We are delighted to feature another guest post from David Coxon, Honorary Vice President of Tangmere Military Aviation Museum.
David writes:
Although not formally trained as Air Traffic Controllers, runway controllers (RWCs, originally known as airfield controllers) at RAF Tangmere held an important role in Air Traffic Control. Usually the RWCs held the rank of corporal and were responsible, whilst sited in their runway caravan adjacent to the active runway, to monitor aircraft landing and departing.
The caravan, initially painted in a chequered black and white paint scheme which later was changed to a red and white pattern, was sited at Tangmere to the left of the active runway. When the main runways (25/07) were in use the caravan would have been sited on the Operational Readiness Platforms built for holding jet fighters at readiness during the Cold War, 150 feet from the threshold and 75 feet from the runway edge.
The caravan was fitted with two Aldis Lamps with red and green filters, two Verey pistols, both loaded with red cartridges and pair of 7 or 10×50 binoculars. Communication with the control tower was by telephone and a Hadley ‘squawk’ box and runway controllers were able, through a box, to monitor UHF and VHF radio frequencies. Whilst permitted to fire off cartridges, the runway controllers were not permitted to transmit on the R/T frequencies. Air conditioning was important during the summer months because staff in the caravan were basically working in a greenhouse. Towards the end of the time that Tangmere was operational the caravan would have had rotating roof mounted fittings for two Very pistols enabling the RWC to rotate the pistols to the correct position for firing.
Runway Controllers had to educate themselves on the airframes of station aircraft and those of possible visiting aircraft. For example, when looking through the binoculars at departing aircraft, they should be aware of any fuselage panels that would normally be closed or open and would check for other possible problems such as hydraulic leakages. Ideally and this departed on the direction of take-off and the taxiways being used, the RWC should be able to check both sides of the aircraft prior to their departure. The RWC would report any observations causing concern to the control tower using the squawk box who would then communicate directly by R/T with the pilot concerned.
Regarding arriving aircraft, the RWC would check an aircraft on final approach that its undercarriage was down and would intervene, by firing a red Very signal, if two aircraft were in danger of a collision on final approach, thereby initiating a ‘go-around’ for one of the aircraft. The RWC’s, like the staff working in the control tower, were responsible for the safe operation of aircraft on and in the vicinity of Tangmere airfield.
