"Dick Lovett" wrote in message
...

I would also include all the others that have disappeared, like
Stornoway, Shanwell, Long Kesh, Aughton, Shoeburyness and the 'on
request' ascents which were done at several RAF stations.

Dick

Shoeburyness still does soundings during the week.

The hourly wind profiler data also comes in handy
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporat...ler/index.html

Jon.

On Feb 24, 8:23�am, "Jon O'Rourke" wrote:
"Dick Lovett" wrote in message

...

I would also include all the others that have disappeared, like
Stornoway, Shanwell, Long Kesh, Aughton, Shoeburyness and the 'on
request' ascents which were done at several RAF stations.

Dick

Shoeburyness still does soundings during the week.

The hourly wind profiler data also comes in handyhttp://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/interproj/cwinde/profiler/index...

Jon.

Thanks for the link Jon. I hadn't realised you could access that data.

Dick

OK Norman show us your age, I think 'Bismuth' went westward from the
Hebrides over the Atlantic, tell us the names of the flight north over the
Norwegian Sea and the one that went SW from Cornwall, 'Allah' and 'Epicure'
sound familiar. There may have been one from Norfolk over the North Sea

Keith Chaplin
"Norman" wrote in message
...
Dick Lovett wrote:

On Feb 23, 4:48?pm, "Will Hand" wrote:
wrote in message


om...

Very sad to see it in this state (recent photo):

http://s214580749.websitehome.co.uk/...-72-Hemsby.jpg

Jack

Sign of the times Jack :-(

IMHO a radiosonde station at Hemsby (03496) would still be very
useful indeed.

Will
--

I would also include all the others that have disappeared, like
Stornoway, Shanwell, Long Kesh, Aughton, Shoeburyness and the 'on
request' ascents which were done at several RAF stations.

Dick

And don't forget the soundings from OWS "India", "Juliette" and "Kilo"
- and even the Bismuth flights (but I'm really showing my age there!).

Norman
--
Norman Lynagh
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
85m a.s.l.
(remove "thisbit" twice to e-mail)

keith.chaplin4 wrote:

OK Norman show us your age, I think 'Bismuth' went westward from the
Hebrides over the Atlantic, tell us the names of the flight north
over the Norwegian Sea and the one that went SW from Cornwall,
'Allah' and 'Epicure' sound familiar. There may have been one from
Norfolk over the North Sea

Keith Chaplin

You've got me there, Keith. I only remember the Bismuth flights. They
were operated by Shackleton aircraft from RAF Aldergrove (Belfast civil
airport was at Nutts Corner in those days). They generally flew on a
triangular course over the ocean, chosen on the day by the Senior
Forecaster at Bracknell (Dunstable if you go back far enough). From
memory, I think the first and third legs were run at around 500 mb
while the second leg was at low level. This enabled two near-vertical
soundings to be carried out between 500 mb and close to the surface.
Obs were done by Met Office observers on board and were sent quite
frequently - every 15-20 minutes?) in quite a detailed and complicated
code. Hand-plotting the obs on the 1200z surface chart was quite a
task. It wasn't the favourite job on the Assistants' roster at
Prestwick Airport!

Norman
--
Norman Lynagh
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
85m a.s.l.
(remove "thisbit" twice to e-mail)

Norman wrote:

keith.chaplin4 wrote:

OK Norman show us your age, I think 'Bismuth' went westward from the
Hebrides over the Atlantic, tell us the names of the flight north
over the Norwegian Sea and the one that went SW from Cornwall,
'Allah' and 'Epicure' sound familiar. There may have been one from
Norfolk over the North Sea

Keith Chaplin

You've got me there, Keith. I only remember the Bismuth flights. They
were operated by Shackleton aircraft from RAF Aldergrove (Belfast
civil airport was at Nutts Corner in those days). They generally flew
on a triangular course over the ocean, chosen on the day by the Senior
Forecaster at Bracknell (Dunstable if you go back far enough). From
memory, I think the first and third legs were run at around 500 mb
while the second leg was at low level. This enabled two near-vertical
soundings to be carried out between 500 mb and close to the surface.
Obs were done by Met Office observers on board and were sent quite
frequently - every 15-20 minutes?) in quite a detailed and complicated
code. Hand-plotting the obs on the 1200z surface chart was quite a
task. It wasn't the favourite job on the Assistants' roster at
Prestwick Airport!

Norman

Apologies for replying to my own post but you've stirred my interest,
Keith and I've done a bit of googling.

202 Squadron started the 'Bismuth' flights from Aldergrove in 1946
using Hastings aircraft, not Shackletons. At the same time, 'Epicure'
flights were started from St. Eval and 'Nocturnal' flights from
Gibraltar. By 1950 only the 'Bismuth' flights were still operating. The
'Bismuth' flights were carried out 5 days a week (Mon-Fri). There were
15 set tracks from which the Senior Forecaster selected the track of
the day. Tracks A to G were triangular, as described in my previous
post. H to N were straight out and back probe tracks, intended to reach
weather features that could not be reached on a triangular track. Track
O was over the North Sea and included several vertical soundings.

Obs were done every 60 NM. At the vertical sounding locations the
aircraft descended to 200 feet above the sea surface - must have been a
bit buttock-clenching on a dirty day :-) During the vertical soundings
"stops" were made every 50 mb to allow the instruments to settle.

The last 'Bismuth' flight was made on 31st July 1964.

Norman
--
Norman Lynagh
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
85m a.s.l.
(remove "thisbit" twice to e-mail)

On Feb 23, 2:12 pm, Mike Hatton wrote:
Jack ) wrote:
Very sad to see it in this state (recent photo):

http://s214580749.websitehome.co.uk/...-72-Hemsby.jpg

Jack

Apparently, the same applies to Shanwell.

Of course the ***** ULTIMATE ***** is:-

http://www.kingarthurscourt.net/Exit%20door.gif

"Norman" wrote in message
...
Norman wrote:

keith.chaplin4 wrote:

OK Norman show us your age, I think 'Bismuth' went westward from the
Hebrides over the Atlantic, tell us the names of the flight north
over the Norwegian Sea and the one that went SW from Cornwall,
'Allah' and 'Epicure' sound familiar. There may have been one from
Norfolk over the North Sea

Keith Chaplin

You've got me there, Keith. I only remember the Bismuth flights. They
were operated by Shackleton aircraft from RAF Aldergrove (Belfast
civil airport was at Nutts Corner in those days). They generally flew
on a triangular course over the ocean, chosen on the day by the Senior
Forecaster at Bracknell (Dunstable if you go back far enough). From
memory, I think the first and third legs were run at around 500 mb
while the second leg was at low level. This enabled two near-vertical
soundings to be carried out between 500 mb and close to the surface.
Obs were done by Met Office observers on board and were sent quite
frequently - every 15-20 minutes?) in quite a detailed and complicated
code. Hand-plotting the obs on the 1200z surface chart was quite a
task. It wasn't the favourite job on the Assistants' roster at
Prestwick Airport!

Norman

Apologies for replying to my own post but you've stirred my interest,
Keith and I've done a bit of googling.

202 Squadron started the 'Bismuth' flights from Aldergrove in 1946
using Hastings aircraft, not Shackletons. At the same time, 'Epicure'
flights were started from St. Eval and 'Nocturnal' flights from
Gibraltar. By 1950 only the 'Bismuth' flights were still operating. The
'Bismuth' flights were carried out 5 days a week (Mon-Fri). There were
15 set tracks from which the Senior Forecaster selected the track of
the day. Tracks A to G were triangular, as described in my previous
post. H to N were straight out and back probe tracks, intended to reach
weather features that could not be reached on a triangular track. Track
O was over the North Sea and included several vertical soundings.

Obs were done every 60 NM. At the vertical sounding locations the
aircraft descended to 200 feet above the sea surface - must have been a
bit buttock-clenching on a dirty day :-) During the vertical soundings
"stops" were made every 50 mb to allow the instruments to settle.

The last 'Bismuth' flight was made on 31st July 1964.

Norman
--
Norman Lynagh
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
85m a.s.l.
(remove "thisbit" twice to e-mail)

Thanks Norman and all others for the information, I am amazed that the
flights started so late as 1946, I was so sure that routine met.
reconnaissance flights were flown before the end of the war. Ah well, now
what did I have for breakfast this morning. . . :-(

keith chaplin

keith.chaplin4 wrote:


"Norman" wrote in
message ...
Norman wrote:

keith.chaplin4 wrote:

OK Norman show us your age, I think 'Bismuth' went westward from
the Hebrides over the Atlantic, tell us the names of the flight
north over the Norwegian Sea and the one that went SW from
Cornwall, 'Allah' and 'Epicure' sound familiar. There may have
been one from Norfolk over the North Sea

Keith Chaplin

You've got me there, Keith. I only remember the Bismuth flights.
They were operated by Shackleton aircraft from RAF Aldergrove
(Belfast civil airport was at Nutts Corner in those days). They
generally flew on a triangular course over the ocean, chosen on
the day by the Senior Forecaster at Bracknell (Dunstable if you
go back far enough). From memory, I think the first and third
legs were run at around 500 mb while the second leg was at low
level. This enabled two near-vertical soundings to be carried out
between 500 mb and close to the surface. Obs were done by Met
Office observers on board and were sent quite frequently - every
15-20 minutes?) in quite a detailed and complicated code.
Hand-plotting the obs on the 1200z surface chart was quite a
task. It wasn't the favourite job on the Assistants' roster at
Prestwick Airport!

Norman

Apologies for replying to my own post but you've stirred my
interest, Keith and I've done a bit of googling.

202 Squadron started the 'Bismuth' flights from Aldergrove in 1946
using Hastings aircraft, not Shackletons. At the same time,
'Epicure' flights were started from St. Eval and 'Nocturnal'
flights from Gibraltar. By 1950 only the 'Bismuth' flights were
still operating. The 'Bismuth' flights were carried out 5 days a
week (Mon-Fri). There were 15 set tracks from which the Senior
Forecaster selected the track of the day. Tracks A to G were
triangular, as described in my previous post. H to N were straight
out and back probe tracks, intended to reach weather features that
could not be reached on a triangular track. Track O was over the
North Sea and included several vertical soundings.

Obs were done every 60 NM. At the vertical sounding locations the
aircraft descended to 200 feet above the sea surface - must have
been a bit buttock-clenching on a dirty day :-) During the vertical
soundings "stops" were made every 50 mb to allow the instruments to
settle.

The last 'Bismuth' flight was made on 31st July 1964.

Norman
-- Norman Lynagh
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
85m a.s.l.
(remove "thisbit" twice to e-mail)

Thanks Norman and all others for the information, I am amazed that
the flights started so late as 1946, I was so sure that routine met.
reconnaissance flights were flown before the end of the war. Ah
well, now what did I have for breakfast this morning. . . :-(

keith chaplin

They were indeed flown during the war years. What I should have said is
that they re-started in 1946, according to what I have read. This
implies that they had stopped for a while.

Norman
--
Norman Lynagh
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
85m a.s.l.
(remove "thisbit" twice to e-mail)

"Norman" wrote in message
...
keith.chaplin4 wrote:


"Norman" wrote in
message ...
Norman wrote:

keith.chaplin4 wrote:

OK Norman show us your age, I think 'Bismuth' went westward from
the Hebrides over the Atlantic, tell us the names of the flight
north over the Norwegian Sea and the one that went SW from
Cornwall, 'Allah' and 'Epicure' sound familiar. There may have
been one from Norfolk over the North Sea

Keith Chaplin

You've got me there, Keith. I only remember the Bismuth flights.
They were operated by Shackleton aircraft from RAF Aldergrove
(Belfast civil airport was at Nutts Corner in those days). They
generally flew on a triangular course over the ocean, chosen on
the day by the Senior Forecaster at Bracknell (Dunstable if you
go back far enough). From memory, I think the first and third
legs were run at around 500 mb while the second leg was at low
level. This enabled two near-vertical soundings to be carried out
between 500 mb and close to the surface. Obs were done by Met
Office observers on board and were sent quite frequently - every
15-20 minutes?) in quite a detailed and complicated code.
Hand-plotting the obs on the 1200z surface chart was quite a
task. It wasn't the favourite job on the Assistants' roster at
Prestwick Airport!

Norman

Apologies for replying to my own post but you've stirred my
interest, Keith and I've done a bit of googling.

202 Squadron started the 'Bismuth' flights from Aldergrove in 1946
using Hastings aircraft, not Shackletons. At the same time,
'Epicure' flights were started from St. Eval and 'Nocturnal'
flights from Gibraltar. By 1950 only the 'Bismuth' flights were
still operating. The 'Bismuth' flights were carried out 5 days a
week (Mon-Fri). There were 15 set tracks from which the Senior
Forecaster selected the track of the day. Tracks A to G were
triangular, as described in my previous post. H to N were straight
out and back probe tracks, intended to reach weather features that
could not be reached on a triangular track. Track O was over the
North Sea and included several vertical soundings.

Obs were done every 60 NM. At the vertical sounding locations the
aircraft descended to 200 feet above the sea surface - must have
been a bit buttock-clenching on a dirty day :-) During the vertical
soundings "stops" were made every 50 mb to allow the instruments to
settle.

The last 'Bismuth' flight was made on 31st July 1964.

Norman
-- Norman Lynagh
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
85m a.s.l.
(remove "thisbit" twice to e-mail)

Thanks Norman and all others for the information, I am amazed that
the flights started so late as 1946, I was so sure that routine met.
reconnaissance flights were flown before the end of the war. Ah
well, now what did I have for breakfast this morning. . . :-(

keith chaplin

They were indeed flown during the war years. What I should have said is
that they re-started in 1946, according to what I have read. This
implies that they had stopped for a while.

Norman
--
Norman Lynagh
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
85m a.s.l.
(remove "thisbit" twice to e-mail)

Ah, it makes sense now. My chart plotting days were from Autumn 1944 to
January 1946 when I was moved to radiosonde and stayed with radiosonde so I
had no more contact with surface chart plotting, Thanks for the additional
info Norman, my memory feels better already .

keith chaplin