200 yard Moving Target Ranges

It certainly looks like it could be.
The smaller hut with the power pole outside seems to match the wartime building too.

In other news, I've added the target to the "Virtual Snettisham".



TTFN,
PB

Forgot to add,

Looking at the GE and Bing aerial coverage of the Margham Moor/Stormy Down range, both end rooms of the turret workshop appear to be still standing too.
Sadly, no oblique views are available in Bing to confirm.

All the best,
PB

The Dumfries range is so short of photographic coverage one could imagine it's used for some sneaky-beaky purposes.

There is a sole Geograph photo of Barluith Farm it's adjacent to, which may or may not show part of the range site: HERE

All the best,
PB

I've been doing some quick measurements of the various 200yd MTRs over the weekend via GE, and it would seem that rather than the Snettisham MTR having been built as a standard one as part of the RAF's Combined Gunnery Range that existed prior to its allocation to the AAF, it was purpose-built for the AAF using standard components.
That is the only explanation I can currently come up with to account for the firing platform and turret workshop being over 200' further away from the target oval than all the other RAF ones, presumably to accommodate .50 Cal fire rather than .303. That might also explain the target "garage" being at the firing end of the range, maybe they were concerned that the standard backstop wall and bank wouldn't cope with the larger calibre rounds.

TTFN,
PB

A perfectly reasonable explanation Paul. I think given a 'second chance' at the layout someone queried why anything vulnerable - equipment and personnel - should be located downrange in the line of fire and then have to be protected with revetments when re-locating them at or behind the firing point was logical. As you opine, the deciding factor was almost certainly the need to cater for the larger calibre weapons.

Spent a long day at Kew last week researching Synthetic Training, 1940-45. Got through a pile of documents some six inches thick. Absolutely nothing on MTRs.

There was a comment in one file which said, '... a Spotlight Trainer is required at Jurby. It will complement the 200 yard Moving Target Range.'

Another document described a visit to Jurby to view the various training devices in use. The MTR was one of about a dozen mentioned.

Vast amounts of information on other devices, including dozens I'd never heard of. So why isn't the MTR classed as a synthetic trainer, and just where can the info be found?

Graham

PNK;47193 wrote:

You weren't the on Thursday 10th June were you 'cos I was there from 08:30 - 15:00?

No I was there Tuesday, and didn't realise my ticket had expired last month (they only last 3 years now - be warned). Had to join the one-hour queue to get it renewed. The time lost could have been spent in taking 61 more pictures - I only took 740 to your 800. Damn! - still I've just finished cropping mine .

Graham