RAF Harrowbeer: a tour of a WW2 airfield - aircraft compass swing base (13)

Introduction

The photograph on this page of RAF Harrowbeer: a tour of a WW2 airfield - aircraft compass swing base (13) by Mike Searle as part of the Geograph project.

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RAF Harrowbeer: a tour of a WW2 airfield - aircraft compass swing base (13)

Image: © Mike Searle Taken: 5 May 2019

A circular hard standing east of the pundit code letters and signals square was for aligning wartime aircraft compasses. The concrete platform appears to be marked out at various points of the compass, and no doubt also accurately aligned with local magnetic north. Commonly referred to as a 'compass swing' the procedure involved aligning the aircraft in a series of angular positions, and the aircraft compass readings compared with the headings marked on the platform. The process is called 'swinging the compass'. Image

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

Image Location

coordinates on a map icon
Latitude
50.493387
Longitude
-4.099763