Cowden Range

My notes on Cowden don't specify the sea target type of which there were originally two, one practice and one live. Originally it was probably a triangular raft or pile type but these were never kept beyond the seventies so it may have been replaced by a series of markers around a radar target raft. I am not sure about a ship target as the waters seem to be too deep for something that would be easily sunk by repeated practice bombing. Cowden did start its life with the RAF with a G-H target (still not certain what was used for this) so it seems likely that this continued as target radars improved.

It was certainly planned with a live target when it was due to replace Skipsea. The attached map was dated 1947 but I suspect that was wrong, although Cowden was certainly well into the planning stages by 1950. By 1951 it was listed as having one live target and two practice bombing ones in the sea and two air to ground targets on the cliffs, one of which was for RP firing. At that time it was still under construction and still a joint range with the Army.

At this stage I can only assume the live target was used, if only for G-H bombing*. I do know that it wasn't on a 1950 list of live bombing ranges in the UK, even as a future range, but as it wasn't expected to come into use until 1951 that is not surprising. My research on ranges largely stops in the mid fifties when the guided missile era got underway and there are less primary document sources, but my limited forays into the sixties and seventies shows that live bombing was largely being wound down so it would be interesting to know which ranges had live capability in the sixties and seventies.

*I believe G-H bombing would have been with practice bombs only, but required the larger danger area.

I wonder if that port was Immingham, although the RAF enclave didn't appear to have any facilities other than a jetty and moorings?

I have attached a map showing the main land area ranges as they were in 1952.The practice bombing, live bombing and live R/P ranges had quadrants further down the coast as far as Ringbrough with only one quadrant inside this land area. The other quadrants marked (QS) were for the dive bombing range and the practice R/P range, which at that time used quadrants for scoring. I think the dive bombing target and its successors were used until the the ranges were closed but by the time I thing the more southerly sea targets were abandoned.

I haven't seen a range plan later than 1952 but these would no doubt show the loss of many of the range features to the sea prior to its closure and where the 7 targets were located. I have yet to find evidence of a photographic target at Cowden and since the end of their use by the RAF is unclear it may have missed the time when they were used. Skipsea certainly had one.

I have updated the map to show the quadrants for the north R/P target and these are base on the 1949 map locations.

There were 9 quadrants in all with 8 and 9 being outside the main land area to the south. It also had a control tower and I assume the accommodation was located there or nearby, although it is not marked on the plan. I missed quadrants 1 & 2 off my map but in my defence the photo showing them was out of focus and very blurred so rather than guess, I left them off. They would have been part of the northern R/P range and probably a mirror of the southern R/P range.

It certainly looks to have been a busy place and you can see why the Air Weapons Ranges became stations in their own right. I haven't seen any range orders for Cowden in the fifties but would guess that not all targets could be used simultaneously so the number of quadrants manned at any one time may have been less than 9.

The National Archives hold a number of Cowdens ORBs from the sixties until 1992, the latter released in February 2020! Should be an interesting read.