Operations Board
Radio Operators Room
 
Jurby Range
As a necessary adjunct to the training airfield at Jurby, extensive bombing and firing ranges were established along the coastline, stretching from Orrisdale Head in the south all the way to the Point of Ayre.  By-laws were enacted by the IOM Government in December 1939 defining the areas to be used and regulations to be applied.   They weren't always closed off to the public and access was permitted when they were not in use, activity being indicated by red flags flow at various locations and red lights at night.  A total of seven 'Quadrant Towers' were erected along the cliff tops for plotting the impact areas of bombs dropped on floating targets located at sea.  A Range Control was established in a wooded building on the clifftop at Jurby Head, which would have been in communication with the quadrant towers by telephone, the towers telephoning bearings of practice bomb impacts which could then be plotted on a chart in control to show the actual impact point.  Air to air gunnery would also be practised in the area and ranges were established at ground level for further gunnery practice, including the Turret Training Range on Jurby Head.
 
The bombing targets were triangular rafts on the sea. Constructed of wood with buoyancy tanks, with an armour plated superstructure and a mast with a wicker sighting mark.  The actual target buoy was surrounded by three others to show the area that the trainees were supposed to land their bombs in.
 
Use of the range by aircraft would presumably have been on a time slot booking system, but actual control was by large visual ground signals, consisting of an arrow pointing towards the target and disks positioned at locations around it to show whether it was safe to bomb or not.
 
Bombing Range Ground Signal
 
 
After WW2 finished the range remaining in use until finally closing in 1993, the actual dimensions of the range changed over time as indicated on the maps below.
Jurby Range Plan - December 1939
Jurby Range 1940s
Jurby Ranges 1940 - 1993
 
Jurby Range area at Rue Point (2018)
Jurby Head Turret Training Range (2018)
Jurby Head Turret Training Range (2018)
 

RAF Hall Caine
Although closed as a civil aerodrome on the outbreak of war in September 1939, Hall Caine was taken over as a satellite airfield for RAF Jurby in the same month. It was used as a Relief Landing Ground and to support air to air gunnery target towing operations. The target towing aircraft would overfly Hall Caine at 2000 ft heading out to the ranges over Ramsey Bay. After the trainee air gunners had done their best, the target towing aircraft would fly back to Hall Caine and drop the drogue overhead the airfield at not below 500 ft. A Control Officer was deployed from Jurby to oversee operations and report the 'scores' back to Jurby by telephone. Aircraft used for target towing included the Fairey Battle, Hawker Henley and Westland Wallace. When RAF Andreas opened in 1941 the use of Hall Caine as a Relief Landing Ground ceased but it continued to support the target towing operations for a while. After the RAF vacated the airfield it was obstructed to prevent possible use by enemy aircraft. After the war the airfield was returned to its original owners and continued to be registered as an airport (albeit with no actual flying) until 1971, although being used for a short time in the 1990s for glider flying.
 

 RAF Andreas
Andreas airfield was constructed on farmland to the north east of the village and from the start was designed as a fighter airfield to offer protection from air raids on the cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast. Convoy protection work in the Irish Sea was also an important task. Construction started towards the end of 1940 and the airfield became operational with the arrival of 457 (Australian) Sqn from Jurby, their Spitfires arriving in October 1941. A purpose built brick control tower was provided for Air Traffic Control to a standard RAF wartime design, but supplemented by an extra visual Control Room on the roof, which was more usual on night fighter stations. 
 
Andreas Airfield in 2001
Andreas Control Tower in 2003
 
In November 1941 another unit arrived, a detachment of 275 Sqn which was a specialized Search and Rescue unit based at Valley on Anglesey with another detachment at Eglinton in Northern Ireland. The squadron was responsible for SAR operations over the whole of the Irish Sea and was mainly equipped with Westland Lysanders and Supermarine Walrus Amphibians, but also operated Defiants, Ansons and Spitfires. 275 Sqn (det) remained at Andreas until departing back to the UK in April 1944.
 
In March 1942, 457 Sqn were replaced by another Australian unit, 452 Sqn again equipped with Spitfires, who departed at the end of May, being replaced by 93 Sqn, many of whose Spitfires had seen previous service with 157 and 452 Sqn. 93 Sqn remained at Andreas until September when they departed back to the UK leaving the island without an active fighter squadron.
 
An event noted in several publications was the introduction in August 1942 of  new equipment which radically improved air to ground communications. This was probably the replacement of the former High Frequency (H/F) radio system with the new Very High Frequency (VHF) radios.  A new remote radio station was constructed at Regaby, about half way between Ramsey and Andreas. This brought an major improvement in both quality and range (up to 150 miles) of signals and enabled controllers and pilots to communicate clearly and reliably for the first time. The equipment fitted to aircraft provided four (sometimes eight)  crystal controlled frequencies, usually arranged as: 
 
1) World Guard - a frequency for common use by aircraft in need of assistance unable to make use of any other frequency 
2) Group Guard - A frequency for common use by aircraft of the same Group when operating together or diverted within the group 
3) Sector Operational Control - A frequency for common use by aircraft in Squadrons of the same sector 
4) Flying Control - A frequency for Local Flying Control at the aircraft's base
 
On a typical fighter mission, an aircraft would depart using Channel 4 for communications with Andreas Flying Control, changing to Channel 3 for direction by the Sector Operations room at Ramsey. After the mission they would change back to Channel 4 for recovery to Andreas. If a diversion was required and they could make it to another 9 Group airfield, Channel 2 would be used. If they needed to divert to a 'non Group' airfield (Ronaldsway or Jurby maybe) they would use Channel 1. Normally, recovery into Andreas would be by visual means but if required a 'QGH' approach could be given using Direction Finding equipment on or adjacent to the airfield to home the aircraft through cloud on a 'safety lane' until visual with the runways. 
 
An additional type of approach available to VHF equipped aircraft was the 'ZZ' procedure. This entailed homing the aircraft to the airfield overhead and then instructing an 'outbound' course to fly, descending to a safe level until about eight mile away, using D/F bearings obtained every half minute to keep the aircraft on track and timings for the range. The pilot would then be instructed to make a 'Rate One' turn onto the correct course for landing. Again using regular D/F bearings the pilot could be kept on the correct approach path and instructed to descend until the controller estimates that he is approaching the runway. A last D/F check is made and 'if the aircraft can be heard approaching' the pilot is told 'OK to land ahead' otherwise told 'open the throttles and climb away'. If the pilot becomes visual at any point he may request to continue the approach visually. As in the 'QGH' procedure, the D/F station operator was remote from the control tower and all bearings had to relayed by land line, although in this case a 'direct loudspeaker telephone' was mandated  (From AP3024 'Flying Control in the Royal Air Force)
 
RAF 1944 'ZZ' Approach Procedure
 
In May 1943 another unit was formed at Andreas, No 11 Air Gunners School, using Miles Martinets as target tugs and Avro Ansons equipped with turrets for training the gunners. From September 1944 the Ansons were gradually replaced by Vickers Wellingtons and by early 1945 the unit had also acquired twelve Spitfire VIIs for staging fighter style attacks on the Wellingtons to train the gunners. In September 1946 11 AGS moved to Jurby and the airfield was placed on care and maintenance, being officially closed in February 1947.
 
 
Jurby/Andreas Sector Operations Room
 
As previously mentioned, a sector operations room was established in the newly constructed Ramsey Grammar School (West) and was operational towards the end of 1940. Originally known as the Jurby Sector, the name was changed when Andreas airfield opened in 1941 and the fighters moved over from Jurby. This formed part of 9 Group whose headquarters were at Barton Hall near Preston, later to become the home of the Preston Air Traffic Control Centre in the 1950s. The Sector Operations room directed operations for all fighter aircraft within the sector and was fed with information from the filter room at Barton Hall but also direct from the radar stations on the Isle of Man. 'Chain Home' radar stations had been established at Scarlett, Bride and Dalby and a 'Chain Home Low' station at Cregneash.  Information on aircraft tracked by the radars was supplied to the Group filter room at Preston and directly to Ramsey, where it would be displayed in a graphical format on the Plotting Table.  The Fighter Controller sat on a raised dais overlooking the table and direct the defending aircraft using 'Vectors' towards hostile or unknown aircraft. Alongside the controller were assistants manning telephones in contact with Anti Aircraft Command, Royal Navy Douglas HQ and Air Sea Rescue. Everything that was said on the radio was recorded by clerks sitting in four radio cabins behind the controller. Also on the site was a large communications section with teleprinters, a cypher office and radio transmitters and receivers. The operations room was duplicated at a remote site at Regaby, as a backup in case the main building was bombed or otherwise put out of service. When the interception was completed the fighters would be given a 'Steer' back to base for recovery and instructed to contact Andreas.
 
Restored Sector Operations Room
at RAF Digby
 
Regaby Radio Station and standby Sector Operations Room
(Pictures courtesy of and © Laura Mylchreest)
 
The need for a Sector Operations Room for Andreas declined and in 1943 it was transferred to Training Command to become the
Training Flying Control Centre (see below) and operated as such until closed after the end of WW2.
 
 
 

 Air Defence Radar Stations
(I am indebted to the work of Paul Francis and particularly the late Alan Cleary for much of the information below)
Radar Sites on the IOM in WW2
The Chain Home radar station at Dalby
 
There were four main Air Defence Radar sites located on the Isle of Man. At Scarlett, Dalby and Bride, AMES Type 1 'Chain Home' (CH) radars were built, aircraft plotted being reported to the Fighter Command Filter Room at Preston and also directly to the Jurby/Andreas Sector Operations room at Ramsey. The first station to be constructed was Scarlett, with work commencing in July 1940, becoming initially operational in September.
The Chain Home radar used large fixed transmitting and receiving towers and operated on a frequency of 22.7 to 29.7 MHz or alternately 42.5 to 50.5 Mhz. Aircraft returns were displayed to the operator on a Cathode Ray Tube showing range from the station. Using Goniometers to vary input from the different receiving masts, bearing and height could be estimated. Plotting was most accurate in range, with bearing and height less so.
 
Type A display used in CH stations
CH Operator
 
Aircraft Position Reporting

Aircraft positions observed were reported back by telephone using a decimal square grid system covering the UK and surrounding waters based on an origin line at the Isle of Wight.

 
The radar station at Cregneash was quite different. Whilst the Chain Home stations were good at detecting high flying aircraft, anything below 3000 ft would not be plotted reliably so 'lower looking' radars were developed and these were deployed at this site. There were a total of five radar systems installed at Cregneash over a period of time, two AMES Type 2 Chain Home Low (CHL), an AMES Type 52 Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL), Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) and a Royal Navy AMES Type 31 Coastal Defence Radar.
Aerial view of the Cregneash Site taken in 2015
 
The AMES Type 2 CHL radar worked on a frequency of 200 Mhz using a rotating five bay four stack mesh type aerial and could detect an aircraft flying at 500 ft at a range of 110 miles.  The first Type 2 had been installed by November 1940 as a report by a visiting technician then mentions that the aerial had been modified. He also states that it had a maximum aircraft detecting range of 120 miles although normal range was around 40 to 45 miles. The report mentions that the station was working 'very well' but that 'strong winds hold up operations for long periods at this time of year'. The aerial was manually turned and did not have a 'Plan Position Indicator' (PPI) type display. 
The next report from the station is from May 1941 and says that the station was 'converted to VT98s (?) common aerial and PPI at the start of the month. The PPI display had a range of 80 miles and apart from clutter produced by the Mountains of Mourne in Ireland worked very well.  There was a problem noted that Cregneash and Scarlett shared a land line for reporting plots to Preston and that it was becoming overloaded and the two stations were 'competing for its use'.  It was also mentioned that two different position reporting grids were in use, the British and Irish ones and that this was causing confusion.   It is not obvious from the report as to whether the original Type 2 radar was modified or this was when the second Type 2 was installed on the site, quite possibly the latter to avoid loosing radar cover while the work was carried out.  The new type of aerial was rotated electrically to feed the PPI type display.
 
AMES Type 2 CHL Radar
Plan Position Indicator Display
 
 
Cregneash PPI Display Drawing 1941
Cregneash PPI 'Plots' Drawing 1941
 
 
The AMES Type 52 CHEL was a centimetric radar operating on a frequency of around 1000 MHz (3 cm or 'S' Band) with a rotating dish type aerial mounted above a nissan hut, based on the Royal Navy 277 radar. The aim was to detect aircraft flying below 500 ft. Returns were shown on a PPI display.
AMES Type 52 CHEL Radar
 
Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) was the forerunner of today's Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) and followed on from the RAF 'Pip-Squeak' H/F D/F based system used during the Battle of Britain to keep track of friendly fighters. IFF interrogated a transponder fitted to friendly aircraft which produced an enhanced return on the ground operators display to distinguish it from enemy or unknown aircraft. The first IFF sets operated on the same frequencies as the air defence radars, but due to the proliferation of frequencies used, a separate band was set up just for IFF (IFF Mk III) with frequencies used in the 157 - 187 MHz band. This was the type of equipment installed at Cregneash. The aircraft transponder receiver swept across the frequency range with ground station allocated a spot frequency to prevent mutual interference between stations. Aircraft transponders were only interrogated as required to prevent the enemy using the radiated signals to home onto aircraft.
 
As with the Chain Home stations, any aircraft returns observed at Cregneash were reported back to the Filter and Sector Operation Rooms, with no actual control of aircraft carried out from the site.
 
The final type of radar at Cregneash was an AMES Type 31 Coastal Defence No1 Mk V operated by the Royal Navy for observing ships in the Irish Sea. This was a 10 cm set very similar to CHEL and used a parabolic dish aerial.
Royal Navy AMES Type 31 Radar
 
 

RAF Ronaldsway
Ronaldsway was requisitioned by the RAF in May 1940 and some  additional hangers constructed to house the aircraft of the No1 Ground Defence Gunner's School which commenced training courses in July. Aircraft used were Westland Wallaces, Hawker Harts and Gloucester Gauntlets used for banner towing for ground to air gunnery, with the Westland Lysander arriving later. The RAF established a Flying Control in the airport booking office while the civil ATC continuing to operate independently. There may also have been a 'runway van' for the Duty Pilot, whose main duties were to fire red warning pyrotechnics or use a signalling lamp to warn of dangers to aircraft landing, e.g. other aircraft close by but maybe not visible to the pilot, or a machine with retractable undercarriage approaching with the wheels still up.
 
Aerial view of RAF Ronaldsway - 31 July 1942
 
 
 
 
Gloster Gauntlet
 
Westland Wallace
Westland Lysander
 
Hawker Hart K3045 at Ronaldsway
Picture via the Ronaldsway Aviation & Military Museum
 
An RAF Direction Finding station was built to the north east of the airfield, being able to 'home' aircraft flying in or above cloud until they had sight of the surface and could proceed visually to the airfield. As the station was built on a hill some way away from the airfield it would be presumed that aircraft would be homed to the D/F station overhead and then out to sea to let down to circuit height. (See 'QGH' procedure under Jurby)
RAF octagonal D/F Tower
 
Site of the RAF D/F station
Ronaldsway is in the distance
Remains of octagonal D/F station base
at Ballafurt
 
 
 

 Training Flying Control Centre, Ramsey
 
By 1943 the need for the air defence Sector Operations room at Ramsey had all but disappeared and it was converted into the Training Flying Control Centre under the supervision of F.T.K Bullmore, who had earlier fought to establish the Flying Control Liaison Sections. There was a huge amount of flying training taking place from airfields around the Irish Sea and the purpose of the centre was to keep an overall picture of the location of aircraft and offer assistance as required.  There had been problems with training aircraft becoming lost and unable to find their way back to base and there was also a lot of high ground creating a further hazard to aircraft 'uncertain of their position'.  Nothing like this had been attempted in UK airspace before so Wing Commander Bullmore was in effect starting off with a clean sheet and had to develop the unit quickly.  Previously each airfield had been responsible for their own aircraft, the idea of the TFCC was to bring all this control under one unit, that could track individual aircraft and offer navigation and weather advice.
 
 
Formation of Unit
From the first page of the unit Operations Record Book, dated 3rd May 1943, the unit's purpose was stated as:
 
'To improve the existing safety organisation for aircraft of Flying Training Command carrying out cross-country flights in the Irish Sea Area.  The Control Centre at the Sector Operations Room, Ramsey, Isle of Man for Fighter Command was accordingly transferred to Flying Training Command, and the Training Flying Control Centre formed.  Group to be N. 29 (T) Group, Cargen House Dumfries. Parent Unit No. 5 Air Observer's School, Jurby, Isle of Man'.  (The parent unit was changed from Jurby to Andreas by the 17th of May).
 
 
Proposed Establishment
Four Flying Control Officers, Two Administrative Officers and one hundred and thirty one Other Ranks.
 
 
Function
The Centre is to Control aircraft of the following Stations:
RAF Stations: Wigtown, West Freugh, Cark, Llandwrog (Caernarfon), Dumfries, Cranage, Jurby, Millom, Bishops Court and Bobbington (Wolverhampton) -
within an area 52 degrees to 57 degrees North and 2.5 degrees to 7 degrees west.
 
TFCC Northern Area
TFCC Southern Area
 
As can be seen from the maps, the area to be covered was huge and TFCC had access to a selection of High Frequency (HF) radio stations located around the area, some at the airfields to be served, but others more remote, such as on the Scottish islands of Tiree and Colonsay.  As the centre had a 'Signals Interception Unit' I would think that TFCC had direct access to the remote radio stations which each operated on different frequencies.  Most also had Radio Direction Finding which could take bearings on aircraft transmissions.  The radio stations were probably linked by land line, but there is mention in the Operations Record Book of a VHF station located on Snaefell and tests being carried out to the stations around the Irish Sea.  TFCC also had a 'Command Frequency' over which instructions could be passed to aircraft, there is a mention in the Operations Record Book for 17th August 1943 that all Wigtown aircraft were successfully diverted to Jurby via the Command Frequency when the weather closed in at their home base.  HF transmitting and receiving aerials were installed in the grounds behind the control centre.
 
The unit was intended to operate with one main 'large' plotting table to show the overall picture of aircraft locations and ten subsidiary smaller plotting tables, one for each airfield coming under the Control Centre.  The Main Table was transferred from St Angelo in Northern Ireland and was reported to be in place by the end of June 1943 but only 'half finished'.  The smaller plotting tables were constructed specially by Fighter Command and two had arrived in June but minus the glass coverings which were on order.  I do wonder what happened to the original plotting table at Ramsey, but maybe it just wasn't big enough for the area to be covered.
 
 
So how did the unit work?  There were three operational sections mentioned:
 
Signals Interception Unit
Responsible for reception of radio messages from the aircraft and dissemination to the relevant table in the Navigation Room.  It would appear that messages were passed (using Morse Code) in plain language or 'Q' code as there is reference to the 'Bomber Code' being trialled but it leading to delays in positions being plotted die to delays in decoding the messages.
 
Navigation Room (also known as the Filter Room)
The location of the small plotting tables.  The filtered radio messages would be passed to the relevant plotting clerks who were trained to use mechanical Navigation Computers to calculate Dead Reckoning (DR) positions of the aircraft from their airfield. I would have guessed that standard 'Dalton' type computers as used by aircrew would have been used, but they used 'Craig Computors', note spelling and see pictures below.   These were used to transfer position reports onto a chart and calculate groundspeed and predict future track.  Any Radio Direction finding bearings would also passed to the clerks who would use them to update the DR position reports.  Winds aloft could be calculated.  Aircraft positions would then be passed on to the:
 
Operations Room
The location of the large plotting table and the Flying Control Officer and his support staff.  They would keep an overall watch on aircraft positions and if a particular aircraft seemed to be going astray, contact it on the Command Frequency and give navigational assistance.  As mentioned above, Diversion Messages could be passed to aircraft if the weather at their base became unsuitable for landing.
 
 RAF Aircrew Navigation Computer
RAF 1940s MK. III Navigation Computor
Top side.
RAF 1940s MK. III Navigation Computor
Inside.
 
The Craig Computor
The pictures come from an Admiralty one advertised for sale in the USA by Aero Antique, there may have been differences from RAF ones!
A Craig Computor
Craig Computor Description
Craig Computor Diagram
Craig Computor In Use
 
The unit seemed to suffer from staff shortages in it's early days, although when more staff did arrive there was then a lack of accommodation available, particularly for the large numbers of WAAFs on the unit, and 'double bunking' is mentioned a few times, presumably a reference to one WAAF going On Watch with the off going WAAF taking her bunk, hardly satisfactory and by April 1944 three extra Nissan Huts were being constructed in the grounds, hardly luxury but an improvement!
 
Operations Commence
The initial period of the unit had been involved in setting up equipment and staff training, remember that this was a very new and novel operation, but by the 8th August the unit went onto a 24 hour watch with one small table in use tracking Wigtown's aircraft.  By the 17th August a second table was in use, plotting the aircraft from West Freugh, but continued staff shortages, particularly of Radio Operators continued to restrict the unit's expansion.  It had been determined that a 'Four Watch' pattern would best suit the unit and requests for further staff had been made to Command.  By September it is reported that ten Radio Interception watches were in operation, although probably not over 24 hour periods.  The unit gradually took on more units, one at a time, as staff and equipment became available.
 
A 'Homing Searchlight' was installed at Ramsey in August 1943, to direct lost aircraft to Jurby.  This was one of the innovations introduced by Bullmore when he was setting up the Flying Control Liaison Sections in Fighter Command operations room so he was probably pleased to have a local one! On the 20th September it is reported as being successfully used for diverting aircraft to Andreas and Jurby where they maybe had 'Sandra' searchlight cones available (see poster below).
 
 
There are the remains of wooden masts with climbing rungs on the top of several hills in the Isle of Man.  At least one of them used to have a fairly substantial cast iron fixing on the top, possibly to either support a homing searchlight or radio 'Squeaker' that emitted a low power 'Whooh Whooh' noise that would be received on a bomber's 'Darky' radio set to warn them they were close to high ground.
 
The unit must have been very busy once it was looking after the aircraft from all ten airfields and even before then a 'Time Recording apparatus' was installed in the Filter Room (Navigation Room, the name seems to have changed) and an 'endless belt system for plaques' from the Interception Unit.  I'm presuming that the radio operators recorded the messages received on the plaques and this was the way that data was transferred to the Navigation Room.
 
Unfortunately the Operations Record Book finishes on the 23rd July 1944 so I have no other details of the unit's operations after that date.  The unit's personnel strength on that date is reported by Wing Commander Bullmore as: RAF 48 WAAF 164, total 212.  From previous reports I think this excludes commissioned officers.
 
The TFCC continued operations until after the end of WW2 in 1945.  I don't have a date for closure, but by 1951 the RAF had a total of five Air Traffic Control Centres established in the UK (but none in the Isle of Man!) at: Gloucester, Preston, Scottish (Prestwick), Uxbridge and Watnall. The wartime situation where each RAF Command operated their own control systems and had no interest in other Command's aircraft seems to have ended, with the new centres offering a service to all RAF aircraft.
 
The TFCC was a truly pioneering operation, which led on to present day Air Traffic Control Centres, but unfortunately seems to have largely been forgotten about.
 
 Their Majesties the King and Queen visited the unit in October 1945 and I've included a photo of Ramsey Grammar School (West) in 2021.
Royal Visit to TFCC 
1945
Ramsey Grammar School West
2021
The steps seen in first picture - 2021

1943 - Ronaldsway Rebuilt
 
The RAF unit remained at Ronaldsway under various guises until the end of March 1943 when, control of the airfield was handed to the Admiralty and a huge reconstruction started place to transform the relatively small grass airfield of the 1930s into a large and very modern Fleet Air Arm airfield with hard runways suitable to be a main training unit for the Fairey Barracuda torpedo and dive bomber aircraft. Unlike most airfields constructed during WW2 (including Andreas) to the standard RAF three runway pattern, Ronaldsway had four runways to comply with admiralty requirements - crosswinds were not a problem on aircraft carriers and so there were more choices of 'into wind' runway. The runways were also narrower than the standard 50 yards, to simulate aircraft carrier deck landings they were only 30 yards wide. Post war this would involve considerable work to widen two of them to civil standards. A log book entry from 6th September 1943 mentions that Rapide G-AEAL with captain Harrison operated off 'the runway' with full load, 'very satisfactory', however on the 18th the same captain ran off the side of the runway  in G-AFEZ and damaged the aircraft! 
 
Drawings for the re-building of Ronaldsway, dated 1944
 
Work continued at a rapid rate until completed in Spring 1944. During all this time the civil air link continued operation. Construction of the runway 13/31 necessitated demolition of the original airport buildings and on the 1st April 1944 civil ATC moved to a new location at the 'Barn Site', part of the original Ronaldsway Farm. The original pitched roof of the barn was flattened at one end to enable the radio receiving aerials to be located above the control room. This may have also been the time at which the transmitters, located to the west of the field in the 1930s, were moved to the Ballahick site just east of Ballasalla. A logbook entry of 27th June states '6 hours overtime re window extension', presumably a reference to the new window fitted to the control room to improve visibility. 
 
Aerial shot of Ronaldsway October 1944
 
Aerial view of the 'Barn Site', home of Civil ATC in 1944
The 1944 Civil ATC control office showing the flattened roof
 
1944 Civil ATC Control Room
at the Barn Site
Southwest elevation of the
Control Room
 
 
RNAS HMS Urley - The Royal Navy take over at Ronaldsway
 
Ronaldsway Naval Air Station was officially commissioned on 21st June 1944 under commanding officer Captain W. P. Shirley-Rollinson.
The Royal Navy were very firmly in control of the airfield and operated from a new four storey brick control tower on the north side of the airfield. 
 
The Royal Navy Control Tower
 
The Air Watch Office
On the top level of the control tower was the Air Watch Office. This gave a good view over the airfield and in all directions around it and all aircraft movements on the airfield and in the circuit were controlled from here by the Petty Officer of the Air Watch and his assistant.  The room would be equipped with VHF radios for communications with aircraft and telephone links to all other ATC departments, not least the Runway Control Van.
 
The Control Room
On the floor below the Air Watch Office was the Control Room, which kept an overall eye on all air operations.  Staffing would be the Duty Air Traffic Control Officer, radio operators and flight loggers.  The aerodrome lighting was controlled from here and tote boards would be used to keep check of all aircraft operating away from the station, with information on the type of sortie being operated, aircraft and crew details and ETAs.  Communications away from the vicinity of the airfield would probably use M/F or H/F radios with W/T (Morse) used instead of speech.  VHF Direction Finding radio could give 'steers' to incoming aircraft to assist them in locating the airfield in poor weather.  Other electronic aids were also provided as detailed below.
 
The Runway Control Van
This was a moveable vehicle that would be positioned on a purpose built concrete loop adjacent to the upwind end of the runway in use and moved as required.  It was staffed by two Runway Controller Petty Officers whose task was to ensure the safety of aircraft using the runway. Light signals by Aldis lamp would be given to confirm that it was safe to land or take off, or to indicate that an aircraft had to 'overshoot' and re-join the circuit.
The Runway Control Van
(and is that the NAAFI van visiting?)
 
Remote Radio Stations
Despite the RN Control tower seemingly equipped with a good selection of radio aerials, two remote radio stations were established.  A Transmitting station was constructed at Orrisdale and a Receiving station at Phildraw, both locations to the north of Ballasalla.  At the moment I don't know what frequency ranges were in use at these stations, but possibly VHF based on their subsequent use.  The Royal Navy would have removed their equipment when HMS Urley closed in 1945 but the sites were back in use by civil ATC for VHF radiotelephony in 1947.
Google Earth image showing 1940s Radio Sites
Click for larger image
 
 
Civil ATC
Civil ATC operated from the 'Barn Site' on the southern edge of the airfield and was primarily concerned with ensuring the safe operation of the civil air link between the Isle of Man, Liverpool and Belfast.  They had a very restricted view of the airfield from this location but could see the civil apron and hanger located behind the houses of Derbyhaven.  They continued to use M/F W/T (Morse) to communicate with the DH Dragon Rapides operating the air services, which were not fitted with the VHF radios being used by the Royal Navy aircraft.
 
The Ronaldsway civil ATC Control window
 
So how were civil and military aircraft safely controlled on the same runway when they were fitted with completely different radios?
 
The Royal Navy would decide on the Runway in Use and (usually!) communicate this to Civil ATC so the the civil pilots would know what runway to expect.  Aircraft wishing to depart would taxy using the perimeter taxiway as far as the holding position for the runway in use and then await a light signal from the Royal Navy Control Van .  Arriving aircraft would join the circuit, integrating themselves visually with other traffic and observe the control van for light signals.  On turning final for the runway they would either receive a green 'cleared to land' or a red 'overshoot' signal.  After landing they would vacate the runway and taxy to their parking locations.  By this means civil and military aircraft, totally unable to talk to each other's control towers could be safely integrated.
 
There are occasional complaints by RN ATC noted in the surviving logbooks about civil aircraft not completing proper circuits, operating off other than the 'Runway in Use' and blocking taxiways. As very little of the airfield could be seen from the barn site window there was probably not a lot civil ATC could do about this. It would seem that they was more concerned with the en-route operation of the air link, express permissions having to be obtained from Liverpool Speke for each individual flight. This possibly explains the orientation of the extended window, as although most of the airfield was out of view, the civil parking apron behind Derbyhaven Crescent was directly ahead and the important signals requesting departure clearance and indicating arrival of inbound flights could be sent by observing the Dragon Rapides movements.
 
Ground view of the RN Control Tower
Aerial view of the RN Control tower
 
A logbook entry of 13th July states that the RN Flying Control Orders were submitted to the civil operators and is followed on subsequent days by several comments of aircraft not following instructions! On the 31st there is a comment in the log 'Please warn Sumner and any LV (Liverpool) pilot to wait for flashing green light for taxiing and continuous green light for take-off given by airport van' - it would seem that the civil pilots were having a little difficulty in getting used to operating to RN regulations and having to get permission to take off and land!
 
The new Ronaldsway had four asphalt runways giving a possibility of eight landing directions, from time to time there seemed to be a lack of co-ordination between military and civil resulting in each believing that a different runways was in use. Civil control was still by 'procedural' means with the help of D/F using Medium Frequency (M/F), but the Navy had VHF R/T (speech telephony) giving controllers instant communication to pilots.
 
The first Fleet Air Arm squadron, 747 NAS arrived on the 14th July 1944, equipped with Fairy Barracuda II aircraft, followed by 713 NAS on the 12th August, also with Barracuda IIs. The final Barracuda squadron, 710 NAS reformed at Ronaldsway on 7th October, equipped with Barracuda II & III, also operating the Fairy Swordfish biplane. The three permanently based squadrons had a total of 92 Barracudas between them out of a total of 120 naval aircraft based at Ronaldsway.  There were also several temporary detachments of squadrons to HMS Urley, including four Miles Martinets from 725 NAS based between August and November to provide Air to Air firing facilities. During 1945 there were two detachments from 772 NAS, normally based at Ayr, Scotland. This squadron flew several different aircraft types including the Hawker Sea Hurricane, Vought Corsair, Fairy Swordfish, Miles Martinet, Douglas Boston and Fairy Firefly. Avro Ansons were also used at Ronaldsway for initial training of Observers in the use of the Air to Surface Vessel radar (ASV) before progressing to the faster and more advanced Barracuda.
 
Airfield looking south along runway 13
Airfield looking SE past the RN Control Tower
 
 
Practice Aircraft Carrier Landings
 
Royal Navy aircraft practising aircraft carrier landings would be 'batted down' by the Landing Signals Officer 
standing on the side of the runway, dummy arrester wires were painted on the runways.
 
 
 
Fairey Barracuda, Mk II nearest with Mk III behind
 
The Barracuda Mk II was fitted with a metric wavelength Air Surface Vessel Radar (ASV) with Yagi type aerials on the wings, the Mk III had a centimetric ASV with the scanner housed in a blister under the rear fuselage. The Mk III radar was optimized for anti submarine work.
 
WRENs loading torpedoes
Barracudas taxy out
 
Waiting at the holding point
 
 
The Ronaldsway Radar Site
 
Until I have more information available, the following is mainly educated guesswork!
 
Situated right on the north east corner of the HMS Urley airfield, close to where the new radar aerial (2011) is situated and now outside the airfield perimeter, are a collection of buildings that date back to the 1940s.  From aerial photographs, they were still being constructed when HMS Urley started operations in 1944, but seemed to be in use by early 1945.   According to a narrative by an officer who passed through the training programme here, the bombing ranges at Port Soderick and Perwick were monitored by radar and on the airfield plans of the time the location is  identified as the 'GCI Site'  (Ground Control of Interception). As there would be no requirement for a GCI service for the Barracuda's this would most likely refer to the type of radar installed here, either  a Royal Navy Type 277 or more likely a Type 293.  These were the usual aircraft surveillance and fighter direction radars fitted to RN ships of the period. (But see below for an alternative suggestion by Chris Corkish).
1944 RN Radar Site, with the 2011 Selex Primary Surveillance Radar site on the right.
 
Radar Type 277 Aerial
Radar Type 293 Aerial
 
We know that Royal Navy radar operators were trained at HMS Valkyrie, situated on Douglas Head, so I'm thinking that building a land based equivalent of the conditions that they would work in at sea would make a lot of sense and where better to construct it than right next to a RN Air Station that was training carrier based pilots.  Certainly, post WW2, such a facility was in use at the RN air station at Yeovilton, Somerset.
 
HMS Valkyrie on Douglas Head
HMS Valkyrie, building now Manx Radio
 
Radars on Douglas Head
 
 
HMS Valkyrie  was established in the 1940s as a training base for Royal Navy radar operators and technicians.  The former Douglas Head Hotel was taken over and a substantial new building constructed nearby that is now the headquarters and studios of Manx Radio.   Trainees were accommodated in the requisitioned Granville Hotel on Douglas promenade, right next to one of the internment camps for 'enemy aliens'  Every day they would march (or run, according to one account!) from the promenade to Douglas Head.  As can be seen in the left hand picture above there were also Nissan huts in the grounds.  A selection of radar sets would have been installed and some of the aerials can be seen on masts in the picture.  These look to be of the older metric wavelength type using 'Yagi' type aerials, but on the right hand side of the picture, maybe out of shot by intent, the object looks like it could be part of the rotation gear for a more modern centimetric type radar scanner.
 
 
 
1945 Aerial Photograph showing the HMS Urley Radar Site 
The RN Radar site from a 1946 aerial picture.
 
 
On board a RN ship involved with aircraft operations, mainly aircraft carriers but also some other ships, there would be an Aircraft Direction organisation occupying several separate 'offices'.  Initial information from the ship's radars would be received in the Radar Display Room (RDR) from which plots would be telephoned to the adjacent Aircraft Direction Room (ADR).  Here together with reports from other sources (aircraft IFF and radio direction finding for example) they would be plotted on the rear of the Main Air Display Plot (MADP), a large vertical perspex screen.  At the other side of the MADP, the Air Plot Officer (APO) would combine and 'smooth' the various plots to produce a air situation display.  In overall charge of the ADR is the Direction Officer.  Also in the ADR is the Intercept Officer (IO) whose main task is to direct fighter aircraft to intercept incoming raids.  He would use the MADP to see the overall picture, but had direct use of the ships radar to direct fighters from PPI radar displays.
 
An Air Direction Room
 
 
The Site Today (2017)
The only solid information I have to date is from the remaining buildings on the site and the fact that radar was used at Ronaldsway to observe the bombing ranges.  The buildings are quite extensive and from a few ground visits would seem to consist of (starting from the eastern 'sea' side), an accommodation and office block with an adjoining workshop with a large door opening.  The next building is at 90 degrees to the others with a higher roof and probably housed diesel generators to power the site.  Following is the only building which still has a roof and internally is divided into several smaller rooms. I'm suggesting that this is the most likely building to house the Aircraft Direction Offices. The final building still in existence has no roof but from aerial photographs it looks like it indeed never possessed such, did it maybe house oil tanks for the generators?  The final area on the main site is today just an overgrown concrete base with some steel work protruding from the ground but again, from the aerial photographs, looks like it might have had an open lattice mast, possibly on top of a building housing the radar transmitter/receiver and with the radar aerial mounted at the top (it has a long shadow on one picture).  There is also a smaller building away from the main facilities which would most likely have been a guard post.
 
Following work by researcher Chris Corkish, he has suggested that an RAF radar may well have been used at the site, possibly a Type 15 with the aerial at the seaward (south east) end.  The Type 15 was installed on RN Fighter Direction Tenders so there there is a tie-up here.  He also pointed out that the building there is very similar to a standard RAF GCI one, so I've annotated a vertical view below with his suggestions as to the uses of the various buildings.  Hopefully Chris will publish his 'Isle of Man Military Radar' work which he has generously shared with me.
RAF Type 15 Radar Station
 
The RN radar site in 2013
An elevated view of the RN radar buildings in 2013
 
 
Three aerial pictures of the RN Radar site taken in 2020
 
Annotated views suggesting uses of the buildings (based on the research of Chris Corkish)
 
1946 Aerial Image
2020 Annotated Aerial Image
 
 
Carrier Controlled Approach
 
An idea being developed towards the end of WW2 was to mount a Precision Approach Radar of the newly developed type being produced in the USA onto Royal Navy aircraft carriers.  The idea was that aircraft recovering to the ship could be directed by radar, initially using the ships surveillance radars to sequence the aircraft which would then be handed of to the PAR Director who would provide a 'radar talkdown' (Ground Controlled Approach - GCA) almost onto the deck of the ship until the pilot could see the deck and continue visually under guidance of the Deck landing Control Officer, known as 'Bats'.
 
Diagram showing Carrier Controlled Recovery Technique
GCA recovery using Type 962X Radar
 
Aircraft recovering to land would first be directed to navigate to a 'Picket Marshalling Position', usually a radar beacon located on a destroyer or cruiser (or for a land base the airfield located Eureka beacon could be used to fly to a position away from the airfield awaiting radar pickup). Aircraft would then be identified and directed using Type 293 or 277 surveillance radar to a 'Carrier Marshalling Point' about 10 to 15 miles away from the ship before individual flights were brought onwards to the 'Approach Waiting Position' about 6 to 8 miles astern and held before individual aircraft would be directed along the final approach lane using the Type 962X Ground Controlled Approach Radar until final carrier landing instructions would be given by bat signals. At a land airfield either bat signals for a practice carrier landing or light signals from the runway van could be used for landing clearance. Three VHF frequencies were required:  'Button A' for homing to the Picket Marshalling Position, 'Button B' (with two controllers using this frequency) using surveillance radar to the CMP and then the AWP and 'Button C' for the Ground Controlled Approach 'talkdown'. 
 
Pilots (and controllers) would obviously require training in the new techniques and it would be safer and cheaper to use a land base rather than an aircraft carrier for initial training.  The controllers were all former pilots who were 'grounded' for one reason or another.
 
The PAR radar equipment was installed into two vehicles that had to be positioned close to the downwind end of the runway in use, effectively looking along the approach course the aircraft would take.  For safety reasons they weren't actually at the end of the runway, but positioned slightly off the centreline, so the final approach course would be on an offset to the actual runway direction.  Tarmac loops were installed at Ronaldsway for the vehicles to park on, they are visible in the aerial photographs of the time and several are still in existence today.  Whether the PAR radar actually became operational at Ronaldsway is not known, possibly with the end of WW2 and closure of HMS Urley shortly after it never did.
 
Radar and Runway Control Van Loops  c1945
Remains of Radar and Control Van Loops  2011
 
 
AN/MPN1 Precision Approach Radar  (PAR/GCA)
 
The initial prototype Precision Approach Radar equipment was designed and built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at Cambridge, Mass. and was tested in the UK in 1942/43 at locations in Cornwall.  The (later) famous author Arthur C. Clarke was involved in these trials and subsequently wrote a fictitious novel 'Glide Path' that was closely based on his experiences.  It impressed RAF observers and was subsequently ordered into production, constructed by Gilfillan Bros. of Los Angeles.  Nine of the Mk1 sets were produced and three went to the RAF for trials in 1944 at RAF Hinton on the Hedges, before soon moving to RAF Honily.  The main production design was to be the Mk2 and designated AN/MPN1.
 
The whole set-up was mobile, consisting of a large truck carrying generators and air conditioning units, together with a trailer that housed not only the two radar systems (Search and Talkdown) but also the operators and radar displays. Three radar aerials were mounted on it, the search radar which rotated through 360 degrees with a 6 degree beamwidth and had a range of 30nm and the two parts of the PAR, the Azimuth aerial which tracked horizontally 20 degrees each side of the final approach path out to 10nm and the elevation aerial which tracked vertically by 7 degrees with a narrow horizontal beamwidth. HF and VHF radios were fitted for communications with aircraft and the unit would be 'plugged in' to ground telephone links to the control tower at the operating site. It would be towed to the appropriate hard standing for the runway in use, powered up and then aligned using radar reflectors. The caravan also had to be tilted at the correct angle for the elevation beam to produce the right glide path for approaching aircraft.  Changing runways would obviously take a little time.
AN/MPN1 Radar Truck & Control Caravan
Precision Approach radar allowed a ground controller to offer a 'talkdown' service using the radar to guide aircraft to the runway in poor weather conditions. No specialist equipment was required on the aircraft, just a two way radio for communications. The radar consisted of two elements, a 'search' or surveillance radar that scanned through 360 degrees (similar to the current radar at Ronaldsway)  and the talkdown element which scanned the final approach track with separate horizontal and vertical radar beams. The 'search' controller would radar identify inbound aircraft when they were within 30nm of the airfield and marshall them onto a closing heading for the final approach track until they came within the beam of the 'Precision Approach Radar' (PAR) at around 10nm out and the aircraft would be transferred to a separate frequency for the talkdown. The controller would give the pilot heading corrections to remain on the final approach track and at a predetermined point instruct the pilot to commence descent. The controller would monitor the descent profile and instruct the pilot to alter descent rate if the aircraft started to drift either high or low and continue giving heading corrections to keep the aircraft on the centreline. The talkdown would commence at about 5 miles from touchdown and be continued to 1/2 a mile from the touchdown point although the equipment was capable of displaying the aircraft right down to the touchdown point. 
Interior of the MPN1 Control Caravan
With the AN/MPN1 radar system, the talkdown controller sat in front of the azimuth radar display and a separate 'tracker' watched the elevation display and tracked the aircraft blip on it with an electronic cursor, the results of which were displayed to the controller on a meter showing any divergence from the nominal glideslope in feet.  The display CRT tubes were small and mounted vertically showing the picture backwards, and then reflected in a mirrors to the controllers and trackers.  Presumably there was insufficient depth within the caravan to accommodate the CRTs and associated electronics in a more conventional format.  Later developments of PAR displayed both the azimuth and elevation elements to the controller on one CRT.
'Flight' diagram showing the search and talkdown radar beams
Early PAR systems used 'trackers' manning the radar tubes who keep electronic markers centred on the aircraft return which would drive two meters in front of the controller showing lateral and vertical displacement. In later systems the trackers were dispensed with and the controller sat in front of a cathode ray tube displaying both the lateral and vertical radar traces.
 
 
 
Other Aids to Navigation at HMS Urley
 
 
Pundit Beacon
A red visual light beacon that flashed an identifying code for the airfield in morse code.  Originally and subsequently located on the airfield, during wartime they were sometimes moved away to one of three known locations at some distance from the actual airfield to confuse the enemy. HMS Urley's beacon flashed the letters 'RX'.  Post WW2 most airfields had them, with red lights for military airfields and green for civil.
Table of Pundit Beacons around the Irish Sea
A mobile Pundit Light Beacon
 
 
 
VHF D/F
Radio direction finding had been in use since the early days of radios in aircraft, with specialist D/F operators taking manual bearings on aircraft transmissions and then passing then to either the pilots or controllers, but with the advent of VHF radios Cathode Ray Direction Finding (CRDF) came into use giving the controller an instant display of an aircraft's transmission on a Cathode Ray Tube.  As the aircraft transmitted, a trace would appear on the display and the bearing read off against a compass rose.  The most likely unit to be installed was an FV5 which covered frequencies from 100 to 150MHz.  Bearings from the airfield could be passed to aircraft to assist with navigation or alternatively, bearings to the airfield to allow inbound aircraft to 'home' and let down to known safe sector altitudes until they had the airfield in sight and could continue visually.
 
FV5 control and indicator desk
VHF D/F aerial on Ronaldsway Control Tower
 
 
YG Radio Beacon
A radio beacon widely used by the Fleet Air Arm both on ships and land bases was 'YE and YG'. This was a system developed for the United States Navy and replaced a similar earlier UK developed one, the advantage being that USN and RN aircraft could use each other's beacons.  The YE beacon was mainly deployed on ships as it was linked into the ships gyro compass to keep the beacon correctly aligned to true north as the ship turned. The YG beacon needed manual alignment which of course wasn't a problem on a land base, it could be in a fixed position or a mobile installation mounted on a vehicle. The beacon worked on a fixed frequency in the 234 - 258 MHz range which could be changed in a hostile environment but in peacetime 246 MHz was used.  All beacons worked on the same frequency which had to be manually set in the aircraft before flight, as it couldn't be changed once in the air.  The transmission on each beacon was modulated on one of six frequencies between 660 KHz and  810 KHz (RN use) identified by Channel numbers and selected in the aircraft cockpit, Ronaldsway was on Channel Two.  The ground beacon had a mechanically rotated aerial at two RPM which transmitted a single morse code letter depending on the direction that it was facing.  Every five minutes (on the tenth rotation) it would transmit a two letter identification code.  It could also transmit voice messgaes if required.  The only other station likely to be received on channel two in the IOM area would be Ayr, so if to the north of the island at altitude correct identification of the beacon was important, it would be embarrasing to arrive at the wrong airfield!
 
YE and YG beacon aerials
 
Table of YG Beacons
YG Sector Decode Chart
 
 
Aircraft equipment operating instructions.
 
 
To use the beacon the pilot would turn on the aircraft receiver and select the appropriate channel for the beacon required. Initially many of the sector codes would be heard and he would turn down the sensitivity control on the set until he could hear just three which would place him in the centre sector of the three. For example, homing to Ronaldsway from somewhere to the south; select Channel Two and identify the beacon. Turn down the sensitivity until only three sector codes can be heard, e.g. M N & R. Using the chart this places the aircraft to the south west of Ronaldsway in the 'N' sector and the pilot has to steer a course between 028 and 058 degrees to home to base. As the aircraft flew closer to the beacon the sectors narrowed and course corrections were applied to keep in the required sector, the receiver sensitivity being progressively reduced until only one letter could be heard. The aircraft could be descended in accordance with terrain safe levels until the airfield was sighted or reception of all the letters with sensitivity to minimum indicated arrival in the overhead. Presumably if homing to Ronaldsway from the north (over the hills), once having passed though the overhead at terrain safe level a course could be selected to let down further over the sea.
 
The advantage of YG over other homing methods was that it was independent of the other aircraft radios so could be used in a radio failure situation and compared to medium frequency non-directional beacons gave a course indication for safe descent. In many respects it could be considered a precursor of today's VOR beacons. In miltary service it was replaced by TACAN beacons in the 1950s
 
(I am indebted to Lieut. Richard Collins RNVR via the Airfield Information Exchange for the operating description of YG
and to Paul Smith for a lot more information on it and extra illustrations)
 
 
 
Eureka, Rebecca & Babs
 
Also installed at Ronaldsway was Eureka, a ground radar beacon that could be interrogated by airborne radar. the aircraft navigator could provide a 'talk down' service to his pilot by interpreting the returns on the aircraft radar set.
 
There were three elements of this radar homing and approach aid operating on frequencies around 200 MHz. Eureka was the ground based radar responder beacon. Rebecca was the aircraft fitted element of the system and would interrogate the Eureka beacon to obtain a range and bearing from the airfield to enable the aircraft to home in. Babs was the approach element and when interrogated by Rebecca would provide an indication of final approach track and distance from the airfield. This was presented to the aircraft navigator on the airborne radar CRT screens and the navigator would talk the pilot down until he became visual with the runway. The Ronaldsway based RN Barracuda aircraft would most likely have been fitted with Rebecca Mk11B.
Link to external page with details of Eureka/Rebecca/Babs
 
 
The Royal Navy Depart
 
Only just over a year after HMS Urley had opened for operations at what must have been a huge expense, WW2 ended on 15th August 1945, and the need for intensive training of crews vanished overnight.  The establishment started to be run down with 747 NAS leaving on the 15th November although their 'B' flight remained with Avro Ansons. All training finished on 20th December when 710 and 713 squadrons were disbanded together with 747 NAS 'B' flight. HMS Urley was officially decommissioned on the 14th January 1946 and the airfield was handed over to the UK Ministry of Civil Aviation. All of the Royal Navy radar aids would also have been removed at this time.  At some point in 1946 the civil control moved from the barn site to the former Royal Navy control tower on the north side - and could at last see what was happening on the runways and taxiways!
 

Post War Civil Operations at  Ronaldsway
 
After initially being operated by the UK Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ronaldsway was bought by the Isle of Man Government who took possession on the 1st March 1948. A new 'North West Flight Safety Region' was established to replace the old pre war Communications Area. This was administered from Liverpool Speke airport using M/F frequencies 339-341 KHz. Meanwhile the UK governments of the day tried to decide on how to organize air traffic control in the future. With a flood of cheap ex service transport aircraft such as the Douglas Dakota, becoming available plus crews to fly them it looked like the skies could become much busier.
 
At Ronaldsway In the late 1940s Air Traffic Control was being carried out much as in the pre war days with the Control Zone re-instated to 10 miles around the airport but only active in low visibility or low cloud 'QBI'. Communications were still mainly by W/T on Medium (M/F) and High (H/F) frequencies, but with more aircraft being equipped with VHF Speech telephony which enabled the controllers to talk to pilots directly, the days of the specialized radio operators were numbered.  Ronaldsway is shown equipped with one VHF radio frequency (118.1 MHz) on the 1948 charts shown below.  A Plessey 122R Radio Direction Finder was installed in the control tower.  To contradict the chart information an article entitled ' Telecommunications at Ronaldsway' published in the 1980s states that the former RN sites at Orrisdale and Phildraw had been brought back into service to 'provide the airport with four VHF Radio Telephony frequencies'.  It seems extreemly unlikely that Ronaldsway would in fact requir four separate frequencies so most likely there were in fact two frequencies, one for Tower and one for Approach, but with duplicated equipment on each frequency.  The article also states that a VHF Direction Finder was in use at Orrisdale.
 
 M/F Direction Finding stations at Speke, Ronaldsway, Carlisle and Manchester Ringway could provide bearings to plot aircraft positions. Presumably 'traffic information' would be provided on other aircraft, but it was up to pilots to arrange their own separation, either visually or by flying at different heights. Ronaldsway ATC would provide control services within its 10nm Controlled Zone in 'QBI'.
 
BEA Dakota G-AHCW with Dragon Rapides behind.
Picture taken between 1946 and 1949
 
Ronaldsway Control Room 1948
Ronaldsway M/F Radio Direction Finder
 
Ronaldsway Airfield Diagram - August 1948
Ronaldsway Radio Facilities - August 1948
 
Phonetic Alphabets
 
With the use of telephony instead of telegraphy there is a need to be able to clearly spell out the letters of the alphabet.  A system of using a full word to indicate a letter had been originated for use by the Royal Navy before World War 1 and the RAF produced their own by 1924.  The original RAF phonetic alphabet was used until changed 1943 and then continued in use post war.  The USA used a very similar one but during the early 1950s several different ones were tested with varying success until the current one was adopted in the mid 1950s.  Four versions are shown below.
 
1914 -18 Royal Navy
1924 - 1942 RAF
1943 - 1956 RAF
ICAO/NATO Present Day
Apples
Ace
Able
Alpha
Butter
Beer
Baker
Bravo
Charlie
Charlie
Charlie
Charlie
Duff
Don
Dog
Delta
Edward
Edward
Easy
Echo
Freddy
Freddie
Fox
Foxtrot
George
George
George
Golf
Harry
Harry
How
Hotel
Ink
Ink
Item
India
Johnnie
Johnnie
Jig
Juliet
King
King
King
Kilo
London
London
Love
Lima
Monkey
Monkey
Mike
Mike
Nuts
Nuts
Nab
November
Orange
Orange
Oboe
Oscar
Pudding
Pip
Peter
Papa
Queenie
Queen
Queen
Quebec
Robert
Robert
Roger
Romeo
Sugar
Sugar
Sugar
Sierra
Tommy
Toc
Tare
Tango
Uncle
Uncle
Uncle
Uniform
Vinegar
Vic
Victor
Victor
Willie
William
William
Whiskey
Xerxes
X-Ray
X-Ray
X-Ray
Yellow
Yorker
Yoke
Yankee
Zebra
Zebra
Zebra
Zulu
 
Standard Approaches Mandated
 
Towards the end of the 1940s a major change was introduced in the UK regarding how pilots were to fly instrument approaches. Before, it had been entirely up to the pilot as to where he let down through cloud and to what altitude. During WW2 the RAF had instigated a rudimentary system of instrument letdowns know as QGH approaches, based on the controller interpreting Direction Finder bearings and instructing pilots to fly certain headings and levels. This was mainly to de-conflict military aircraft returning to bases often only a few miles apart and prevent aerial collisions. This principle was extended to civil aviation and defined instrument approaches published to airfields  showing courses to be flown, together with set altitudes for each 'leg' of the procedure. This also enabled traffic levels to be increased, as controllers could now hold aircraft inside the Controlled Zone, spaced at 500 ft vertical intervals, each aircraft taking its turn to fly the instrument approach. As a level was reported vacated, each aircraft above could be stepped down awaiting its turn for the approach. Minimum safe levels for descent were published for each approach taking into account the accuracy of the approach facility and terrain surrounding the airport.
 
RAF 'Safety Let Down Lanes'
 
Map at the Yorkshire Air Museum
showing the 'Safety Let Down Lanes' to 
QGH or SBA approaches at WW2 military airfields in South Yorkshire
 
Ronaldsway Standard Beam Approach
By August 1948 a Standard Beam Approach (SBA) system had been installed at Ronaldsway.  This was based on the pre war 'Lorenz' system that had been used at Croydon Airport, London, in the 1930s.  It operated on the low VHF frequency of 33.3 MHz for the Main Beacon and 38.0 MHz for the Inner Marker Beacon which was located just short of the runway 27 threshold.  In many ways the forerunner of current Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), but using audio tones rather than a visual instrument in the cockpit, although they were also available. (See ATC 1930s pages for illustrations).  The pilot would fly on predetermined tracks, timed on a stopwatch, to align with the final approach course.  If he was to the right of track he would hear a Morse letter 'N' (- .) in his headphones. If to the left he would hear letter 'A' (. -) and when on the final track the two letters would combine to produce a continuous tone.  The system was aligned with Runway 27 at Ronaldsway, but a 'Back Beam' approach could also be flown to position for Runway 09.  On the Back Beam approach the audio Morse letters would be reversed.  On approach for Runway 27 pilots were allowed to let down to 200 ft on instruments before breaking off the approach if the runway wasn't sighted, but on Runway 09 the break off height was 700 ft.
 
Ronaldsway SBA Front Beam (plan & vertical profile)
Ronaldsway SBA Back Beam (plan & vertical profile)
 
ATC in the 1950s
 
An Island Images webpage © Jon Wornham