(Image: Martyn Wraight; Panavia Tornado ZA365 blasts off from Lossiemouth for the last time)

Tornado ZA365 isn’t a recent RTP, but we wanted to showcase these superb photographs by Martyn Wraight, capturing perfectly the swirling wingtip vortices caused by the venerable jet as she takes to the air for the last time. The Tornado GR4(T) – a twin-stick training version of Panavia’s combat-proven strike jet – is seen here on takeoff roll at RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, in September 2013.

The lack of drop tanks and other external stores indicate this Tornado’s imminent fate, bound for RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire to be reduced to produce – a process whereby all servicable parts are removed for reuse on still-active machines before the empty hulk is dumped for scrap.

ZA365’s tail code – 001 – reflects her status as the first RAF Tornado to go through the mid-life upgrade conversion to GR4 standard in the late 1990s. Until being RTP’d, she was also one of the oldest Tornado GR4s in the fleet.

(Image: Martyn Wraight; Tornado ZA365 begins final takeoff roll)

The dual-control jet first flew as a Tornado GR1(T) in July 1982 and entered RAF service on September 20, two months after her maiden flight. She was one of around 50 Tornado GR1s deployed to the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm, where she received a new desert camoflage paint scheme and wore the tail code GZ.

For eight months during 1999 and 2000 ZA365 was upgraded to GR4 standard at BAE Systems’ facility at Warton, Lancashire, and continued in that role for more than a decade. Last operated by No. 15 (Reserve) Squadron, the Tornado Operational Conversion Unit, the high-hours airframe was finally withdrawn from service in 2013.

She made her final sortie to RAF Leeming on September 20th – 31 years to the day after her delivery to the Royal Air Force as the UK’s most potent and modern strike platform.

Related – ‘Tarnish 21’:Tornado GR4A ZA373 Makes Final Flight Through the Mach Loop

The post The Dramatic Final Takeoff of Panavia Tornado ZA365 at RAF Lossiemouth appeared first on Urban Ghosts.

(Image: Roger Wood)

It’s fairly unusual to see a complete airframe lying in a scrapyard, amid the abandoned vehicles and other assorted wrecks that also await their turn for the cold mechanical claws of dreaded JCB. Often, the empty hulks of retired combat aircraft are destroyed on site in boneyards or the neglected corners of active air bases, then removed to scrapyards in chunks of torn metal on the backs of trucks.

But the relatively small size and narrow wingspan of the F-104 Starfighter seem to have made it possible to transport in one large piece. Lying in a yard alongside one of the main roads into Rome, the former Italian Air Force jet pictured above, wearing the code 5-11, looks to be virtually complete and a strong candidate for restoration. But unfortunately, its location at the breakers’ premises most likely spells the end.

Related – Bangkok’s Bizarre Boeing 747 Graveyard on the Edge of Ramkhamhaeng Road

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(Image: Nick Collins; Tornado ZD749, with its patchwork paint job, passes through the Mach Loop)

As more and more airframes are withdrawn from service and cannibalised for spare parts to keep the remaining fleet in the air, it isn’t unusual to see Panavia Tornado GR4 strike jets blasting through Britain’s upland valleys sporting a variety of paint jobs. Most can be seen in the updated light sea grey, while a handful still wear the darker scheme of previous years. A few have fancy commemorative tails – often those that aren’t long for this world.

Confusingly, some dark sea grey Tornados have been fitted with light coloured radomes, while a handful of aircraft in the more modern scheme nevertheless sport earlier black noses. At a time when surviving Tornados are essentially pooled and squadron codes are starting to disappear, the varying liveries at least add interest – and none moreso than those of the hodgepodges, like ZD749.

(Image: Paul Harvey; the aircraft still sports an older-style RAF fin flash)

Type “Tornado ZD749” into Google Images or Flickr, and you’ll find what is arguably one of the messiest GR4s in the fleet. And unlike many smarter ones that have gone before it, ZD749 is understood to still be very much active.

The Marham-based jet, tail code 097, was reportedly last noted with No. 31 Squadron on August, 19 this year, using the callsign Voodoo 2. Unlike many in the ageing fleet, Tornado ZD749 has not yet maxed out its flying hours or fatigue life, at which point the airframe would be handed over to the mercy of the RTP team at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire.

(Image: Nick Collins)

But as these photographs reveal, ZD749’s patchwork paint scheme echoes the donor aircraft from which its received its fair share of panels – cannibalised Tornados which have likely been ‘reduced to produce’ – stripped for parts and scrapped.

As of this year, the aircraft also retained the wider red and blue fin flash of earlier schemes, rather than the more discrete, updated version now seen on most Tornados and the UK’s other fast combat jet, the Eurofighter Typhoon.

(Image: Paul Harvey; sporting a mixture of light and dark sea grey panels from various Tornado GR4s)

So if you’re visiting the Mach Loop and one of the most untidy-looking Tornados you’ve ever seen screams through with its wings raked back, there’s a good chance it’s ZD749/097.

The Batch 4, Block 8 jet was the 384th Panavia Tornado built when it rolled off the production line in 1984. In all, an impressive 992 units were constructed, including 218 F3 Advanced Defence Variants (ADV). The aircraft was jointly developed by the UK, Italy and Germany in the 1970s, and the strike version remains in service with those nations, as well as Saudi Arabia, today, pending its replacement by the much-anticipated F-35 Lightning II.

Related – British F-35B Serial Numbers Mirror their Iconic English Electric Lightning Forebears

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(Image: Airwolfhound; Avro Vulcan XH558 (G-VLCN), ‘The Spirit of Great Britain’)

Earlier today, behind a veil of secrecy reminiscent of her Cold War role as Britain’s nuclear deterrent, Avro Vulcan XH558 – the world’s last airworthy V-Bomber – made her final flight from Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport. The iconic delta-winged bomber, a symbol of British engineering at its best, took to the skies this afternoon with former RAF pilot Martin Withers at the controls.

(Image: cf38)

Details of the aircraft’s final flight were kept a closely guarded secret due to concerns that thousands of spectators would descend on Robin Hood Airport – formerly RAF Finningley – for the occasion, overwhelming the local infrastructure and disrupting scheduled flights.

XH558 entered RAF service in 1960 and, despite being the oldest surviving Vulcan, remained in use as a K2 tanker until the type’s retirement in 1984. The aircraft remained on charge as the official RAF display aircraft until September 1992 when she was retired due to budget constraints and sold to a private owner at Bruntingthorpe airfield in Leicestershire.

(Image: Mark Harkin)

Her fate, however, could have been very different. When the last Avro Vulcans were finally withdrawn from military service, fellow K2 XH560 was poised to take over from XL426 as the Vulcan display aircraft, while XH558 was earmarked for the Marham fire dump.

But a final glance at the paperwork revealed that 558 had more flying hours left before a major service was required, and the two Vulcan K2s switched places, with the gloss-painted XH560 ultimately heading to the scrapyard. The cockpit section survives in a private collection.

(Image: Alan Wilson; XH558 landing at Waddington, 2013, with XM607 in the background)

After Vulcan XH558’s “final” flight in 1992, the charity Vulcan to the Sky Trust, which owns and operates the aircraft, was formed in a bid to bring the Vulcan back to life.

(Image: Urban Ghosts; XH558 underground maintenance in Hangar 3, Doncaster)

Against all the odds, their efforts paid off. After an epic 15 year campaign, which saw millions of pounds raised to completely overhaul the airframe and bring together a team of highly skilled engineers, mechanics and former pilots, XH558 once again took to the skies in 2007.

(Image: Mark Harkin; XH558 displays the green and grey European wrap-around camouflage)

It was an emotional occasion for all involved, including the aircraft’s many supporters in the UK and around the world. For the past eight years XH558 has thrilled enthusiasts young and old. Despite receiving no financial support from the British government, she’s nevertheless proved herself to be one of the biggest draws on the airshow circuit.

But as the need for a major service loomed and the number of uniquely skilled engineers declined, a combination of prohibitive cost and lost expertise meant that the Trust was unable to operate the 55-year-old jet beyond the 2015 season.

(Image: Rob Reedman; Falklands Vulcan XM607 preserved at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire)

Martin Withers, who piloted XH558 this afternoon, famously flew Vulcan XM607 in Operation Black Buck 1 during the Falklands War of 1982. The successful mission to bomb the runway at Port Stanley airfield covered 3,400 nautical miles of ocean and was at the time the longest bombing raid in history.

Withers remarked: “Everyone asks me what is so special about this aircraft and why people love it. Really the people who fly it are the wrong people to ask. It’s such a combination of grace and beauty of just seeing this thing fly.”

(Image: Gregdetours)

When XH558, known as The Spirit of Great Britain, touched down for the final time earlier today, the aircraft returned to Robin Hood’s Hangar 3 where she’ll be maintained as a part of the nation’s heritage, open to the public and periodically fast taxied.

(Image: Urban Ghosts; Vulcan XH558 in Hangar 3 at Doncaster)

The Vulcan to the Sky Trust’s chairman John Sharman said: “It’s a sad day but its also a day of optimism in many ways. We will preserve this aeroplane for the nation in working order, if not in flying order, for the future as the centrepiece of a heritage centre.”

He added: “She is very beautiful, she is very powerful, she is is totally unique, totally distinct. And that delta shape seems to inspire both young and old.”

(Image: Alec Wilson; preserved Vulcan XM655 makes a fast taxi run at Wellesbourne Mountford airfield)

Now permanently grounded, XH558 (civil registration G-VLCN) joins two other beautifully maintained Vulcan bombers capable of fast taxi runs thanks to dedicated teams of supporters and volunteers. Among them are the former Vulcan display aircraft XL426, based at Southend Airport, and XM655, the youngest of all surviving Vulcans, which is preserved at Wellesbourne Mountford in Warwickshire (above).

Related – Rare Photos of Vulcan Bomber Mockup from James Bond Film ‘Thunderball’

The post The Final Flight of Avro Vulcan XH558, the World’s Last Airworthy V-Bomber appeared first on Urban Ghosts.

(All images by 4.4.2 Explorations)

Last week Urban Ghosts featured an stunning collection of vintage Renault ABJ railcars snapped by urbex photographer 4.4.2 Explorations. Today, we wanted to showcase another haunting series of images from the same intrepid infiltrator, this time a cache of World War Two-era military vehicles parked inside a rather nondescript workshop.

The haunting military time capsule, which includes trucks, jeeps and armoured fighting vehicles, looks to be in good external condition and may recently have undergone an extensive restoration, perhaps to working order.

Most of the vehicles carry the markings of the United States Army, though its unclear exactly what their whereabouts signifies.

The photographer’s Flickr pages tag them as “abandoned”, though it seems more likely the armoured vehicles are undergoing preservation for museum display or stored away for the use of TV and movie studios on period film sets.

Whatever the reason may be, it’s amazing to consider what historical treasures hide away in ordinary-looking barns across the world – perhaps none more famous than these vintage fighter aircraft from the Battle of Britain movie.

(All images by 4.4.2 Explorations; tanks, trucks and jeeps in an incredible military time capsule)

Related – Urban Explorer Discovers Vintage Wartime Vehicles in ‘Abandoned’ Warehouse

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(All images courtesy of Mike Fizer/AOPA; rare HA-1112-M4L two-seat trainer)

In September we featured the amazing story of a World War Two time capsule discovered on a Texas ranch, made up of a cache of period aircraft hidden in a barn for more than 40 years. The coveted collection featured in the filming of the 1969 movie Battle of Britain and included arguably the most original of all potentially airworthy Supermarine Spitfires, as well as the rare two-seat version of the Hispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchon pictured above.

Only a handful of twin-stick Buchon (a licensed version of Germany’s feared Messerschmitt Bf 109) training airframes were ever produced, making this Rolls Royce Merlin powered HA-1112-M4L almost unique. After filming had wrapped, stunt pilot Wilson ‘Connie’ Edwards – who made his fortune in the oil industry – shipped the vintage warbird along with five of its contemporaries back to the USA as payment for flying the aircraft during the production.

(Image: Mike Fizer/AOPA; inside the HA-1112-M4L cockpit)

But last year, the veteran pilot and businessman decided to auction the historic planes, which had never been accessible to the public, following the tragic death of his son, Tex, in a car accident. The collection sold for more than $15 million through Platinum Fighters. The Buchons are understood to have been snapped up within just 24 hours.

According to Warbirds News, the six Buchons were purchased by Swiss-based company Boschung Global Ltd, which planned to return them to Europe for restoration. The historic fighters are expected to one day fly again, and it’s understood that the rare HA-1112-M4L and another single seat variant will remain with Boschung Global.

Once restored, the aircraft – along with the coveted Spitfire Mk.IX, which first flew in 1943 and was issued to RAF Hornchurch in Essex, England – will make a grand addition to the world’s warbird scene, which has enjoyed a welcome boost in recent years as more and more vintage aircraft are steadily brought back to flying condition.

(Image: Mike Fizer/AOPA; four single-seat Buchon fuselages stored in Texas)

The Hispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchon was derived from the German Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 and built under license in Spain. The wartime fighter remained on charge with the Spanish Air Force as late as 1965, meaning that a number of airframes were still airworthy and available for theatrical use in the myriad war films of the latter 20th century.

During the filming of the 1969 movie, Luftwaffe and British aces Adolf Galland and Robert Stanford Tuck both flew the HA-1112-M4L. The old adversaries, who fought each other during the real Battle of Britain, were employed as technical advisors on the movie. After the war the pair became close friends, with Tuck serving as godfather to Galland’s son Andreas. When it finally takes to the sky once again, it’s understood that this HA-1112-M4L will be the only airworthy example of of a two-seat Buchon in the world.

(Image: Mike Fizer/AOPA; Hispano Aviación HA-1112-M4L Buchon trainer)

Related – 3 Remarkably Intact B-17 Bomber Wrecks Discovered in Papua New Guinea

The post Rare Two-Seat Hispano Aviación HA-1112-M4L Buchon to be Returned to Flight appeared first on Urban Ghosts.

(Image: Alan Wilson; N2980, one of only two surviving Wellington bombers)

It’s one of the most amazing yet little-known stories from the annals of RAF Bomber Command. In the early summer of 1943, workers at Vickers-Armstrong’s Broughton factory in Flintshire, North Wales, gave up their weekend to build an operational Wellington bomber from scratch in less than 30 hours. Their monumental effort, which produced Wellington LN514, established a new world record and gave the public at large a much needed boost.

Several years earlier, in September 1940, around the time that he made his stirring tribute to The Few of Fighter Command, Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously remarked that “the bombers alone will provide the means for victory.” His words echoed the actions of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, which, under the direction of Lord Beaverbrook, was pouring vast resources into the design and construction of the light, medium and heavy bombers that would take the fight to the enemy, many of which would never return.

By 1943, as World War Two raged relentlessly with horrific civilian and military casualties on both sides, the War Department decided that a propaganda effort was needed to boost morale on the home front while demonstrating to Adolf Hitler that Britain’s aircraft factories were a force to be reckoned with.

(Image: Emoscopes; Wellington variants)

“It might seem odd, but the whole point of wartime aircraft production is speed,” historian James Holland told the BBC. “It’s sticking two fingers up at Nazi Germany and at the rest of the world. Our image of Germany is that they were all Teutonic efficiency and we were a bit amateurish, but it was the opposite.”

The propaganda effort, however, wasn’t merely a way of bolstering morale and sending a strong message to Hitler’s Third Reich. It was also intended to impress the United States, which had become the existing record holder after a California factory produced an operational aircraft in 48 hours.

Keen to beat the US record, officials selected the Welsh factory in Broughton – one of several Vickers-Armstrong facilities producing bombers for the RAF and Coastal Command – to take up the challenge of building a fully operational Wellington in just a day. They clearly had their work cut out for them, but as Holland remarked: “If you’re breaking records in the middle of a war, it shows confidence, and it gives the workers involved a boost.”

Nowadays the Broughton plant produces wings for the massive Airbus A380, the world’s largest jet airliner, but at peak production during the Second World War the factory was churning out an impressive 28 Wellington bombers every week.

(Image: UK Government; Vickers Wellington bombers under construction)

Designed by engineering genius Barnes Wallis – best known for the bouncing bomb dropped by the iconic Dambusters during Operation Chastise – the Wellington’s easily assembled yet highly robust geodesic design, employing a fuselage skeleton of 1,650 aluminium alloy W-beams covered by an outer layer of doped Irish linen, made it an ideal airframe for the challenge.

The Broughton factory alone boasted six thousand employees working exhausting 12-hour shifts in a job that demanded the highest precision and quality. More than half the workforce were women, including former Co-operative employee Betty Weaver, who said of her time there: “I didn’t know one end of a screwdriver from another but I got there,” she said. “I do now. For the first three weeks I didn’t sleep, then it all slotted into place.”

Poised to make history, the workers assembled at Broughton one Saturday morning in 1943 (the exact date is unknown) to begin the construction of Vickers Wellington serial number LN514. They were accompanied by the Crown Film Unit who recorded the event for posterity in a classic wartime newsreel titled Worker’s Week-End, directed by Elton Ray.

(Image: UK Government; a Wellington bomber similar to LN514)

The BBC reports that: “Throughout the day, workers swarmed to slot together its body, to assemble the engine, to tightly sew its fabric shell – eight stitches to the inch, or the wind could get it and rip the seams open.

“By 8.23pm, soon after the night shift arrived, it was time to fit the propellers to the wings. The plane was coming together so fast, workers began laying bets on whether they’d beat their target.”

Wellington LN514’s undercarriage was installed two hours later and, by the early hours of the following morning, the aircraft had left the production line for engine tests and other inspections. By 6:15am engine testing was complete and inspections revealed that vital stitches securing the airframe’s fabric shell met the high standards required.

Finally, just before 8am the following morning, less than a day after the first sections had been laid down, Wellington LN514 was ready for takeoff. The workers, who reportedly donated their overtime pay to the Red Cross Aid to Russia Fund, had beaten their target time of 30 hours without compromising the integrity of the airframe, and it’s said that the test pilot, who’d been scheduled for an afternoon flight, had to be woken early from his Sunday lie in.

The understandably concerned airman was recorded saying “I hope to God they haven’t missed anything” before lifting Wellington LN514 off the runway for its maiden flight, an incredible 24 hours and 48 minutes after construction began. The previous world record had been smashed.

(Image: RAF; operational Wellingtons at RAF Stradishall, 1939)

LN514 is understood to have been delivered to an operational squadron for service over Occupied Europe that very same day, but sadly there’s no record of what ultimately became of the aircraft. With no evidence that it crashed in either combat or training, it’s likely that Wellington LN514 was broken up for scrap after the war – a sad fate for a record-breaking machine, but one that befell thousands of storied aircraft with their own heroic tales to tell.

An understandably war-weary public, who just a few years earlier had received a much-needed morale boost from LN514, no longer had any need for the tired old bombers parked silently on increasingly decommissioned airfields, nor any desire to preserve them as they sought to rebuild their lives and move forward.

(Edit: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referenced “TV cameras” in relation to the Crown Film Unit.)

Related – The German Fighter that Helped Save a Crippled American Bomber

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(All images by Urban Ghosts; the Grangemouth Spitfire memorial)

Situated 25 miles north west of Edinburgh, the town of Grangemouth is today dominated by one of the largest oil refineries in Europe. But the Stirlingshire town also enjoys a long and distinguished aviation heritage, which began in May 1939 with the founding of the Central Scotland Airport.

For several months the airfield was home to the Civilian Air Navigation School (CANS) until the outbreak of World War Two saw the arrival of the Supermarine Spitfires of RAF Fighter Command‘s No. 602 Squadron. These were swiftly joined by the Blenheims and Gladiators of 141 Squadron and the Westland Lysanders of 263 Squadron as the conflict heated up.

A pre-war civilian control tower and two existing civil hangars were joined by eight military blister hangars required to service and maintain the various planes in often inhospitable weather. By December 1940 RAF Grangemouth was home to the Spitfire Mk.1s of No. 58 Operational Training Unit (OTU) – the unit with which the town is most closely associated, and which is now immortalised in Grangemouth’s poignant World War Two memorial.

Unveiled in May 2013, a full-scale Supermarine Spitfire replica sits atop a plinth in a memorial garden at the heart of the long-abandoned aerodrome. The fighter, coded PQ-N, represents an aircraft flown by Polish Sergeant Pilot Eugeniusz Lukomski, who was killed in a training accident in November 1941 at the age of 23.

The all-metal Spitfire replica, which is understood to have cost £100,000, was made possible by a collaboration between the Grangemouth Spitfire Memorial Trust (GSMT) and 1333 (Grangemouth Spitfire) Squadron Air Training Corps. Among those present at the unveiling was 100-year-old former aircraft mechanic John ‘Dinger’ Bell, who worked as an engineer at Grangemouth during the Second World War.

According to the Trust’s website: “The memorial commemorates the trainee Spitfire pilots who had come to RAF Grangemouth from not only Great Britain but also Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Belgium, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and India, to learn to fly the Spitfire fighter aircraft during the Second World War, and who died at the airfield while serving with 58 Operational Training Unit.”

(Image: Grangemouth Memorial Wall)

GSMT chairman Iain Mitchell said at the unveiling: “The young men who trained at Grangemouth were among the bravest the world has ever seen, and it is a huge honour for us to be in a position to commemorate their sacrifice with this stunning memorial. It’s the first of its kind in Scotland and we can’t wait to share it with everyone.

“This project has been five years in the making for us. Ever since the memorial wall went up in 2008 we’ve been trying to raise the funds to have the replica put up so to see it finally happen is a proud moment for all involved.”

Like many abandoned wartime airfields across the United Kingdom, the haunting relics of RAF Grangemouth remain hidden in plain sight amid the modern streetscene. The garden of remembrance, with its moving Memorial Wall, lies near two surviving 1930s hangars that now form part of an industrial estate. Inchyra Park also occupies a section of the former airfield site and the secondary runway is now Inchyra Road.

But it’s the stunning Spitfire replica that serves as the most powerful reminder of the Grangemouth’s aviation heritage; a lasting tribute to those who gave their lives during the Second World War, and an impressive reflection of the efforts of those who made the memorial a reality.

Related – The Record-Breaking Wellington Bomber Built in 24 Hours

The post The Grangemouth Spitfire: Proud Memorial to the Pilots of No. 58 Operational Training Unit appeared first on Urban Ghosts.

(Image: Dmitry Avdeev; abandoned Sukhoi Su-15TM at Ugolny Airport)

Strategically situated on the Gulf of Anadyr amid the icy tundra of the Russian Far East, Ugolny Airport serves as a mixed-use civilian and military aerodrome today. Its long, reinforced concrete runway also makes it an ideal emergency landing ground, allowing stricken passenger aircraft on the northern trans-Pacific route to divert to safety there. But during the Cold War, its remote location at the tough extremities of Siberia gave rise to its military role, as a staging post for the Soviet Union’s much feared bomber fleet, including Tupolev Tu-95 Bears and supersonic Tu-22M Backfires.

(Image: Dmitry Avdeev; remains of an Antonov An-12B)

Located seven miles east of the port town of Anadyr, Ugolny Airport is a isolated, barren place. Chilly, neglected military buildings coexist near the relatively modern passenger terminal, while spartan ramps and the vast concrete runway extend to the north.

To the east of the runway, the hulking shell of a large, derelict hangar stands amid piles of Cold War rubble dating back to the days of the Soviet Union. The structure is still visible on Google Earth, though the abandoned relics of Ugolny’s former fighter force may now – finally – have been cleared.

(Image: Dmitry Avdeev; abandoned Sukhoi Su-15TM Flagon hulk)

The desolate airfield is understood to have opened in the 1950s and been maintained over the years by the Arctic Control Group of the Russian Air Force. In addition to its regular civilian service to Moscow, Ugolny was also home to fleet of Sukhoi Su-15TM ‘Flagon’ interceptors from the 1960s until the early 1990s, when the type was retired from Russian service.

The last remnants of the base’s Su-15s (and other aircraft hulks) were captured in this series of photographs by Dmirty Avdeev in 2001; decrepit, unloved shells of planes parked on ramps and outside the collapsing hangar. Elsewhere on the bleak airfield lies the decapitated cockpit section of a former Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-76TD transport plane. The aircraft, serial number RA-76834, is understood to have crashed due to pilot error on January 25, 1997.

(Image: Dmitry Avdeev; remains of crashed Ilyushin Il-76TD)

Like many old Russian airfields that have found new life in the post-Soviet world, the dilapidated military ruins at Ugolny Airport are just as powerful reminders of the old Soviet Union as this impressive fleet of grounded Backfire bombers that remain parked on an abandoned Siberian air base to this day.

(Image: Dmitry Avdeev; all that’s left of wrecked Ilyushin Il-76TD)

Related – 12 Abandoned Cold War Airfields of the Former Soviet Union

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(Image: Laura Turner/US Air Force; abandoned Nike missile base Site Summit, Alaska)

It seems hard to believe now, but the 20th century was marked by a very real belief that the world’s great superpowers would destroy one another in a nuclear holocaust. The US and Soviet Union were ramping-up production of warheads, tensions frequently threatened to boil over, and several hundred million lives trembled in fear of annihilation at the push of a button.

To combat this threat, the US government set up Nike missile bases across the country. Designed for a variety of roles under Project Nike, notably as anti-ICBM missiles to shoot down incoming Russian nukes, the system’s bases were numerous, often lurking just outside major population centers. Although all were decommissioned before the end of the Cold War, not all were destroyed or packed away. A handful still remain out there, rusting reminders of a time when the entire world teetered on the brink of Armageddon.

(Image: US Army; Project Nike missiles on display at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama)

Abandoned Nike Missile Base LA-88 (Oat Mountain, California)

(Images: Manic Excursions via YouTube – see full video below)

As a major population center and cultural hub, LA was a natural target for a Russian nuclear attack. As such, the government was careful to keep it safe at all costs. At the height of the Cold War, dozens upon dozens of Nike missile sites idled in the hills around the city, kept secret from its unsuspecting residents. Although most have long since been completely demolished, traces still remain of at least one: LA-88.

In operation from 1957-1974, LA-88 is notable for being guarded entirely by sentry dogs. Despite housing real missiles, the only thing keeping anyone from breaking in were four fierce dogs and their handlers. Luckily, no-one with a vast supply of sausages ever seriously thought about robbing the place.

Until 2008, LA-88 remained surprisingly open to the public. Situated on a concrete plateau overlooking the valley, it was relatively intact, although spoiled by graffiti. Then a wildfire raged through and most of the surviving structures collapsed. As of 2015, it’s a desolate shell. A haunting slice of LA real estate that seems torn straight from another world; one where the Russians did indeed attack, and these scorched, hollowed-out ruins are all that remain. (Explore the abandoned Nike missile base via the above video.)

S-13/14 (Redmond, Washington)

(Images: Bing Maps; Michael Innes; derelict buildings at the abandoned Nike missile base)

Sixteen miles to the east of Seattle, the town of Redmond is home to a little-known curiosity: the decaying remains of a former Nike missile base located in the wilderness surrounding the town.

Operated until 1974, the site bizarrely found its way into the ownership of the Lake Washington School District. Although they still run the place (parts of it were briefly used by local vocational colleges), much of it has fallen to ruin. The buildings are overgrown, their windows smashed. Tiles have been torn from the walls. Water collects on the floor. The overall effect is somewhere between beautiful and creepy.

Adding to the ominous atmosphere is the presence of some spine-tinglingly apt graffiti. Along a partially-collapsed corridor, someone has scrawled ‘God has left the house.’ Elsewhere, echoing the entrance to Hell in Dante’s Inferno, has been written ‘abandon hope all who enter here.’ Although no doubt the work of bored kids, the words still have a hunting resonance in a building once dedicated to preventing the Apocalypse.

HM-69 (Everglades National Park, Florida)

(Images: Bing Maps; Visit Florida Editor; Pedro Sostre)

Of all the places you might expect to find an abandoned Nike missile base, a national park is probably not very high up the list. But the Everglades does more than simply house a few crumbling remains. It’s home to one of the best-preserved Nike missile sites out there.

Opened in the immediate aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the site (officially designated HM-69) was one of the biggest in the US. Over 140 personnel were stationed there at its height, working around the clock to make sure any of the three missiles could be deployed at a moment’s notice. The fear at the time was a Cuban airstrike might knock out South Florida’s defense capabilities, leaving it open to Russian attack. Although this seems unlikely now, it was taken seriously enough in the 1960s that John F. Kennedy himself visited the site to review its procedures.

Although HM-69 was terminated in 1979, it remains in good shape today. Added to the National Register of Historic Buildings in 2004, it is now a major draw for the park. You can even arrange guided tours.

D-57 (Newport, Michigan)

(Images: Bing Maps; Google Street View; US Army Corps of Engineers)

One of the shortest-serving sites on our list, Newport’s long abandoned Nike missile base (properly known as D-57) opened in January 1955 to help protect the area around Detroit. It closed barely eight years later in February 1963, it’s missiles quietly carted off elsewhere.

Seen today, the site is in an advance state of decay. Although the housing used by personnel has since been turned into homes for the local population, the rest of the base has fallen into ruin. Buildings have been trashed, windows broken and fences torn down. Nature has moved back in, swallowing up much of what’s left. Sprawling arcs of graffiti have unfurled across walls. In its semi-isolation among the fields, D-57 has seemingly fallen prey to the whims of local vandals.

NY-15 (Hart Island, New York City)

(Image: Bing Maps)

As one of the largest cities on Earth, New York City was thought particularly vulnerable to Russian nuclear attacks. No less than 19 Nike missile sites were set up around its defensive area, an attempt to give the millions living there blanket coverage. Of all those sites, perhaps the most interesting of all was NY-15.

Set up in 1955, NY-15 straddled two different islands: Davids Island and Hart Island. Long unknown to even the most city-wise New Yorkers, Hart Island recently came to prominence as a mass grave site known as ‘the prison of the dead.’ Yet its role in the 20th century was much more positive. Working in conjunction with the spotters on Davids Island, it became a guardian of the living, protecting New Yorkers from a threat that thankfully never materialised.

Despite its history, not much of the abandoned Nike missile base remains to be seen on Hart Island. Just a few swathes of concrete, some rusting fences, and the occasional crumbling building, situated to the north of an equally abandoned asylum and the eerie potter’s field.

BA-79 (Granite, Maryland)

(Images: airfields-freeman.com; Bing Maps)

While nowhere near the vast, unimaginable size of New York, Baltimore still required several launchers to defend its sprawl. A total of seven were installed in the 1950s, ringing the city in a protective embrace of nuclear fire. A typical examples was the BA-79 site in Granite.

Just beyond the outer suburbs of the city, Granite was home to four launchers, each with a magazine of nuclear-tipped Nike missiles. Residents who lived on the fringes of the city at the time have recalled being able to see the missiles poking up into the sky during tests; a haunting mirror-image of the city skyline.

Right into the mid-2000s (at least), the site of the abandoned Nike missile base remained almost perfectly preserved. Seen from above, the different components of the complex were still clearly visible, if a little decayed. But the last we heard suggested that much of it had been pulled down, leaving only faint traces.

HA-25 (Manchester, Connecticut)

(Images: Bing; cianci99/YouTube; repurposed buildings at the abandoned Nike missile base)

Not every abandoned Nike missile base was demolished or left to rot. Some were repurposed for various uses, either within the military or for the improvement of the local town. Such was the case with the site near Manchester, Connecticut.

Now part of the Nike Site Recreation Area, the abandoned missile base still retains some of its original buildings. Instead of military personnel, hi-tech equipment and nuclear paranoia, though, they now contain Scouting groups, kids doing ballet practice, and all sorts of other wholesome things. This seems even stranger when you realize traces of the site’s original purpose still remain. Leave behind the families and kids and strike out into the woods and you might stumble across the old launch pad, now semi-hidden beneath a carpet of leaves.

Site Bay, Alaska

(Images: nikealaska.org; Bing Maps; the abandoned Nike missile base at Bay, Alaska)

As a state formerly owned by Russia, Alaska had a lot to worry about during the Cold War. The maritime border between the two even had its own name: ‘the frozen curtain.’ In order to fend off any Russian advances, the state installed its own Nike missile sites deep in its icy interior.

One such site was Bay. Nestled below a range of mountains, its location was so impossibly remote that personnel had to fly in. This isolated spot had its advantages: tests could progress beyond merely readying each silo, and include hurling missiles far out into the frozen void of this sparsely-populated state. Were the Russians to target Anchorage, they would find the Alaskan population ready for them.

(Image: Gerald and Snark; another abandoned Nike missile base near Anchorage, Alaska)

Although the site was deactivated in the 1970s, parts of it remain standing to this day. An order to completely demolish the place in the early-2000s was deemed too expensive to carry out, resulting in a semi-desolate wasteland. Seen in winter, under a layer of heavy snow, it looks almost magical; a living ghost of a long-gone war.

Abandoned Nike Missile Base at Summit, Alaska

(Image: Bing Maps; abandoned Nike missile base at Summit, Alaska)

Situated in the Chugach Mountains 25 miles to the northeast of Anchorage, the abandoned Nike missile base at Site Summit is the best preserved of its kind in Alaska. Though its original Cold War purpose has long since been surpassed, the remote, neglected site is still used as a communications base and hosts occasional US Army exercises. Summit has since been added to the National Register of Historic Places and hosts guided tours during summer months.

Related – 10 Abandoned Nuclear Bunkers, Missile Silos & Ammunition Dumps

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(Image: Google Earth; Tiyas airbase, home to abandoned MiG-25 Foxbats)

It’s unclear how many Syrian Air Force MiG-25 Foxbat fighter jets remain in service, but of around 38 in the original inventory, it’s thought that most now stand idle on dusty desert airfields. Head to Tiyas airbase in central Syria on Google Earth and you’ll find around two dozen Russian-built MiG-25 interceptors, alongside a handful of other abandoned jets, parked on hard standings across the sprawling airfield, seemingly defunct.

(Images: Google Earth)

Now examine the same scene via Bing Maps (see below), photographed at a later date. The satellite images reveal something in the region of 27 apparently derelict Foxbats, some of them clustered in revetments, others towed out into the surrounding desert.

(Images: Bing Maps)

Tiyas airbase, also known as T4, is one of the largest military airfields in Syria. At its peak the facility housed three MiG-25 units alongside two squadrons of Su-22 Fitters and Su-24 Fencers respectively (a Russian Air Force version of the latter was shot down by Turkish F-16s yesterday for allegedly violating their sovereign airspace).

(Image: Bing Maps)

The Syrian Air Force operated both the interceptor and reconnaissance version of the supersonic Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, a high performance Soviet design that first flew in 1964 and is capable of mach 3 at high altitude. But it’s understood that most of the ageing jets were withdrawn from service around 2011 as Syria collapsed into a brutal and bloody civil war.

In June year citizen journalism website Bellingcat reported:

No less than three fighter-bomber squadrons and one helicopter squadron are currently operating out of T4, including the pride of the SyAAF: its Su-24M2s. The airbase is also home to the now decommissioned MiG-25 fleet, largely phased out in the previous decade. Despite being Syria’s largest airbase, T4 only has one runway, making the airbase extremely vulnerable in case this single runway gets taken out.

(Image: Google Earth)

The scenes on the ground at Tiyas airbase reflect the above report, as dozens of ageing Foxbats languish in the desert surrounding the airfield. But while Bing shows the old MiG-25 hulks parked out on the sand, their former dispersal pans remain empty. Satellite images reveal few signs of life at the vast facility, and any operational aircraft are clearly kept under lock and key in hardened shelters.

(Image: Google Earth)

In November 2011 an attack in the Homs Governorate reportedly carried out by members of the Free Syrian Army – a group committed to toppling the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad – against a bus carrying military personnel is said to have resulted in the deaths of 10 people, including six Syrian Air Force pilots. The attack is thought to have been carried out at a military airfield, though it’s unclear whether the base in question was T4 or Shayrat.

Like Tiyas, Shayrat also bears all the hallmarks of an aircraft graveyard, as the carcasses of abandoned MiG-23s lie strewn across the vast, isolated military base.

Related – Buried MiG-25 Foxbat Jet Uncovered in Iraqi Desert

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(Image: Steve Tron; pre-production Panavia Tornado XZ631 after refurbishment at Elvington)

By the second half of last year, the Yorkshire Air Museum’s Panavia Tornado GR4 was beginning to look rather sorry for itself. But by last summer, the early pre-production Tornado, which served as the GR4 prototype before retiring to the museum in 2005, received a full makeover. Pictured here in October 2015, the historic airframe looks absolutely stunning.

First conceived during the 1960s under the Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) programme – ultimately a collaboration between Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom – the Panavia Tornado IDS (interdictor/strike) went on to become one of the most formidable fast jet bomber platforms of its age, and remains a potent weapon system to this day.

(Image: Steve Tron; the pre-production aircraft, designed P.15, served as the Tornado GR4 prototype)

A total of sixteen prototype and pre-production Tornado airframes were built during the 1970s, the first one taking to the air on August 14, 1974. Split between the three participating nations, the 10 initial prototypes were followed by a series of six pre-production airframes. Among them were two British jets, XZ630 and XZ631, which both survive almost 40 years later.

Tornado XZ631, which also carried the pre-production designation P.15, first flew on November 24, 1978 with aircrew Jerry Lee and Jim Evans at the controls. P.15 was also the first of Panavia’s early development batch machines to receive the production-standard rear fuselage with fin-mounted fuel tank – a feature of RAF Tornados, but not German/Italian ones.

XZ631’s flying career last 26 years, longer than many early production airframes that were not selected for the Tornado’s mid-life upgrade (MLU) to GR4 standard. The 10 year programme, which began in 1993, saw 142 of the RAF’s original fleet of 228 Tornado GR1 aircraft upgraded to GR4 standard between 1997 and 2003.

(Image: Steve Tron; Tornado XZ631 first flew in 1978 and made its final flight in 2004)

Airframe P.15/XZ631 served as the Tornado GR4 prototype and continued flying in the development role throughout the decade-long process. But as the upgraded GR4s rolled off the BAE Systems lines at Warton, Lancashire, and made their operational debut in the US-led Operation Southern Watch, the ageing Tornado XZ631’s task was almost complete.

The aircraft made its final flight on June 21, 2004 and was withdrawn from use thereafter. P.15 was retired to the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington the following year. On that day, Elvington became the first independent UK aviation museum to get its hands on a Tornado, and the first to acquire the GR4 version which remains a front-line strike jet today. Only one other Tornado GR4, the time-expired ZA452 at Coventry’s Midland Air Museum, is on public display.

(Image: Steve Tron; P.15 is now displayed at the Yorkshire Air Museum with Tornado GR1 ZA354)

Until recently, P.15/XZ631 still wore the early grey/green Cold War camoflage seen on production Tornado GR1s and GR1As. But thanks to its recent refurbishment, the aircraft has been repainted in the modern all-over light grey scheme worn by most surviving GR4s. Finished in the markings of No. 2 Squadron RAF, the retired combat jet looks stunning as a result.

In addition to P.15, the Yorkshire Air Museum is also the custodian of a Tornado GR1 airframe, ZA354. Let’s hope this machine also receives a freshening up of its early grey-green camouflage in the near future.

Related – Tornado F2 ZA267: Rare Surviving Prototype of the RAF’s Air Defence Variant

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(Image: Pline; the lost cosmonauts and other bizarre Cold War mysteries)

The Cold War was the tense time when ‘mysterious’ became the default setting for international affairs. Two great superpowers stood toe-to-toe, each with the ability to obliterate the world as we know it. Spies slunk through iron curtains, bodies washed up in rivers and no-one was really sure what was going on.

Today, that frigid climate has thawed and released archives that have given us a reasonably accurate historical record of those years. Yet some Cold War mysteries still loom large in the public consciousness. Because they were so shocking, or because they still remain unsolved, here are ten mysteries and conspiracy theories that are both chilling and compelling.

The Death of the UN Secretary General

(Image: via Wikipedia)

On September 18, 1961, UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold boarded a plane for the town of Ndola in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). The Swedish diplomat was on his way to meet spokespeople from the breakaway Katanga state in the Congo. He never made it. Just before midnight, his plane crashed nine miles from Ndola. Everyone onboard died.

At the time, it was reported that pilot error had caused the crash. But in the years since, some have come to suspect foul play. Hammarskjold was in favor of Katanga remaining part of the Congo – a move that seriously upset the Belgians, who wanted to mine its resources. He also backed the decolonized Congolese state, upsetting the pro-colonialist Rhodesians and the Americans, who were terrified the Congo was going to enter the Soviet sphere.

There’s some evidence of foul play. Just before Hammarskjold’s plane went down, an NSA operative at a listening post was reportedly told “something interesting is going to happen.” The crash site was sealed off by Northern Rhodesian forces, and no-one allowed in. Villagers reported hearing explosions and seeing another aircraft.

It’s now thought Hammarskjold’s plane was likely shot down, possibly by a Belgian mercenary. But who they were working for, what their exact motive was, and what twisted alliances lay at the plot’s heart remain unknown.

The Sinking of the Gaul

(Image: British Sea Fishing)

In February 1974, the super-trawler FV Gaul was caught in a storm off the Norwegian coast and sank without a trace. Strangely, the crew at no point broadcast a distress signal. Nor were any bodies found. Perhaps more-pertinently, that was the decade in which British intelligence routinely used trawlers to spy on Soviet ship positions. Had the Gaul uncovered something the Russians wanted kept secret?

In the years afterward, that was certainly the leading theory. Many thought a radio signal had been intercepted, causing a Soviet sub to sink the trawler. Others assumed the crew had been taken away for interrogation behind the iron curtain, and their boat scuttled to provide cover. For a long time, the fate of the Gaul and the location of its crew remained one of the Cold War’s most enduring mysteries.

Then, in 2002, new evidence came to light. The trawler had finally been found, with no signs of Soviet foul-play. Russian involvement has since been ruled out, and human remains recovered. However, that still leaves the lesser-question of why the ship went silent before it sank. Did everything happen too quickly for a distress signal to be broadcast, or are we looking at another mystery here, one in which Soviet involvement was only ever a red herring?

Herbert Norman’s Suicide

(Image: Chetdown)

During the Cold War, many diplomats’ lives were ruined by blackmail attempts or false accusations of spying. E. Herbert Norman, a representative of the Canadian government stationed in Cairo, may have been one of them. On the cool, clear morning of April 4, 1957, Norman took an elevator to the 9th floor of the Swedish embassy. Moments later, he jumped to his death. What drove him to suicide is still the subject of endless speculation.

It’s known that Norman was a former member of communist organizations, and had worked with the Japanese Communist party during the post-World War Two American occupation. It’s also known that he had been relentlessly hounded for this by the McCarthyist State Department. He protested his innocence, but the United States Senate Subcommittee opened a hearing on him only a few months before his suicide.

Today, it is unknown if Norman was a Soviet-sympathizer who took his own life rather than be discovered, or an innocent man driven to death by an overzealous witch hunt.

The Identity of the ‘Lost Cosmonauts’

(Image: Untitled Plot Project via YouTube)

Everyone knows the year Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space: 1961. But what if Gagarin was not the first man in space, but simply the first man to survive? That’s the question underpinning the chilling ‘lost cosmonauts’ theory.

Not long after Gagarin’s historic mission, a Czech agent allegedly leaked information to the Allies about a failed spaceflight. Nothing odd about this, until you look at the date. According to the notes passed on, the Soviets had sent a man into orbit in December 1959.

Unlike Gagarin, though, that man had died a gruesome death. According to the informant, there were many others who had suffered similar fates. In a creepy twist, there may even be some evidence to back this up.

Two months before Gagarin’s flight, a listening station in Italy picked up a brief Russian transmission, broadcasting the words “everything is satisfactory, we are orbiting the Earth.” A few days later, they picked up what sounded like a scream of terror, followed by empty silence.

If that wasn’t creepy enough, a later transmission was heard featuring three people sobbing and one of them saying “Conditions growing worse, why don’t you answer? . . . We are going slower. . . the world will never know about us. . .” The source of these transmissions remains a mystery. Were they hoaxes, or did Russia really abandon failed cosmonauts to an unimaginable fate?

The Death of Georgi Markov

(Image: Fred the Oyster; diagram of an umbrella gun)

Georgi Markov was an exiled Bulgarian playwright, best-known during his life for writing works that stuck it to the Soviet regime. Today, though, it’s his disturbing death that constitutes his legacy.

On September 7, 1978, Markov was walking across the Waterloo Bridge in London, when he felt a sharp pain in his leg. When he turned around, he noticed a man with an umbrella quickly walking away. That evening, the pain in Markov’s leg became unbearable. He was admitted to hospital, where it was discovered he had been poisoned by ricin. A metal pellet had been shot from the umbrella into his leg, where it released the toxin. With no known treatment existing, Markov died in agony.

It’s known today that the KGB were responsible for Markov’s murder. Beyond that, we’re in the dark. A man known as Francesco Gullino is considered the “prime suspect“, and has even been traced to Austria. But with no proof existing that he murdered Markov, and Gullino himself furiously denying the rumours, the playwright’s killer remains an enduring Cold War mystery.

The Fate of the USS Scorpion

(Image: US Navy)

May 22nd marks the anniversary of one of the US’s worst naval disasters. That’s the day the nuclear submarine USS Scorpion sank, taking all 99 crewmen down with it. To this day, we have no idea what caused its destruction.

One leading theory states that a torpedo accidentally detonated while onboard, destroying the sub instantly. Others suggest that a trash disposal unit was activated at depth and caused the submarine to flood. But there’s another, more-sinister theory out there. According to some historians, the USS Scorpion may have been involved in a lethal encounter with a Soviet sub.

The theory goes that the Scorpion had a run in with a Soviet submarine, possibly ending in a stand-off that only resolved when the Soviet captain opened fire. To stop the Cold War dramatically heating up – and possibly killing millions – the US and the Soviet Union supposedly colluded to keep the true cause of the sinking a secret.

Freakishly, the Scorpion isn’t the only nuclear sub to have suffered an unexplained accident in 1968. An Israeli sub, a French sub and a Russian sub all also sank that year. No-one knows for sure what caused them to go down, leaving them Cold War mysteries to this day.

The Mysterious Signal

(Image: Janm67)

UVB-76 has been freaking out the world for nearly 40 years. A radio signal that occupies 4625 kHz and has been broadcasting since the late ’70s, UVB-76 is Russian in origin and survived the end of the Cold War. Beyond that, all we know is that it’s incredibly creepy.

For decades now, UVB-76 has been broadcasting nothing but a repeated buzzing noise, over and over again. This in itself wouldn’t be that weird, except we know for a fact that the noise isn’t automated. Movements have been heard in the background, as have the opening and closing of doors, and occasionally even muffled voices speaking in Russian. The buzzing is generated by a microphone being manually held next to a speaker. And someone has been holding it there for nearly 40 years.

It gets stranger-still. Every few years, the buzzing is unexpectedly broken by the sounds of a voice reading out a list of names and/or numbers. One typical message from Christmas 1997 read “Ya UVB-76, Ya UVB-76. 180 08 BROMAL 74 27 99 14. Boris, Roman, Olga, Mikhail, Anna, Larisa. 7 4 2 7 9 9 1 4.” Eerily, the station has actually gotten more active since the end of the Cold War. At one point in 2010, messages were coming out on an almost-monthly basis. They included things like a snippet of Swan Lake, a woman counting down from nine to one, and a question mark in Morse code.

The station itself has been located at a former military base. But still no-one knows what the signal is for. Given its mysterious Cold War origins, some have speculated that it’s a nuclear retaliation code. If the signal ever goes dark, those listening will know Russia has fallen and it’s time to launch the missiles.

The Disappearance of Buster Crabb

(Image: Coote, R G G)

In 1956, the Soviet cruiser Ordzhonikidze took Nikita Khrushchev on a diplomatic mission to Britain. While the cruiser was docked in Portsmouth harbour, MI6 realized this was too-good an opportunity to miss. They recruited former Navy frogman and celebrity diver Lionel “Buster” Crabb to spy on the vessel underwater and get information about its design. On April 19, Crabb dived into Portsmouth harbour. He was never seen or heard from again.

What happened to Crabb remains a mystery. After a body in a frogman suit surfaced 14 months later, it was presumed the Soviet Union had caught him spying and killed him. But the body was missing its hands and head, meaning it couldn’t be identified. As a result, some began to suspect a more-sinister motive.

One conspiracy theory holds that Crabb was secretly looking to defect, and chose the dive as the perfect moment to do so. Others think the Soviets captured him rather than killing him, and the body was a fake left behind while they hauled the diver away for interrogation. Did Crabb die in some remote Russian gulag after being tortured? Like other Cold War mysteries, we may never know for certain, though in recent years a retired Russian sailor admitted to taking Crabb’s life.

The Missing Nuclear Material

(Image: via Wikipedia)

Imagine discovering that you’d misplaced hundreds of kilograms of uranium – enough to make a dirty bomb. In the US State of Pennsylvania, this literally happened. In the 1960s, the government discovered piles of weapons-grade material missing from the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC). No-one knows what happened to it.

The answer could be mundane or it could be terrifying. Mundane because nuclear material gets lost all the time. Sometimes it simply seeps into walls and floors and disappears. Other times, it gets let out into the local environment. In other cases, it may have disappeared into the hands of another state.

The founder of NUMEC was known to have close connections with Israeli intelligence. While the company was in operation, Israeli defense experts reportedly turned up unannounced and concealed their identities. There are reports, too, of Mossad shipping hundreds of kilograms of uranium across the Atlantic Ocean. Today, some experts think NUMEC may have secretly helped Israel build a nuclear bomb. While no-one has ever been charged with a crime, the fate of the missing uranium remains one of the most perplexing Cold War mysteries.

The Dyatlov Pass Incident

(Image: Soviet Investigators)

The bizarre fate of nine Russian cross country skiers in winter 1959 is one of the creepiest of all Cold War mysteries. Known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident, it remains unsolved to this day.

The basic facts are these. A group of Russian skiers took part in a multi-day trek in temperatures reaching minus 30C. On the night of February 2, 1959, some of the party ripped their tent open from the inside, and ran off into the tundra wearing almost nothing. Five of them were later found dead at the bottom of a slope. The other four were discovered a short distance away. Weirdly, the four were wearing clothes belonging to the semi-naked five.

It gets stranger. Multiple members of the party suffered from broken bones and internal damage, far beyond what a fight could have caused. The injuries are consistent with being hit by an avalanche, except for one disturbing detail. All those dead appeared to have been blasted by ultraviolet rays before they died. Some were said to look almost completely brown. When Soviet investigators looked into the incident, they found insanely high levels of radiation on some of the bodies.

Thanks to the reported presence of balls of light flying through the area, some now consider this the remains of an alien encounter. More-realistically, others think the skiers accidentally wandered into a secret Soviet WMD testing ground. But with the KGB archives now open, no-one can find any evidence that weapons were ever tested there. The fate of the skiers remains one of the most chilling mysteries of the Cold War.

Related – 10 Famous People Who Vanished Without a Trace

The post 10 Enduring Cold War Mysteries & Conspiracy Theories appeared first on Urban Ghosts Media.

(Image: Prioryman; abandoned 100 ton gun turret at Fort Gorazda, Montenegro)

Here at Urban Ghosts, we’ve spent a lot of time covering abandoned military bases and other facilities. From abandoned Nike Missile sites to decaying airbases, there’s little that’s escaped our sights. Now we’re turning our attention to abandoned gun emplacements, flak towers and derelict artillery batteries. From crumbling forts that once housed impressive cannons, to anti-aircraft guns left to rust on remote islands, the world is littered with these ruined monuments to bygone wars.

Fort Gorazda (Montenegro)

(Image: Wanus)

The history of the Balkans is one of insurgencies, counter-insurgencies, and governments trying to violently restore order. Nowhere typifies this as clearly as Fort Gorazda near Montenegro’s coast. Built in the 1880s to shore up Austro-Hungarian support in a volatile region, it soon became the location of innumerable battles.

(Image: Prioryman; abandoned defensive walls within the mighty fortification)

At the time, both Russians and Montenegrins were separately trying to oust the Hapsburg Empire. As a result, the fort came under repeated, heavy attack. Bombarded by batteries and assaulted by ground troops, it soon had to be heavily reinforced to ensure its survival. It’s this reinforced structure that still stands today.

(Image: Prioryman; abandoned Fort Gorazda entrance in Montenegro)

Latterly used by the Yugoslav Army until as recently as the 1990s, the abandoned fort now possesses a ghostly, haunted quality. Empty corridors lead to bunkers with narrow slits for firing out of, while the 100 ton rotating Gruson gun turret – thought to be the last of its kind – turns to rust outside.

Malabar Battery (New South Wales, Australia)

(Image: Adam.J.W.C.; observation tower at Malabar abandoned artillery battery)

If you go wandering through the headlands of Malabar National Park, south of Sydney, you might just stumble across an arresting sight. Bulky concrete towers dot a scrubby landscape, casting a watchful eye over Botany Bay. A remnant of World War Two, these unassuming structures were Australia’s first line of defense in case of a Japanese invasion.

(Image: Adam.J.W.C.; tunnels leading to the abandoned gun emplacements)

Most-impressive of all was Malabar Battery. Equipped with two six inch Mark XII guns, it was ready to turn any advancing enemy into little bits of skin and bone at the slightest provocation. It even had its own small tramway cut into the rock to help with moving the ammunition.

(Image: Adam.J.W.C.; derelict barracks at former Malabar Battery)

(Image: Adam.J.W.C.; Malabar Battery’s southernmost abandoned gun emplacement)

Needless to say, Malabar never saw any action (thankfully). At the end of the war it was decommissioned, the abandoned guns hauled off to a safer home. Thanks to its concrete exterior, it remains in eerily perfect condition 70 years later, and is now known as a haunt for urban explorers.

Related – 10 Abandoned Sea Forts, Towers & Anti-Submarine Platforms

Fort Tilden Abandoned Artillery Battery (Queens, NYC)

(Image: Jim.Henderson; approaching Fort Tilden’s abandoned Battery Harris East)

Invasions of the United States are so rare that you can count them on a single hand (and, even then, it’s debatable if they really count). That didn’t stop the government from setting up one of the world’s biggest gun emplacements near New York in 1917. Known as Fort Tilden, the enormous bunker contained a gigantic 16” gun for scaring off enemy attackers.

(Images: Numb Photo; inside one of Fort Tilden’s cavernous abandoned artillery batteries)

As the threat of invasion receded during the 20th century, Fort Tilden eventually fell out of use. Briefly used as a Nike Missile site during the Cold War, it was finally decommissioned and handed over to the National Park Service in 1978. Today, the enormous abandoned artillery battery still watches over the landscape, waiting for an invading army that never came.

Fort Sherman (Panama)

(Image: MAdaXe; Battery Mower at Panama’s abandoned Fort Sherman)

In 1903, the United States found itself taking sides in a conflict between Colombia and its breakaway province of Panama. Almost out of the blue, a new country formed at the base of Central America. One that was resented and extremely vulnerable to attack. It was under these conditions that bases like Fort Sherman were built.

(Image: MAdaXe)

Designed as early as 1910, Fort Sherman was there to protect American interests. Specifically the Panama Canal, a then unfinished venture that was guaranteed to revolutionize shipping. With such a valuable prize to guard, it’s probably no surprise the fort was armed to the teeth. Wikipedia lists four 75-mm guns, four 155-mm guns, two 14-inch disappearing guns, eight 12-inch mortars and other assorted weapons of destruction. On top of that, it was home to an airstrip and one of the earliest radar devices.

Today, the abandoned fort lies silent, the rainforest slowly reclaiming it for mother nature. Meanwhile, the grievances that led to its construction have long been forgotten.

Princess Anne’s Battery (Gibraltar)

(Image: Moshi Anahory; Princess Anne’s Battery has four 5.25 inch AAA/coastal defence guns)

A chunk of Britain picked up and casually dropped off the south coast of Spain (it even, improbably, has Britain’s rainy weather), Gibraltar has long been disputed territory. Even in the 21st century, Spain continues to make noises about taking it back – albeit extremely unconvincing ones. Not so long ago, though, those threats carried much more weight. Hence the existence of Princess Anne’s Battery.

(Image: Steve Johnson)

Probably the oldest item on our list, Princess Anne’s Battery was first established in 1732. Of course, things have changed a lot since then. Updated in the 19th and 20th centuries, it’s now a giant metal monster; including four dual purpose 5.25-inch anti-aircraft guns (making it the last complete artillery battery of its kind in the world) capable of blowing a vessel clear out the water or a plane out of the sky. Or at least it would be if it were still operational. The abandoned artillery battery was decommissioned in the 1980s. Now it sits peacefully by a roadside on the vast hill leading up Gibraltar; a peculiar tourist site for visiting Brits to ponder over.

Abandoned Flak Tower Flakturm VII (Vienna, Austria)

(Image: Eigenes Werk; the abandoned flak tower in Augarten, Vienna)

In the dark days of World War Two, both Germany and Britain furiously prepared their cities for a possible aerial assault. In Britain, this meant barrage balloons, searchlights and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA / Triple A) guns. In Germany and its territories, this meant flak towers.

(Image: David Monniaux; abandoned Flakturm-VII G-tower in Vienna)

Gigantic concrete structures capable of holding thousands of people, the towers would pound incoming allied bombers with clouds of molten shrapnel, blasting many of them clean out the air. One of the best-surviving examples is tower VII in Vienna, Austria. Damaged by an explosion during the war, it’s now a spectacularly imposing block housing thousands upon thousands of pigeons. The gun-nests themselves remain intact; reminders of when bombers streaked through the air above German skies.

The Flak Towers of Hamburg (Germany)

(Image: San Andreas; Hamburg’s surviving Flakturm IV G-Tower)

In the whole of World War Two, only eight German flak towers were built – out of a planned twenty two. While most of those in Berlin were demolished after the war, the two that were thrown up in Hamburg still remain, albeit in a somewhat quieter form.

(Image: flamenc; many Nazi flak towers have been repurposed for more peaceful means)

Like their counterparts in Vienna, the Hamburg towers were deadly. Each could spew up to 8,000 rounds a minute over a range of 14km, with a complete 360 degree view across the sky. They were angels of death, hovering over the flaming wastes of the German cities below, obliterating anything that strayed too near.

(Image: Dowd, J.; the ruins of Hamburg following Operation Gomorrah)

In the end, they weren’t enough to save the city. In July 1943, Operation Gomorrah was launched. Aircraft of RAF Bomber Command and the US Air Force dropped incendiary devices on Hamburg, resulting in a firestorm that incinerated 42,600 civilians – the same number as died during the full 267 days of the London Blitz. By the end, it seemed that the flak towers alone remained standing.

Abandoned Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Guns on Iwo Jima (Japan)

(Image: Agsftw; abandoned anti-aircraft artillery guns (triple-A / AAA) on Iwo Jima)

The five-week melee on Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest battles seen in the Pacific during World War Two. Around 18,000 Japanese soldiers died, while the US suffered around 7,000 deaths and nearly 20,000 casualties. Even today, the island still bears the scars of those violent days. Nowhere can that be seen more clearly than in the remains of the old anti-aircraft guns.

(Image: US Navy; also on Iwo Jima is this Sherman tank wreck from the brutal battle)

Abandoned where they stood at the head of the beaches, the guns now make for a strange tourist attraction. Decades of strong winds and salty sea air have done their damage, corroding away the weapons until they look like a child’s attempt to build a toy gun out of playdoh. Seen today, it feels like they’re remnants of a time now long-gone, a past that’s as distant as that of the ancient Greeks. Yet Iwo Jima is closer than we might think. Surviving veterans from both sides still meet there each year to commemorate the dead. In Japanese society, some of the wounds inflicted still remain raw. Of all the Japanese to die on the island, it’s estimated only half were ever recovered.

The Abandoned Guns of China (China)

(Image: Ahoerstemeier; Armstrong 6-inch gun similar to those abandoned in China)

Britain’s relationship with China is long and complicated. Today, the government flogs off state assets to Beijing. Around 150 years ago, they were sailing boats up the Pearl River to wreak revenge on China for cutting off the opium trade. The Opium Wars were a deadly, brutal affair that saw many lives lost. Fast forward to the present, and various reminders of that time are sprinkled across the country in the form of rusted, old gun emplacements.

Old forts still sit alongside strategic rivers, fenced off and crumbling after over a century of neglect. If you happen to stumble across the right one, you might still see an old 6-inch British gun on top – all but forgotten after all this time. Some historians and enthusiasts now like to tour the country and document them, revelling in the thrill of uncovering a surviving relic of long ago.

The Abandoned Gun Emplacements of Kiribati (Kiribati)

(Image: jopolopy; Kiribati is littered with abandoned gun emplacements)

In most nations, the abandoned gun emplacements of long-gone wars are forgotten structures, left to decay far from public view. On the remote island of Kiribati in the Pacific, they’re one of the country’s premiere tourist attractions.

(Image: Nick Hobgood; abandoned gun emplacement on Betio Island)

Left scattered across the white sands of Kiribati’s beaches by the retreating Japanese army, the old guns are a staggering sight to behold. Enormous structures significantly bigger than a human, many still point out to sea, as if awaiting the return of the US Navy. Although plenty are in near-mint condition, plenty more abandoned guns are now in advanced stages of decay.

(Image: Vilimaka Foliaki; the rusting remains of an abandoned Japanese artillery battery)

Many have been overtaken by the native flora and fauna. Many others are now little more than hulking wrecks, destroyed by over half a century of salt breeze and constant neglect. Still, they stand as an important reminder to humanity: to never forget the deadly cost of the war in the Pacific.

Related – 10 Abandoned Nuclear Bunkers, Missile Silos & Ammunition Dumps

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(Image: Wally Gobetz; McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom “Annette” in Charleston, SC)

There are many retired McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom combat jets languishing across the United States (and indeed the world) in varying states of preservation and decay. We’ve featured an increasing collection of them here on Urban Ghosts. One nicely restored example can be seen beneath the trees outside The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.

Photographer Wally Gobetz writes on Flickr:

“The Citadel is a state-supported undergraduate military college with an enrollment of 2,300 in its Corps of Cadets and an additional 1,200 civilian students in evening programs. Founded in 1842 with the conversion of to state arsenals, it moved to its current campus, on the banks of the Ashley River. The 300-acre campus features buildings primarily of Moorish design, with crenelated battlements and sentry towers. Initially an all-male academy, The Citadel expanded its cadet ranks to include women in 1995.”

Bearing the name Annette, the F4-C Phantom II wears the green and brown camouflage scheme commonly seen on US Air Force Phantoms during the Vietnam War. At a time when the last remnants of the active US Phantom force – converted to QF-4 drones – are being shot down as target practice for more modern jets, it’s good to see one so well looked after.

(Image: Wally Gobetz)

Related – 12 Abandoned, Wrecked & Recovered Aircraft of World War Two

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(Image: Google Earth; the dusty expanses of Eastman Airfield Target, Nevada)

Nestled amid 625 square miles of the most restricted desert land in the free world, Tonopah Test Range sits on the northern fringes of the much larger Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), some 70 miles from Groom Lake, more popularly known as Area 51.

It’s here that, since the mid-1950s when the Cold War was heating up, the United States government has tested its most exotic and highly classified military programmes, from the top secret U-2 spyplane to the game-changing A-12 Oxcart and a plethora of other aircraft and weapons systems both acknowledged and rumoured.

Tonopah Test Range Airport

(Image: Google; Nevada’s top secret Tonopah Test Range Airport)

At the heart of this vast restricted area is the Tonopah Test Range Airport, a shadowy military installation second only to Groom Lake in terms of the levels of secrecy within its double-fenced flightline and twin rows of hangars, known to those based there as the Canyon.

(Image: USAF; F-117 test pilots of the 4450th Tactical Group while the Nighthawk was a black project at TTR Airport, 1986)

It was at Tonopah that the highly classified Lockheed F-117 Stealth Fighter was based for several years before the aircraft was publicly unveiled in the late 1980s. The Nighthawk had been developed as a black project at nearby Groom Lake under the Senior Trend programme – following the success of the innovative Have Blue technology demonstrators, which served as proof-of-concept aircraft for the groundbreaking Stealth Fighters that followed – and moved to the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) Airport to fly in secret after becoming operational. And it was to the remote site that the jets returned for retirement, quietly stored in their original hangars within the Canyon, far from prying eyes, as newer top secret aircraft (most likely unmanned) operate around them.

As a proving ground for experimental aircraft, Russian-built jets, top secret technology demonstrators and other classified prototypes over the years, not to mention major international military exercises such as Red Flag, it’s not surprising that the facilities within and around the Nellis Range are extensive. Some 12,000 targets are thought to sit out in the desert, some of them on innocuous, dusty runways used to simulate enemy airfields.

Decoy Airfields Inside the Tonopah Test Range

(Image: Google Earth; Eastman Airfield Target / Target 76-14)

Among these is the so-called Eastman Airfield Target, or Target 76-14, a decoy airfield designed on the now-abandoned Soviet air base north of Jüterbog, in the former East Germany. Carved out of the desert, the ghostly Cold War form of the typical Soviet base is clearly visible from above. Around its dusty perimeter, several dozen abandoned aircraft sit, completing the effect of Soviet-built jets that in some cases still haunt the long-disused aprons of Russian bases today.

(Image: Google Maps; second decoy airfield north of Eastman Airfield Target)

Several miles to the north lies another decoy airfield installation. Seemingly newer and less cluttered than nearby Eastman Target, the old hulks of several withdrawn US jets nevertheless grace its rudimentary ‘runways’ and dispersals.

Mellan Airstrip

(Image: Google Earth)

Meanwhile, roughly 11 miles southeast of Tonopah Test Range Airport lies an old World War Two runway once used for training by units based at Tonopah Army Air Field. Known as Mellan Airstrip, it’s the last of these wartime runways to remain in use. The remainder had been closed by 1960 and now lie abandoned across the range. Mellan’s rudimentary 5,000ft concrete runway is understood to be used by C-17 Globemasters and C-130 Hercules transport aircraft today.

KENO Airfield

Almost due east of Mellan, across the plain and mountain range, is another isolated airstrip northeast of Cedar Pass. Officially known as KENO Airfield, the dusty landing strip was completed in 2003 after – according to Dreamland Resort – expanding to three times the size that was originally proposed.

(Image: Google Earth; KENO Airstrip east of TTR Airport)

KENO Airfield is suitable for planes like the C-17s and C-130, and is regularly used to train US troops in airdrops amid mountainous terrain. The video below shows A-10 Thunderbolts and C-17s operating on and around the airstrip, along with over 100 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, during the Joint Forcible Entry Exercise held within the restricted area of the Tonopah Test Range during December 2014.

Perhaps the best kept (despite its apparent closure) landing strip in the area lies immediately adjacent to Highway 6 north-east of Warm Springs, Nevada – a mysterious runway understood to have been built by the Atomic Energy Commission back in the 1960s, at a time when numerous top secret nuclear tests were underway in the remote expanses of the Nevada desert. Known as Basecamp Airfield, the facility remains intriguing, despite two large yellow crosses at the end of the tarmac strip which reveal it to be closed.

Basecamp Airfield

(Image: Bing Maps; the long runway of Basecamp Airfield near Warm Springs, Nevada)

Over the years it’s been speculated that the abandoned runway had been used during clandestine flight tests, perhaps as an emergency landing ground for top secret aircraft operating out of the Tonopah Test Range Airport or classified prototypes and other black projects undergoing testing at Groom Lake.

While its proximity to the highway probably makes this unlikely, even fanciful, there’s no doubt that highly classified aircraft continue to operate within this remote region of the western United States. And it seems safe to say that types we don’t yet know about have been forced to make emergency landings away from their home bases.

(Image: Bing Maps; yellow crosses signal that Basecamp’s runway is officially closed)

What’s more, this article has merely touched on the mysterious desert runways of the Nevada Test and Training Range. For those interested in aviation in general and black project aircraft in particular, this harsh terrain is at the epicenter of American secret American programmes, but won’t be giving up its secrets any time soon.

Related – Top Secret Tombs: The Classified Stealth Aircraft Burial Grounds of Area 51

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(Image: Columbia Memorial Space Center; Space Shuttle Inspiration mockup while on display in Downey)

Throughout the service life of NASA’s Space Shuttle programme, two impressive full size orbiter replicas have been displayed for visitors at the Kennedy Space Center and the US Astronaut Hall of Fame in Florida. Another engineering mockup, Pathfinder, can be seen at the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Meanwhile, at Dulles Airport’s Udvar-Hazy Center, shuttle prototype Enterprise took pride of place before being replaced by Discovery when the three surviving operational shuttles were retired from space flight in 2011.

But an older full scale Space Shuttle mockup, which played a far more hands-on role in the NASA programme than most orbiter replicas, remained largely unknown to the general public for decades until resurfacing in recent years. Since that time, the fate of Space Shuttle Inspiration has been somewhat up in the air.

(Image: Aaron Harvey – website; the orbiter mockup at Rockwell’s Downey plant)

Inspiration was built in 1972 by North American Rockwell (now part of Boeing) at the company’s plant in Downey, California. Crafted mainly from wood and plastic, the 122 foot-long by 35 foot-tall model was used to fit-check payloads, instruments and other in-flight hardware that would ultimately be pressed into service on operational orbiters.

Construction of the originally-unnamed Space Shuttle mockup also helped cement Rockwell’s bid to secure the contract to build NASA’s orbiters back in the early 1970s. Work on prototype shuttle Enterprise began in 1974, followed by the first space-worthy orbiter Columbia the following year.

With the flight programme underway and more orbiters rolling off the production line – the final one being Endeavour in 1992 as a replacement for Challenger, which was tragically destroyed on lift-off in 1986 – Space Shuttle Inspiration was retained by Rockwell at its Downey assembly plant, but was largely unknown to those unconnected with the NASA space programme.

(Image: Aaron Harvey – website; Inspiration pictured in 1974 as a test article)

In addition to its ground test duties, the Space Shuttle mockup also doubled as a PR tool when government officials and astronauts visited the facility. But when the plant closed down in 1999 with the building that housed Inspiration was converted into a movie studio, the orphaned aerospace artifact was pushed to the side. Less its port wing and tail fin, which had been removed shortly after construction, Space Shuttle Inspiration was disassembled and placed into storage at the historic site, where all of NASA’s orbiters had been built.

There it would remain for more than a decade as NASA’s three surviving operational orbiters – Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour – completed their final space flights and the Space Shuttle programme came to an end on July 21, 2011. But as museums vied for the retired orbiters and other replicas, Inspiration remained literally under wraps.

(Image: InSapphoWeTrust; Since its early years the mockup has lacked its vertical stabiliser and left wing)

That was until around 2012, when Industrial Realty Group (IRG) acquired 77 acres of the former North American Rockwell facility in Downey in a bid to build a shopping mall on the historic site. Demolition of Downey Studios began later that year and Inspiration emerged from the shadows as plans were made for its preservation and display.

Under the terms of the contract, the Space Shuttle mockup was to be kept on site. But when city officials reportedly accepted an offer of $100,000 from IRG to move the orbiter, a temporary home was found in the form of a massive tent adjacent to the Columbia Memorial Space Center, an educational attraction established in 2009 on a corner of the historic Downey site.

(Image: InSapphoWeTrust; Inspiration’s wooden construction has deteriorated over the years)

The tent allowed visitors to see the Space Shuttle mockup – which for decades played an important role in the NASA programme – up close for the first time in Inspiration’s history. It was also around this time that the previously unnamed test article was christened – not to be confused with another full scale orbiter mockup called Inspiration, which is on display at the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in Florida.

According to the Long Beach Press Telegram, the city of Downey received a $3 million federal loan in 2013 in order to establish an Inspiration Neighborhood Center. But as of March 6, 2014 the Space Shuttle mockup was back in storage at the city’s maintenance yard.

(Image: InSapphoWeTrust; pictured in its temporary tent accommodation before returning to storage)

It’s understood that city officials were at the time debating how much money to allocate for the role of an executive director to oversee the proposed facility. As 2016 gets underway, however, it seems that the city-owned shuttle continues to languish in storage as the local authorities work to secure its restoration. Throughout its life as a test article and in storage, the wood-framed craft has deteriorated and shown signs of delamination and buckling. It’s been reported that the cost of refurbishing Inspiration is estimated at around $1 million.

Related – The Abandoned Buran Space Shuttles of Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome

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(Image: Andrew Haynes; F-4 Phantom XT905 in storage at Bentwaters airfield, Suffolk)

Take a look at RAF North Luffenham, now St George’s Barracks, on Google Earth and you’ll see a neglected McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom jet parked near the end of the former Runway 26. The ageing frame has since moved on, but the imagery has yet to update.

In May 2013 the Phantom FGR.2 (F-4M), serial number XT905, was disposed of to Everett Aero and moved to the company’s premises on the former military airfield at Bentwaters in Suffolk. Pictured here in a dismantled state several months after the move, XT905 reportedly remains in storage at the Everett Aero facility, presumably poised for restoration or spares use for one of the company’s other retired F-4s.

More than two decades after her final flight, Phantom XT905 remains in the faded colours of her final operator, No. 74 ‘Tiger’ Squadron. During her flying career the US-built jet also served with Nos. 17, 29 and 31 squadrons, and 228 OCU, the Phantom operational conversion unit. Disaster almost struck when a nose wheel failure caused her to land without it in 1981. But the damage was repaired and the Phantom again took to the skies.

(Image: Andrew Haynes; disassembled and missing its rear canopy, Phantom XT905 appears relatively undamaged)

When the last FGR.2 model jets were struck off charge in the early 1990s, XT905 escaped being broken up for scrap in the Phantom graveyard at RAF Wattisham. But her future looked equally bleak after she was disposed of to former Bomber Command station North Luffenham in Rutland, England.

There, she was reportedly used to help train military personnel in the disarming of explosives. The abandoned runways at North Luffenham clearly reveal the scars of exploding ordnance, and the Phantom’s fate seemed all but sealed. Thankfully XT905 avoided destruction and remained in reasonably sound condition, despite being cannibalised over time.

(Image: via Google Earth; ordnance craters on the abandoned runways of RAF Luffenham)

The Thunder and Lightnings website wrote in 2004: “She’s now engineless and the outer portion of her starboard wing is also missing. Her flaps hang loose in the wind too. Her canopies were held shut by strops for some years but since this photo was taken she’s lost her rear canopy and the cockpits are now pretty gutted. Other than that and some minor damage elsewhere, she appears to be fairly sound – certainly worthy of preservation once she ceases to be of use.”

Hopefully that may now happen. These more recent images reveal the rear canopy is still missing, but the aircraft’s skin seems to be in reasonable order. On the same former airfield site is the excellent Bentwaters Cold War Museum, which has its own complete Phantom airframe and another FGR.2 cockpit. The group is also in the process of restoring another former 74 Squadron Phantom, XV401, which is owned by the museum. Perhaps Phantom XT905 will help complete the line-up.

(This article has been updated to note that Phantom XV401 is owned by the Cold War Museum. The other F-4 airframe and cockpit are on temporary loan.)

Related: Specially Painted F-4 ‘Tiger’ Phantom Fighter Meets the Axe

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(Image: Rez*; the former Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE Bedford) wind tunnel site)

After World War Two, two adjoining sites north of Bedford, in the East of England, were redeveloped into what became known as the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), an aeronautical research organisation overseen by the UK Ministry of Defence. Between 1946 and 1957, major infrastructure work was underway to transform RAF Thurleigh into what the Bedford Aeronautical Heritage Group described as “one of the most comprehensive research airfields in the UK, in Europe and indeed, in the World.” Meanwhile, immediately to the south, a site next to the abandoned wartime night fighter base of RAF Twinwood Farm was redeveloped into a series of large wind tunnels, testing aerodynamic capabilities and aircraft configurations at speeds of up to Mach 5.

(Image: Rez*; abandoned control room within the RAE Bedford wind tunnel facility)

After Thurleigh airfield – also known as Bedford Aerodrome – closed in 1994, activities at RAE Bedford mainly came to a close. The site now serves as the Bedford Autodrome. The massive main runway is used for car storage while a short landing strip has been retained at the eastern end. A mile away, part of the abandoned wind tunnel facility now serves as Twinwood Business Park.

It seems an inglorious end for an organisation that for so many years worked on cutting-edge technologies poised to advance the field of aviation, though two former wind tunnels remain in use by private companies. This article offers a brief overview of RAE Bedford (for an in-depth history, click here), accompanied by a compelling series of images detailing the empty control rooms and industrial chambers of the former wind tunnel facility.

The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE Bedford): Background

(Image: Rez*)

RAF Thurleigh was built in 1940 as a major Bomber Command station as the Royal Air Force sought to take the fight to Nazi Germany. But by the end of the war, as many hastily-constructed and short-lived airfields – like its contemporary at Twinwood Farm – were in the process of reverting to agricultural use, the British authorities had other plans for the old bomber base.

In 1946, they set about transforming the airfield into what would become a major proving ground for the operations for the Royal Aircraft Establishment, as an expansion of its existing facilities at Farnborough. British experimental aircraft were transported to RAE Bedford and put through their paces as the Cold War gathered pace.

(Image: Rez*)

In a bid to embrace and support a new generation of long-range postwar aircraft, Thurleigh’s main runway was extended to an impressive 10,500 ft in length. Due to the myriad military aeronautical innovations forged during World War Two, the British government identified civil aviation as a market which Britain should seek to dominate after the conflict had ended. The ambitious Bristol Type 167 Brabazon, which was scrapped in 1953 having never gone into production, was one contender. Other innovative X-planes researched at RAE Bedford, however, were more successful.

During the 1950s Rolls-Royce tested its rather eccentric-sounding Flying Bedstead, officially called the Thrust Measuring Rig. Despite appearances, the TMR proved successful, helping to mature technologies that would enable the construction of a turbojet engine to power the experimental Short SC.1, Britain’s first true VTOL aircraft. Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) would be further refined on the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 Kestrel, which paved the way for the groundbreaking Harrier Jump Jet.

(Image: Rez*)

During the iconic VTOL jet’s service with the Fleet Air Arm, Sea Harriers would make use of a ‘ski jump’ fitted to the front of Royal Navy aircraft carriers. This take-off aid was also tested on one of the runways at RAE Bedford’s Thurleigh airfield, as was a catapult system fitted to older generations of British carriers like HMS Ark Royal (R09) and (R05) HMS Eagle. (Urban Ghosts has previously featured the restoration of one of Bedford Aerodrome’s former research aircraft – Tornado GR1 ZA326.)

At the same time, practically all Britain’s military and civil aircraft built in the decades after World War Two – and others from around the world – made use of the Royal Aircraft Establishment’s four advanced wind tunnels. These included two supersonic and one high supersonic tunnels, and one low speed tunnel. In addition, a vertical spinning tunnel was provided to explore what was at the time the little-known phenomena of aircraft spinning characteristics.

(Image: Rez*)

But in 1994 the decision was made to close Bedford Aerodrome. By the following year the Royal Aircraft Establishment had come under the control of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) and the decision was made to concentrate the UK’s experimental flight testing at MoD Boscombe Down, near Stonehenge. The airfield was sold in 1996, though the Defence Research Agency and DERA maintained a small scientific outpost there due to the cost of moving its advanced equipment. The facility was later run by QinetiQ until 2008, and today the 306th Bombardment Group Museum can also be found on the former airfield.

Defunct as a cutting-edge scientific research centre, cars moved onto the former Bedford Aerodrome and a number of private businesses began populating the abandoned wind tunnel site, renamed Twinwoods Business Park. The low speed and vertical spinning tunnels are now used by Red Bull for racing car development and Bodyflight for indoor skydiving. The larger supersonic wind tunnel, however, as Google Earth reveals, has been demolished.

Another former research building now serves as Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre. But as these images reveal, other areas of Bedford’s once-secretive Royal Aircraft Establishment wind tunnel site, where groundbreaking research led to major innovations in the fields of aviation and aerodynamics, remained eerily silent when they were documented in 2012.

(Image: Rez*)

The images reveal cavernous indoor testing facilities and machine halls on the abandoned wind tunnel site collecting dust. Decaying corridors lead to abandoned laboratories seemingly frozen in time, while banks of dials and switches line retro consoles in strangely quiet control rooms. It’s as if the engineers and technicians simply left their stations and never returned.

The whole site has a retro-futuristic appeal that would make it ideally suited for the set of a movie like Star Wars. And though there are signs of damage, much of Bedford’s abandoned Royal Aircraft Establishment remains in good order. As this years go by perhaps these research buildings will also find new uses. Seen here, they’re little more than faded monuments to the world-leading research and experimentation that took place there throughout the Cold War years.

Related – The Record-Breaking Wellington Bomber Built in 24 Hours

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(Image: Alan Wilson; the hulk of Phantom F-4C 63-7414 at the Midland Air Museum, Coventry)

Take a look at the Midland Air Museum on Google Earth and you’ll find an impressive collection of retired military airframes clustered together on the north side of the former RAF Baginton, now Coventry Airport, in the UK. Among them is the restored McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom 63-7699, a genuine MiG-killer during the Vietnam War. Just a stone’s throw away, however, along the edge of Rowley Road, lies the dismantled hulk of another ex-USAF Phantom, which has been in open-storage at the site for years and is unlikely ever to be restored.

The aircraft, an F-4C serial number 63-7414 was retired from flying duties in 1986 and still wears the faded markings of its last operator, the New York Air National Guard. The Phantom, which had also served with the US Air Force’s 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing, was transported to the now-abandoned RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk after being withdrawn from use, and pressed back into service as a battle damage repair (BDR) training airframe.

Look closely and you’ll see the patches of bare metal covering simulated battle damage hacked into the Phantom’s forward fuselage. Another hole in the lower port wing reveals the extent of the destructive BDR training as engineers and technicians worked to develop their skills, keeping damaged planes airworthy during combat operations.

When it was finally struct off charge Phantom 63-7414 was lucky to avoid scrapping, instead being loaned to the Midland Air Museum. But despite its seemingly fortunate fate, the F-4C was destined never to be displayed. During the course of dismantling at Woodbridge, USAF personnel cut through the Phantom’s main spars, meaning it could never again stand on its undercarriage. As a result, the airframe was reduced to a spares source for the museum’s other Phantom, and remains in the same tiny boneyard where it’s rested for several decades.

Related – Browse more McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom articles here.

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