Donna Nook Bombing Range ~ An Eye Witness Account
Donna Nook Bombing Range ~ A First Hand Account of RAF Military Exercises Over Lincolnshire
I shall shortly be handing you over to Chris Keyworth, a man who knows a thing or two about the RAF, who has been on the trail of military exercises in and around Lincolnshire.
It’s a fascinating account with some excellent photographs and stretches out over several days - please do give it read.
I’ll hand you over now to Chris for his account and also his friend Andy who took the pictures
My thanks to Chris for sending me the following . . .
The Battle Over the Skies of Lincolnshire
If you live in Lincolnshire you probably will have heard over head some very loud rumblings of late, well we did and decided to investigate, now we knew that we could not follow them into the skies but we could do the next best thing, we decide to find out what was going on and track there movements, this meant leaving the area all be it only for a day but many other days travelling around Lincolnshire to RAF Conningsby and RAF Dona Nook and let me tell you the photographs defiantly speak for themselves.
Day 1
Prompted by Rod’s stunning photo of a Euro Fighter the other week and the dog fighting overhead we packed our lunches, cameras and radio scanners and we where on our ways travelling to Donna Nook in east Lincolnshire thinking they must be bombing on the range. However, on arrival we were told they don’t come here, so it proved to be a dead end.
While we where there however a Tornado was doing a gun run on the beach so we decided to document this instead staying all day. Donna nook is well known in our area for its annual inundation of seals in the winter months however there were non there on this occasion, the red flags where up and the range was hot.
Image © Andy Wilson - Chris Keyworth
The beach has multiple targets on it and markers denoting the range and distance to and between targets, there are 2 main gunnery targets as the aircraft approach from the north with two simulated vehicles on an SUV and the other a scud missile carrier.
The aim of the pilot is to fly at a designated height and speed fire their gun for no longer than 2 seconds then pull up and bank off to the left, north, over the sea.
As you can see by this stunning low altitude photo taken the other day by a good friend Andy Wilson of a Tornado actually firing his gun if you look closely you can see the flash of the gun and the plumes of smoke emanating from the rear of the jet.
Image © Andy Wilson - Chris Keyworth
Having got our perfect photos that day we moved of down the beach back to the car on route speaking to the guys who run the range from Quintec and they informed us that the following night there was to be a night exercise involving the Merlin helicopter.
Day 2
We set off at 15.00 back down to Donna Nook and as we arrived we noticed that a helicopter was over the range hovering so we walked down to the tower at the far end of the beach and pitched up for the evening.
With flask and food we waited for the action !
The Merlin had two guns mounted onboard a 303cal LSW and a 50 cal Heavy Machine Gun, I must say that this pilot certainly knew we were on the beach, in daylight he was posing his helicopter directly in front of Andy’s camera s as we could once again get the perfect shot as can be seen below,
Image © Andy Wilson - Chris Keyworth
Night time was soon upon us and the helicopter was still firing at the targets but by now he had changed his ammunition to red tracer so the rounds on the target where easy to see and photograph.
As the bullets hit the target they would glow bright red as you can see in the next photo they would whizz off at all angles across the beach making you think you was in the thick of the battle.
Image © Andy Wilson - Chris Keyworth
Having spent several hours on the beach we decided to call it a night and head off back to base camp which was tonight at the other Andy’s at Covenham but unbeknown to us the Merlin Pilot had the same idea . . . except he decided to follow us home instead and as we pulled into Andy’s drive there he was hovering in the next field to us hopefully not with his guns trained on us thought it made our night.
Day 3
Today saw us setting off at 5am for foreign parts of the country RAF/USAF Lakenheath having previously seen the F16s Flying over head the day before but it was too hard to photograph as they where way to high for us to get a decent photo.
So off we went to get the perfect shot at Lakenheath and as it turned out there was a major exercise on over the north sea and we arrived to see 5 F16s coming of there holding positions all fully armed up and ready to go. As we watched the f16 take off we could but wonder how long these planes could fly without refuelling and as it turned out they only carry enough fuel to get from the base to the middle of the north sea where there should be a refuelling tanker similar to the one pictured below waiting for them, as it turned out the exercise was in Scotland and amazingly these aircraft can go from base to Inverness in under 15 minutes which its pretty damn fast just what we need if the Ruskies decide to launch an incursion into our airspace !
Image © Andy Wilson - Chris Keyworth
Anyway, after that we got to thinking where are the refuelling aircraft coming from that are refuelling over our area which is known as Dogger or Area 5, so off we trundled to our next target USAF Mildenhall spending a good half a day just watching the aircraft coming and going, so what did we see, well a lot of very big aircraft Tri-Star’s, Hercules, Boeing Re-Fuelers and many more, having had our fill for one day we headed back home where an amazing dinner was waiting for us on our return.
Day 4
This time we headed out at 08.00 the destination RAF Conningsby the home of possibly one of the world’s most aerodynamically unstable aircraft - yet the most dynamically engineered and well thought out aircraft ever built in the UK or Europe - the Eurofighter
These aircraft defy the laws of gravity by actually being able to fly yet they do and they do it so well they can literally stop dead in the sky or turn on there tail, the pilot is unable to think as fast as the aircraft so the many onboard computers have to compensate and correct every move the pilot makes whilst in the air as you can see by these pictures they look pretty impressive all lined up on the apron.
As it happened on this day we hit it lucky as up until now the Eurofighters were grounded after an incident with a Spanish Eurofighter a week earlier and on this day the no fly ban was lifted so we got quite a good show. We saw them taking off and landing in all formations one of the jets on landing also put out a parachute - something that I’d not seen since my days of watching the lightning’s at RAF Binbrook and I must say it took me back to my childhood.
It should also be noted that there are not just the Eurofighters at Conningsby but also the Tornado and Jaguar.
The squadron that was formally based at RAF Binbrook also lives on at RAF Conningsby and still plays its part in the defence of Britain and are responsible for the dog fighting overhead which I mentioned at the beginning it makes me feel a lot safer knowing that the pilots and their state of the art technology are defending our county still after all these years.
Day 5
Back up to RAF Donna Nook for a major exercise with the combined forces of the RAF Regiment, Parachute Regiment, Swedish Army and Kuwaiti Army oh and the SAS.
We walked along the beach to our usual spot and parked up next to us was the Combined army Force and behind us all their Vehicles
The first thing we noticed was that there was far more targets out on the beach. The order of the day was a training exercise using laser Guided Bombs directed from a laser designator positioned next to us.
Image © Andy Wilson - Chris Keyworth
I have to say that the British did exceptionally well hitting all their targets the same could not be said for the one American pilot that was flying a sea harrier . . . he missed with all his bombs and ending up going back to base with a hung bomb, this means the bomb failed to drop from the carriage when released and if this was a live bomb it would have caused a big problem on landing.
Anyway I hope you enjoy the pictures and have a little more of an understanding of what is going on in the skies above Lincolnshire,
Thanks must go out to the two Andy’s who made this story possible.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask
© Chris Keyworth 2010
Rod said,
October 9, 2010 @ 12:36 pm
Chris,
great write up - really interesting. It’s one thing to simply read what somebody has seen but another to read an account from somebody who actually has knowledge and personal experience of what is going on and the kit being used.
Andy’s done the business with the pictures - I love the helicopter one.
One question that spring most immediately to mind was about photographing the military like this - I thought they’d come down on that one with all these anti-terrorism laws ?
Thanks for taking all the time and effort to do this Chris, please pass on my thanks to Andy as well, and I’m sure not only myself but many others will enjoy a first hand taster of what happens on the beach at Donna Nook
All the best
Rod
Jon S said,
October 9, 2010 @ 8:40 pm
Rod, you needn’t worry about these photos - we live in a democracy!
If the photos were taken from somewhere which has full public access then there should be no cause for concern. Take Lakenheath, for example: there is a public viewing area from which one can legitimately take photos of the resident jets (they’re F-15E Strike Eagles, by the way Chris, not F-16s - a minor point of pedantry!) across a significant portion of the airfield, particularly one of the runways and holding points. In fact, it’s very likely that the British military people that you saw at Donna would have been happy to answer questions about their role and equipment if they had the time to do so. They’re just normal people like you and me doing a job which they are generally proud of, and will probably appreciate the fact that someone is genuinely interested. After all, they know what is sensitive information and are not likely to give it away! As a top tip, though, it would be wise to ask permission before taking pictures of personnel and equipment close-up, especially if individuals are likely to be recognisable..
Coningsby is indeed a very busy place these days. Apart from the impressive Eurofighters and the superb Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, 41 Squadron operates the Tornado and Harrier (no more Jaguars, they have all been retired now) as the RAF’s fast jet trials unit.
Jon
chris keyworth said,
October 10, 2010 @ 12:10 am
jon i am with you on that one i said they where f15’s but the two Andys said they where f16s so i was out numbered lol,
the guys at donna noook we had a goood natter to and they kept us informed of what was happening and we where asked not to photo the personel or there transport so we never, i was literaly about 20ft away from them and heard all the commands givin to the pilots on the scanner, we got them all in stiches as we was taking the micky out of the yank who was doing an incredably bad job…
regards
chris
Rod said,
October 10, 2010 @ 8:33 am
Jon,
thanks for that, much appreciated - I’m tempted to head to one of the airbases and have a go - never really taken many pictures of planes before.
You’ve both informed and inspired me - many thanks
Best
Rod
Femme Fatale said,
October 10, 2010 @ 11:39 am
Chris, Andy,
Great post, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the account of your days out.
I know nothing about the military and you have opened my eyes to what goes on around Lincolnshire, I felt like I was there with you, it came alive for me, thank you.
FF
xx
chris keyworth said,
October 10, 2010 @ 5:51 pm
FF
there are more photos to come shortly just waiting for Andy to stop painting his tug lol…. and put them on disc mainly of the trip to mildenhall and conningsby then you will see some really great aircraft…
regards
chris
Beeb said,
October 22, 2010 @ 8:36 pm
Where can you find details of what is happening each day at RAF Donna Nook?
Cheers
Beeb
Rod said,
October 23, 2010 @ 8:35 am
Beeb,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site - I’m not sure they ‘advertise’ - Chris is best placed to answer this - I wouldn’t mind knowing myself
Cheers
Rod
chris keyworth said,
October 23, 2010 @ 9:43 am
info is not widly avaiable on what happens day by day there but i am reliably informed that the first two weeks in november is booked solid on the range, however it will not be guns and bombs just DC10s and other large aircraft doing flair drops as the seals will be on the beach having there pups….
regards
chris….
daniel notingham said,
May 16, 2011 @ 4:17 pm
Hi, just wondering if you guys know if there are any upcoming events on the beach at donna nook as id love to see the planes in action.
Thanks.
Rod said,
May 16, 2011 @ 6:13 pm
Hi Daniel,
welcome to the site - Chris Keyworth is the best one fo rthis - perhaps he’ll chime in i fhe sees it
Possibly Wednesday (maybe, can’t quite remember for sure) is the most likely day to see planes but don’t take my word for it
Best
Rod
Mark said,
June 13, 2011 @ 1:50 pm
Hello, i must say having been a regular visitor to cleethorpes, i never knew about donna nook. I visited yesterday (12 june 2011) and its a great place, obviously as it was a sunday and very bleak there was no raf activity but im incredibly keen to see some jet action there. From reading previous comments on days of activity, is it right that jets fly most weekdays or is it rather sporadic in nature? What would be the best day for at least a chance of seeing something?
Many thanks
Mark Griffin
Marky Bee said,
July 18, 2011 @ 11:56 am
Chris - would love to take my son to Donna Nook. Do you know of any dates coming up that we could visit there.
Cheers
Marky Bee
Chris Keyworth said,
July 19, 2011 @ 8:57 pm
wednesdays thursdays and fridays are the best days to go, when you get there you may have to wait but it is worth it..
regards
chris
Rich said,
August 1, 2011 @ 3:08 pm
Hey chaps
Had fun reading the article and all threads. We were at Donna Nook on Thursday 28 July 2011 for some coastal walking and just chanced upon the red flags flying. Within 5 minutes of arrival the guys at RAF Donna Nook were telling us to look up the beach and wait for the noise! In fact the 3 x F15`s approached so quietly but once they turned away - wow! Got to see at least 6 passes with bombs dropping in clusters of 2, 4 and 6. Plumes of sand thrown up by “exploding” bombs. Nice touch too from the American pilots to dip their wings and “wave” at us onlookers. Great views as the weather was perfect and classic vapour trails from the wing tips. We walked 15 miles down the coast that day and could hear the jet engines for most of the day. Thought I saw a Eurofighter late in the day but couldn`t be sure - was quite high. Well worth a visit and sorry I did not get any pics.
Rod said,
August 1, 2011 @ 6:47 pm
Hi Rich,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site - hope you’ll return.
I saw a Eurofighter on Friday flying low over Lincs
Best
Rod
minnie said,
February 8, 2012 @ 10:54 am
Does anybody know if there were any exercises going on last night? Returning from work last night @6.15, full moon and hardly any cloud we saw 3 aircraft over towards Grainthorpe, Conisholme direction ( we were travelling along Peartree Lane towards Covenham Res). They were huge and lit up like Christmas trees and didnt appear to be moving that fast - just wondered what they were? (didnt look like helicopters)
pam said,
March 12, 2012 @ 12:57 pm
wow
thanks chris and two andy’s
absolutely gripping - looking forward to the rest of the pics
and a thought to ponder - without war and conflict in either our past, present and future so many wonderful experiences would not have/will not /could not happen and i for one would not want to be entirely without them. Similarly natural disasters. No i am not advocating non srop war and conflict but nor am i denying it its natural and rightful place in the ebb and flow of life. Not just our own individual lives, but also how the individuals connect not just in the here and now but past and future too And as a collective, past, present and future
yes war and conflict can be and are terrible to experience in their devastation
but they can be and are the catalyst and cause of some of the most positive and rich experiences also -as i know you know Ask any ex service personnel - especially those who have seen active service - how intense the relationships made connected, the appreciation it brings to the wonders of just being, the small things, the pride and joy sadness and laughter. How, especially for those of us civillians, much pride, awe, humbleness, gratitude, sadness and hope and so many morre emotions do we feel when we live alongside, when we reach out a helping hand to those in need, when we hear the stories and we thank them for going thru it and we don’t have to compassion and pity ,bravery fear and terrorHow many of the most tragic stories not only break our hearts but make them swell with love and bittersweet joy?
in times of comparative peace we get to enjoy wonderful days and experiences like this
we get to enjoy the experience of sharing the exhilaration of your experience, we and the forces get to enjoy the softer (but by no means dangerless) side of conflict. We get to feel the passion and superiority in a different way - for every side in a conflict feels themselves superior to the other -isn’t it always the other that is the “bad guy”? the challenges we face and strive to overcome and the gains we make -eg the vast advances in medicine that happened in plastic surgery during and after ww2 - and what we achieved with it since (for good or ill) -
take away war, conflict and natural and unnatural disasters and what is left is what?
for those who believe in God and cannot get an answer as to why He/She/It allows such things to happen - your ponderings may give you the answer -and lose your attachment to religion but also open you to the awareness of your own and everyone else’s divinity
for those who don’t believe in God/creator/Oneself because of the same unanswerable question - well you too may find the answer and knowledge of your divinity
and those who do know our divinity - well you know this already - or still want the deliciousness of forgetting to rediscover it again in your own time and fashion
The wonder of the world
The beauty and the power,
The shapes of things,
Their colours, lights and shades,
These I saw.
Look ye also while life lasts
Denys Watkins