Darrell: Interesting photos from Pennfield. I have never seen that long concrete wall feature before, and have no idea what it's purpose. Be interesting to see what other wartime airfields in Canada had that feature and what training took place at them. Maybe that would show a 'common denominator' and explain it all. RCAF Station Virden, here in Manitoba was a BCATP site for primary flight training and was built as a grass field facility. The only concrete was the ramp area and around the hanger line and it never had a gun butt. I would lean towards them being built on an 'as needed' basis. I will check my Manitoba airfield air photo collection and see what shows up.
Marc: One of the mysteries with these gun butts is how little damage they all show on the face of the concrete. One would expect that with dozens of aircraft having their guns sited in over the years, you would find some form of wear pattern. Wartime .303 ball ammunition has a very heavy jacket on it, compared with the modern military ammunition of today. It would take it's toll on the concrete over time. One would also think the shrapnel created would be a hazard sooner or later. More than one weapons tech probably had bits of jacket whizzing past their heads!
David
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21-12-13, 17:08
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