[GreenKeys] Fwd: That's not a RTTY station........

[groupsrichart at gmail.com]

The airfields with three runways were known as Class A airfields (they 
look like an A.) They were originated by the RAF during WWII and widely 
adopted by the U.S. Army Air Corps. There is a good description of a 
Class A airfield in this article.
https://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/CE_Magazine/Home_Page/Content_Pieces/2018-11-history-lesson-paving-the-way-for-victory.pdf

You see variations of this in the U.S. often with just two crossed 
runways. Many current commercial airfields started out as USAAC 
airfields and will have two crossed runways in a V shape. One example is 
Wright Army Airfield at Fort Stewart near Savannah which is now 
co-inhabited by Mid-Coast Regional Airport.

Some of the reasons for the multiple runways are:
Operational safety for all types of aircraft of that vintage
The longest runway was usually oriented for aircraft to take off or land 
into the prevailing wind
The other runways allowed for operations to continue when the wind was 
blowing from other directions
Allowed aircraft to be dispersed around the field in the event of an 
enemy attack

There were hundreds of USAAC airfields constructed during WWII. You can 
find a list of them arranged by state on Wikipedia. Many of the articles 
contain photos of the airport configuration in the familiar V shape.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Airfields_of_the_United_States_Army_Air_Forces_in_the_United_States_by_state

73,

Tim WS4V

On 1/25/2020 5:14 AM, Dave Wade wrote:
>
> Folks,
>
> I think older aircraft needed to be closer to the wind for take off 
> and landing, and as a result most WWII Airfields had that layout. This 
> one is now a motor racing circuit
>
> https://www.google.com/maps/place/Croft+Circuit/@54.4555874,-1.5652356,1986m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1
>
> but two of the runways can clearly be seen, the third is harder t see….
>
> Dave
>
> G4UGM
>
> *From:*greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net 
> <greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net> *On Behalf Of *Chuck
> *Sent:* 24 January 2020 22:10
> *To:* greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
> *Subject:* Re: [GreenKeys] Fwd: That's not a RTTY station........
>
> If you look at Stead Airfield out north of Reno, NV.  I has about the 
> same layout, it was used for WW2 B-25 training so that must have been 
> a "standard" layout at the time.
>
> Chuck
>
> N7UVZ
>
>     ----- Original Message -----
>
>     *From:*Keith Lueck <mailto:kwlueck at swbell.net>
>
>     *To:*greenkeys at mailman.qth.net <mailto:greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
>     ; E. <mailto:hanyou at xsmail.com>
>
>     *Sent:*Friday, January 24, 2020 1:51 PM
>
>     *Subject:*Re: [GreenKeys] Fwd: That's not a RTTY station........
>
>     Right across the road from what used to be a pretty large set of
>     runways.  That three runway configuration was apparently a common
>     design for air defenses during WWII.  I imagine the receiver
>     might've been related, or maybe the gov't just already owned the
>     land...  There's an airport in central Missouri that has the same
>     layout and is now a general aviation field - two runways are still
>     used, but the third was left to the elements and is pretty much
>     toast.  It was supposedly put there so that planes could take off
>     and be at cruising altitude by the time they got to St. Louis to
>     defend the munitions plants there.  Looks a lot like the one in
>     this satellite view.  This one probably would've been good for
>     defending Lincoln, Sioux City, Omaha, or all three...
>
>     On Friday, January 24, 2020, 3:07:28 PM CST, E. <hanyou at xsmail.com
>     <mailto:hanyou at xsmail.com>> wrote:
>
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

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