RAF Holbeach
Encyclopedia
RAF Holbeach is a Royal Air Force
bombing range
situated between Boston
and Kings Lynn in Gedney Drove End
on The Wash
, in Lincolnshire
, eastern England
. Most of the range, including the control tower and four observation towers are in Gedney, but it does overlap with Holbeach to the west. On aeronautical charts it is identified using the code EGD207 (UK Danger Area 207).
as an Air Weapons Range within RAF Strike Command
. On 1 April 2006 control was transferred to Defence Estates and the range is now administered by Defence Training Estates (East) from their headquarters at West Tofts Camp near Thetford
.
targets are a number of three-metre square net with an orange bullseye
made by weaving plastic strips through the chicken-wire net. The Strafe Scoring detects the X-Y position
of the projectile from the acoustic signature of the supersonic shock wave
.
This result is sent by radio to the control tower, where it is displayed to the Air Traffic Controller for relaying to the pilot.
The range also has semi-automatic bomb and rocket scoring systems.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
bombing range
Bombing range
A bombing range is an area used for testing explosive ordnance and practicing to accurately direct them to the target. Bombing ranges are used for munitions that either explode or produce too much destruction to use at a shooting range, such as kinetic energy penetrators or very large caliber...
situated between Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
and Kings Lynn in Gedney Drove End
Gedney, Lincolnshire
Gedney is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies just to the south off the A17 Boston to King's Lynn road, east from Holbeach and north-east from Long Sutton...
on The Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
, in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, eastern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Most of the range, including the control tower and four observation towers are in Gedney, but it does overlap with Holbeach to the west. On aeronautical charts it is identified using the code EGD207 (UK Danger Area 207).
History
The range opened in 1926. It was administered by RAF MarhamRAF Marham
Royal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....
as an Air Weapons Range within RAF Strike Command
RAF Strike Command
The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007: it was merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air Command. It latterly consisted of two formations - No. 1...
. On 1 April 2006 control was transferred to Defence Estates and the range is now administered by Defence Training Estates (East) from their headquarters at West Tofts Camp near Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...
.
Structure
The station's badge features a vertical sword through a crown. The motto is Defend and Strike.Facilities
The range provides facilities for RAF and other NATO aircraft to practice dropping bombs and firing their cannon. Targets include several old trawlers which have been beached on the sands of The Wash for this purpose. Towers parallel to the target line are manned and allow the fall of the weapons to be triangulated.Strafing
RAF Holbeach also has facilities for scoring strafing runs. The strafingStrafing
Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. This means, that although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the...
targets are a number of three-metre square net with an orange bullseye
Bullseye (target)
The bullseye, or bull's-eye, is the centre of a target , and by extension the name given to any shot that hits the bullseye...
made by weaving plastic strips through the chicken-wire net. The Strafe Scoring detects the X-Y position
Cartesian coordinate system
A Cartesian coordinate system specifies each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances from the point to two fixed perpendicular directed lines, measured in the same unit of length...
of the projectile from the acoustic signature of the supersonic shock wave
Shock wave
A shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, it carries energy and can propagate through a medium or in some cases in the absence of a material medium, through a field such as the electromagnetic field...
.
This result is sent by radio to the control tower, where it is displayed to the Air Traffic Controller for relaying to the pilot.
The range also has semi-automatic bomb and rocket scoring systems.