Spitfire Block
Headquarters Air Command
Royal Air Force
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP14 4UE
Ref: FOI-2015-02193
e-mail: / 25 March 2015
Dear Mr Gledhill,
Thank you for your email of 24 February requesting information on the former bombing range at Misson, Notts (SK712975), which is located immediately East and adjacent to the site of the former RAF Misson Missile Base.
I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. We have completed a search of our records and I can confirm that the MOD does hold some of the information within the scope of your request.
For clarity, I will answer your questions in turn.
1.The approximate dates between which the bombing range was used
The bombing range at Misson was used from 1934 until 1958.
2.The approximate volume (e.g. tonnage) of bombs that were dropped or otherwise discharged onto the Misson bombing range and its environs during its use;
The approximate volume of bombs that were dropped or otherwise discharged onto the former Misson bombing range is unknown. However, during the period 1952 to 1958 the former RAF Lindholme, located approximately 10 miles from the former RAF Misson, dropped approximately 100,000 25lb practice bombs. This number does not include any other bombs or flares.
3.The approximate volume of bombs, explosives etc that were recovered or disposed of from the fomer Misson bombing range.
The approximate volume of bombs that were recovered by RAF Bomb Disposal during the period 1959 to 1979 is listed in the following table. Please note that this is not representative of the overall volume of ordnance dropped on the range as any high explosive/incendiary item that functioned as designed will not feature on clearance certificates.
Item / Quantity / MassBombs Aircraft / 4537 / 228,837.5 lbs
Bomb Fuzes / 1091 / Not known
Ammunition Aircraft / 144 / Not known
Pyrotechnics Aircraft / 4674 / Not known
Land Service Ammunition (SAA, Mortars, Grenades) / 44097 / Not known
Miscellaneous Aircraft Explosive Cartridges / 4670 / Not known
Explosive Fill / 71½ Ib / 71½ lb
4.The approximate “miss” rate of bombs and other explosives that were intended to land in the bombing range area, but landed outside.
No information held.
Section 16(1) of the FOIA requires the public authority to provide advice and assistance wherever possible. You may therefore find it useful to note that some additional information on the bombing range at Misson may be found at either the RAF Museum or The National Archives.
If you are not satisfied with this response or wish to complain about any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact me in the first instance. If informal resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance Team, 1st Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail ). Please note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to an end.
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate your case until the MOD internal review process has been completed. Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website, http://www.ico.gov.uk
Yours sincerely,
Air Command Secretariat
Air DRes Sec 4b1