The longest runway in Europe...?

[scotslad]

...may surprise you. Any guesses?

London Heathrow? Gatwick? Schiphol in Amsterdam?

The answer may surprise you....and begs a few questions (and answers if you have any)...

..Machrihanish is on the rural West Coast of Scotland. Whilst the local village golf course's 1st hole been recognised and voted the best opening hole in the World, the airport is steeped in mystery and intrigue.

http://www.hie.co.uk/userfiles/images/community-support/community-projects/2013/Web-Page-Images/MACC---Argyll-Case-Study---Image.jpg

Tales of Secret Spy Planes ("Aurora") being based there, crashed UFOs, and planes stopping over to refuel on the way to a Cuban based detention resort.

What do we really know about this potential space port?

Anyone got any stories to tell or "facts" to share?

[Bill Ryan]

There have been persistent rumors that something very advanced and classified flew out of there in the 1990s and early 2000s, but servicemen stationed at the base have reported conflicting accounts: i.e. "I honestly never saw anything at all" vs. "Yes, strange aircraft would come and go sometimes in the dead of night."

This 2006 article from the UK Guardian is actually quite a fair summary. The Chris Gibson story, reported very accurately in the article, is well-known, but some readers may not be aware of it.


https://theguardian.com/science/2006/jun/24/freedomofinformation.usnews

Is it a bird? Is it a spaceship? No, it's a secret US spy plane

24 Jun 2006


Sightings of flying object over Britain worried MoD
Questions threatened to strain relations with US

It is the stuff of internet conspiracy theorists' dreams. A top secret, hypersonic, cold war spy plane that was allegedly flown by the Americans in UK airspace without the government's permission.

Publicly, the UK government played down newspaper stories about people who reported seeing UFO-like phenomena. But documents released under the Freedom of Information Act suggest the Ministry of Defence took the rumours much more seriously. Its investigations even threatened to strain the special relationship. "It does show that they were concerned that this thing did exist and the Americans were flying it around willy-nilly over the UK," said David Clarke, a social scientist at Sheffield Hallam University, who obtained the documents. "It certainly suggests that the British government suspected that they were being kept in the dark."

The United States has never confirmed the existence of the mysterious aircraft, called Aurora, which was supposedly designed to sneak at very high speed over the Soviet Union and take covert snaps of what the enemy was up to. It was rumoured to be capable of flying at up to mach 8 and so could reach anywhere on the planet in less than three hours. In the early 1990s there were a string of supposed sightings and strange sounds over Scotland which some bewildered locals attributed to UFOs. Rumours in the press that Aurora was operating secretly out of RAF Machrihanish on the tip of Kintyre prompted Scottish MPs to ask questions in parliament.

Briefing notes given to the then defence secretary Tom King on March 4 1992 show that civil servants did give the idea credence. "There is no knowledge in the MoD of a 'black' programme of this nature, although it would not surprise the relevant desk officers in the Air Staff and [Defence Intelligence Staff] if it did exist."

The response suggested to an MP's question was rather less revealing: "The existence of any such project (or operation) would be a matter for the US authorities." The Americans denied everything, but the reports kept coming.

The most credible witness was Chris Gibson, who had 12 years' experience with the Royal Observer Corps and was an expert on recognising aircraft. He saw a triangular plane flanked by two US fighters being refuelled in flight by tanker while he was working on the Galveston Key oilrig in 1989. The plane was unlike anything he had ever seen. "There was no precedent for this," he said. "I kind of sussed out that it was something I shouldn't have seen." He reported the sighting to Jane's Defence Weekly in 1992.

On December 22 1992, the air attache to the British embassy in Washington wrote to the assistant chief of the Air Staff in London explaining US reaction to renewed MoD questions prompted by Mr Gibson's sighting. "Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable Donald B Rice, was to say the least incensed by the renewed speculation, and the implied suggestion that he had lied to Congress by stating that Aurora did not exist.

"As you will have gathered, the whole affair is causing considerable irritation within HQ [US Air Force], and any helpful comments we can make to defuse the situation would be appreciated."

"The sort of prickly reaction to people not believing their denials is pretty unusual," said Bill Sweetman, an expert on top secret US black projects with Jane's Defence Review. "They generally don't deny things actually because it generally doesn't hurt them too much if somebody thinks they have a capability they don't."

A further batch of sightings on March 31 1993 over Devon, Cornwall, South Wales and Shropshire prompted another investigation by the MoD. These turned out later to be a Russian rocket re-entering the atmosphere, but the MoD investigators at the time suspected Aurora. "There would seem to be some evidence on this occasion that an unidentified object (or objects) of unknown origin was operating over the UK ... If there has been some activity of US origins which is known to a limited circle in MoD and is not being acknowledged it is difficult to investigate further." Mr Sweetman suspects that by the end of the decade the MoD knew about Aurora. Another document from 2000 on the MoD's investigations into UFO sightings -or unidentified aerial phenomena as they prefer to call them - states that "some UAP reports can be attributed to covert aircraft programmes".

The section, which discusses other covert US aircraft such as the SR-71 Blackbird, contains two paragraphs and two illustrations which were censored before its freedom of information release last month. Codes next to the removed material indicate that it was excised in the interests of international relations. "Certain viewing angles of these vehicles may be described as saucer-like," the document says.

[scotslad]

"In the late 1980's when the US Administration decided to spend tens of Millions of dollars to upgrade the base. The exact details of the money spent remains unknown. These figures however show some of the money that was spent on the upgrade:

£407,000 on the construction of a new control tower, representing 20% of a NATO-funded project
£2,090,000 VAT payment on NATO-funded construction of underground fuel pipes and pumps
£2,000,000 VAT payment on NATO-funded airfield pavement improvements, including the strengthening of runway aprons
£1,807,000 on the construction of new single living quarters. In the same period NATO has contributed
£28,306,000 on upgrading at RAF Machrihanish

As of 1995, the base became officially under the highest state of advanced care and maintenance. How would a base, which had millions spent on upgrading the base just 5 years previous, suddenly become disused and require maintenance."
http://www.dreamlandresort.com/black_projects/machrihanish.html

Aye, aye ...and ultimately, reputedly sold for a £1 ;)

Former RAF Machrihanish bought for £1
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-18222334

"Tom Miller, chairman of Machrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC) and director of Discover Space UK, said: “Machrihanish has a long-history with space flight, going back to the launch of NASA’s Space Shuttle in 1981.

“Machrihanish was an emergency landing site for the shuttle in Europe, with our 3,049m runway long enough to welcome the shuttle and get it airborne again aboard a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

“Then in 2009, the last time the UK looked at establishing a spaceport, Virgin Galactic said Machrihanish was one of its preferred sites for the UK spaceport.

“That’s not our only connection to the stars. Paul McCartney’s Mull of Kintyre estate is just 15 minutes from the base and the airbase itself was rumoured to have been used for testing top secret aircraft – so it’s only fitting that Machrihanish Airbase leads the way by becoming the UK’s first spaceport.”

The UK government wants to establish the UK’s first spaceport by 2018, with sites in Newquay and Wales also in the running.

The preferred location is expected to be announced later this year."
https://www.scottishconstructionnow.com/5724/machrihanish-launches-uk-spaceport-bid/

I think the jury's still out ;)

[ichingcarpenter]

The SR-71 blackbird also used this base as well as the Aurora aircraft. The SR-71 served with the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1998. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents, but none were lost to enemy action

[Deux Corbeaux]

This is the whole history of the place.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Machrihanish

.......

Redevelopment for US and NATO use.

In April 1959, it was announced that the airfield would be upgraded in order to support United States and NATO operations in the Clyde area and wider Atlantic. Its location was considered strategically important, providing aircraft immediate access to the North Atlantic to support naval operations. It was also valuable as a stopping point for transatlantic military flights.

Paid for by NATO, the station underwent extensive redevelopment in the early 1960s, with land belonging to seven farms and six small holdings being acquired for the purpose. Its four existing runways were replaced by a new 3,049 m (10,003 ft) runway to allow Avro Vulcan bombers and other large aircraft to use the airfield.

Control of Machrihanish was transferred from the Admiralty to the Air Ministry on 27 May 1963. In June 1964, Machrihanish was opened as an RAF station under No. 18 Group, part of RAF Coastal Command. Although not an operational station and with no flying squadrons based there, it was assigned to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), for use as a forward operating base in the event of war with the Soviet Union.

US Navy use

The mid-1960s saw the airfield being made available for use to the United States Navy. Although nominally still an RAF station, it came under the command of the US Navy's Commander in Chief, Atlantic Command (CINCLANT). The first navy personnel arrived in mid-1967 and were from the Mobile Mine Assembly Unit, previously based at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk. They were later joined by a Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Group detachment, part of the US Atlantic Fleet. On 7 March 1968, the Naval Aviation Weapons Facility Machrihanish (NAWF) was opened, its role being to ‘receive, store, maintain, issue and tranship classified weapons in support of the US Navy and NATO operations’. The NAWF comprised a fenced compound located on the north-west side of the airfield, within which were three rows of flat roofed concrete sheds (known as igloos) about 161m long. The rows were sub-divided into compartments featuring air-tight doors and were designed for the storage of nuclear depth charges & atomic demolition munitions, for use in anti-submarine warfare.

A detachment of the US Marine Corps arrived in 1974, with the role of providing nuclear weapons security, which until then had been provided by USN personnel.

In the early 1980s, Naval Special Warfare Unit 2 and Naval Special Warfare Task Group Europe, both components of the US Navy SEALs Naval Special Warfare Group 2, arrived at Machrihanish. New buildings for the SEAL's use were constructed in the south-west part of the airfield. The main building featured offices, debriefing areas, armoury, sound proof room, internal 25m firing range and garage. A separate building contained a parachute drying tower and a large hall which allowed large vehicles to access the building directly from transport aircraft. A Gaydon type hangar was also constructed.

Between 1990 and 1995, £16 million and £39.9 million was spent on building works at the station by the Ministry of Defence and NATO respectively.

.......

[Justplain]

By the way, my understanding is that the most advanced Aurora craft in the public domain, the TR-3B, had/has a fairly advanced level of antigravity, that which allowed/allows it to reach incredible speeds, and would permit it to basically float stationary-like. This craft can exit the atmosphere and be able to make fairly quick trips within the solar system, but is not advanced enough to go interstellar, from current accounts. A craft like the TR-3B would not need a runway, just a landing pad. The most advanced Aurora craft is likely well beyond the TR-3B's capabilities.

http://www.hidden-truth.org/6/black-triangle-ufo-tr-3b-astra.html

[Bill Ryan]

A craft like the TR-3B would not need a runway, just a landing pad. The most advanced Aurora craft is likely well beyond the TR-3B's capabilities.


Yes. That operates out of Groom Lake (Area 51) as well, but they, too, have a super-long runway. Presumably, for something else!

Note of interest: that Groom Lake runway was between 12,500—13,500 ft long at its maximum (it's changed length several times in its history), but that's still shorter than the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, which is 15,000 ft.

The runway at Macrahanish is 10,000 ft (3,049m).

[abmqa]

The SR-71 blackbird also used this base as well as the Aurora aircraft. The SR-71 served with the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1998. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents, but none were lost to enemy action

While in the Air Force I was stationed in Scotland, @ RAF Edzell. I was attached to the 17th Space Surveillance Squadron. During my time there I heard many rumors about activities at Machrihanish pertaining to the Aurora aircraft.

Everything secret in the Air Force is compartmentalized. Therefore even though you might have an extremely high clearance you are not privvy to other secrets unless there is a "Need To Know". This also applies to position or rank.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Edzell

Typically, extended runways are a requirement for test aircraft. The space shuttle does need a longer then normal runway to land.

As for the SR-71, I worked in the that program from 1982 - 1986 and I can assure you that SR-71s never operated out of Machrihanish Airbase.

To be more precise in my statement. It is possible that a SR-71 may have landed at Machrihanish Airbase due to an inflight emergency during a mission, however there has never been an operational SR-71 unit at Machrihanish Airbase. For example, during a mission the SR-71, had an in-flight issue that required the crew to make an emergency landing at Bodo Norway. I'm sure the locals got quite a show. I was chosen to fly on a KC-10 to Bodo with the maintenance crew. They were lucky and got to stay for a few days. I left the same day with the mission tapes back to RAF Mildenhall in order to start processing and ultimately reporting mission data/intel.