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Showing posts from July, 2019

Uncle Herman R.C.A.F Mascot

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Uncle Herman, the pink pig came to Davidstow as the mascot of 404 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron was at Davidstow from May to August 1944. The Herman we have on display is a replica. Please excuse the poor quality of the photos but a flash is needed but obviously reflects on the glass of the cabinets.

HEAVY BOMBER COCKPIT MOCK UP

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We have a mock up of a heavy bomber's cockpit in building 2. One of the things that the school children find unbelievable is all the equipment that a navigator would have to use to work out the plane's position. No Sat Navs,no GPS, no computer, just the ability to work out the position by using a map, a compass and at times intuition. To qualify as a navigator in WWII there were 500 hours ground instruction and 100 hours air training. The final qualification test was to plot a route with no more than 11 degrees of error and less than 1 minute off per hour of flight time. At night they had to reach within 15 miles of a target. There were radio beacons to assist the navigator on the homeward flight. GEE was a radio navigation system that came into service with Bomber Command in 1942. It measured the time delay between 2 radio signals to produce a fix with an accuracy of around a few hundred metres. Our mock up shows a Flt Sgt working as the wireless operator. Again th

Airfield Tours

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The weekly scheduled airfield tours have started now that we're in July and Marlene, our electric bus, has been dusted down and is ready to go. The first tour yesterday was in beautiful sunshine and Steve was aboard giving a commentary and answering any questions. The tours cover the airfield and the buildings that are still there, stopping at 2 or 3 buildings for you to go inside. The view from the old control tower is stunning. The old bomb aimers building is being slowly restored by 4624 Sqn R.A.F. They raise their own funds to do the work and it is much appreciated. The tours are very popular and is it advised that you ring up and book in advance so as not to be disappointed. Private tours can be arranged for groups. Marlene holds 10 people, unfortunately we cannot allow dogs on the tours. Ring Steve to enquire about arranging private tours. Bomb Aimers building being restored by 4624 Sqn. A stop to explain some of the buildings. It's