I was there when they Jaguar landed it was quite a sight .The aerials at Inskip were part of HMS Inskip which was a Naval station, I used to work there in the 70,s. It’s still a government site but run by a private company now. There was at the time a Commanding Officer there who basically said that the runways where the sea and anybody seen walking on them would be put on a charge. He said that only Jesus could walk on water. So they had to use a water taxi, I.e a vehicle to travel about the site. I think it’s the same guy who decided that as he was a bit of a climber he would climb the one of the large masts which are 600 ft high. Snag was he froze about half way up and they had to get a rescue party to get him down
My Dad served in the RAF during the 70s and 80s and when serving in Germany there were regular exercises that meant the Jaguars used autobahns as runways. My Dad preferred this type of exercise as he was a cook and would commandeer a service station and all German services at the time had to have fully functioning commercial kitchens so nice and easy for my Dad. Consequently he did not like exercises that involved the Harrier jump jet as that meant being in some forest in deepest darkest Germany where he had to set up a field kitchen and apparently there was a lot of mud that got splattered around.
The M55 is the road which TVR, who were based in Blackpool, used to do their speed testing on. It’s a quiet road at night so they could get away with doing some big speeds without much trouble.
From personal experience, Sunday morning pretty popular also ! I remember being int he slow lane doing probably 80 as one came past - I felt like I was standing still !
I also passed my driving test there too (and in the 80's). I suspect the M55 was my first motorway too, though at the weekends I lived near Garstang, so also drove on the M6 soon after passing.
Ive driven tge M55 many times but this makes it more interesting. A you tube channel called Adventure me has done a video on the lost central station and the railway like if anyone is into this side of Blackpool history.
Who'da thunked we'd all be so looking forward to the next episode of a series about motorways! Being a North Westerner I've been loving the local (to me) action of the last few weeks. Thanks to your other televisual masterpiece all the service stations, we called at Cairn Lodge services and ate a lovely dinner on the way up to Fife yesterday. Keep up the fascinating work. 10/10
Ref the Jaguar jet story… there was no RAF Warton at that time, it was just Warton Aerodrome and operated by BAC, formerly English Electric, and later British Aerospace. I worked for the Warton Division after graduating, they were building the Tornado and EAP demonstrator that led to the Typhoon / EFA.
I understand when the Jaguar took off it left two long burnt patches of tarmac on the yet to be opened M55. Runway tarmac a different formulation - you can see the two engines on reheat... like having two blow torches applied.
Great stuff as always. At 00:40 are you standing on a cycle path with a give way sign just before a step of flights? Evolution at its finest. And a radio station with no Ringway? The world is turned upside down.
@@qwertyTRiG But, to be fair, they have supplied one of those trough thingies to wheel bikes in, to save having to carry them up and down the stairs. It's just a pity it's on the left going down and on the right going back up, so you have to pick up your bike or walk around it at the bottom
@@kgbgb3663 It should be a "Stop" sign. "Give Way" means to proceed if there is no oncoming traffic. But if you want to ride down steps, knock yourself out.
@@philsharp758 A "stop and dismount" sign would make sense, if there is such a thing available in the UK. But if someone (not me) is athletic enough to be able to dismount and start wheeling their bike without stopping, it's fine by me, so long as they give way to people already on the steps. It looks like the authorities, despite their other failings, agree with me.
ah welcome to Blackpool! wondered when you would make your way here.... quite a lot of history with road and train lines up here and a lot can still be seen once into central
I've found it interesting to learn more about the motorway that I've detested all my (driving) life. The scenery along the M55 is beautiful (until you reach Blackpool **rolls eyes**), the convenience of the road is superb and the traffic can be surprisingly less than frustrating. However, it's the 1 motorway that I have had the worst luck on due to either a vehicle break down, accident (or near miss) due to other road users or random police stops over trivial issues (less so since ANPR became a thing). I'm not even exaggerating the fact that these sort of situations have happened to me on only this motorway. So instead I only use the A583 to travel to Blackpool. Regardless of my waffling, keep up the excellent work and I'm looking forward to the next episode.
When I worked for ICL (britains major computer company...yeah that long ago) I paid a visit to one of BAE's then sites in north Manchester (Chadderton). There were some buildings that clearly had been large hangers of WW2 vintage. So i asked around and was told that was where they had built the Lancaster bombers. But there wasnt any runways around the site. Ah, they said. Theres a piece of straight-ish dual carriage down one side of the site. They took off from there (...never to come back. Doesnt seem anyone landed there)
Now what was the Chadderton aircraft factory is the home of the Manchester Evening News, you pass it on what is now the M60 (Manchester Circular Motorway) The Lancaster's probably took off after building, to go over to either Woodford or Ringway (now Manchester Airport) for test flights, etc. before being issued to a Squadron or Maintainance Depot.
@@markbooth1117 I think its what is now called GreenGate / Lightbowne Road. The NOV building seems to be where BAE systems was and when I try to look it up, it seems that was the place. That said, its changed a lot since I was there even looking down from Google's satellite view.
If you look up exercise Highway 84 you can find videos of an German Autobahn used as a emergency landing strip. They tried it with C130 and C160 Cargo aircraft, F16 and Tornado jets, and even some A10 Warthogs. There were quite a few of these „Autobahn airfields“ in western Germany.
Cracking work John. Lewis is going to be upset not having a slot in this one as you discuss radio towers in what is essentially his back yard. And at one one I thought Geoff Marshall was going to pop as you almost slid into a full on railway related thread. Keep at it and all the best.
Summer holidays to Blackpool and lost 50p every damn time as my Dad (the driver) was always first to spot the Tower. It never occurred to me until I was taking my own kids there that he just bloody well know where it was!
similarly the M5(S) between J12 and J13 follows the line of the runway of RAF Moreton Valence, latterly used by the Gloster aircraft company for the commissioning of Gloster Javelins
And down South, part of the M5 runs along the site of the main runway of RAF Moreton Valence. Some of the buildings survived until relatively recently as a business park, but have now been demolished to make way for a Dobbies garden centre and Javelin Park EFW (typical they chose such a scenic name for a giant incinerator!) However, aerial photos show crop marks along the alignment of one of the cross runways, while at the South end of the former airfield are ghost slip roads for a missing MSA.
I remember being driven past the Former RAF Burtonwood in the early 1980s When the Air traffic control tower and remainder of the Taxiway was still there. The whole area is now a massive industrial area Amazon Asda & UPS Warehouses.
During the Cold War there were a number of military production facilities located around the Preston area. A question that is probably not asked so much today but remained very much in the minds of planners back then was: "If there is another war, to what military purpose can this civil engineering project be put?" In the 60s and 70s there were still plenty of people around who had first-hand experience of WW2. I remember when the Worsley interchange was constructed on the M61. Everyone who saw it said the same thing, "Box tunnels! What a great way to protect stuff from surveillance overflights and indirect blast damage." The world was a different place in those days. You may like to find on a map the following locations: Salwick, Samlesbury, Warton, ROF Chorley, and HMS Nightjar. 50 years ago those locations had things that were of critical importance to the defence of the UK (not so much since the end of the 20th century).
Reminds me of the M40 story. Just before it opened was used by the Andersons for the filming of 'Thunderbird6'. They flew a Tiger Moth under a bridge, the pilot got in to trouble as she was supposed to land it and drive under but a crosswind prevented it from happening.
My old stomping ground. Great to see the M55 on the channel, thanks Jon. Great work...! Regards the Jaguar, it did indeed come from Warton but by that time the RAF were long gone and it was (and still is) the home of BAE Systems who design and build aircraft there (currently Eurofighter Typhoon).
On a slightly tenuous link regading Motorway's and Military Aircraft. Alongside the M3 between Jct 9 and Jct 10 is a bridge called 'Spitfire Bridge' & a piece of road called 'Spitfire Loop' . Back in the 1940's when it was the A31 a pilot flew a Curtiss Tomahawk under the one of the bridges clipping the bridge whilst trying to miss an oncoming HGV. The pilot crashed whilst landing but was unhurt. The story got out about what had happend but people assumed it was a Spitfire, hense the name, but wasn't until the 1980's that it was accepted that it wasn't a spitfire flown. (Thanks to Sabre Road's for clarification of info)
Great video to have playing in the background while I work on the car! My bfs been super impressed with the amount of facts I've given on motorways since I've started watching!
Another great video Mate, driven the M55 a few times heading to Blackpool and Lytham so great to get some history on it, especially the plane landing on the motorway.
Shortly before the M55 opened there was a sponsored walk along it. I went on it (as an 11 year old) with my family and many hundreds or thousands of others.
It's funny, long after it opened my mates did an unsponsored walk down it at night and ended up making a contribution to Lancashire Constabulary's Christmas party funds. Eejits.
Hey MNiJ, thanks for another great segment; enjoyed this as per usual. Looking fwd to some 'Wicked, Sweet, Awesome' merch; maybe T-shirts with 'I wave goodbye to drones' or similar? Have a great week.
I came home via this section from Garstang on Saturday night as you can tell from my channel name I'm very much into history but you learn something new everyday let's say that with the channels Motto Remember history is made everyday Great video John
M dad redesigned the tail cone on the Jag as it had a tendency to stick when releasing the parachute. Anywayz... if you ever do the M65 you could talk about swampy et al and at Ewood, in Blackburn the road goes through water (under the canal and over the river). wot more do you want.
Very interesting stuff! Typing this from the M62, right next to something you're definitely gonna talk about when you cover it... something to do with a certain house...
That take off estimate was a bit optomistic .I reckon those cluster bombs were just empty cases and the plane was almost empty of fuel . Jaguars usually used the curvature of the earth to take off
Great concrete sculpture, a total angle that life desired then with crush velvet and purple metallic paint and your ORANGE jacket looks cool on the Jon’s outro
Did not know that a aircraft actually landed on the M55 Motorway. As the M55 Motorway is quite a short motorway from Preston to Blackpool and a new junction 2 is currently under construction to the west of Preston. Very interesting to see how a aircraft landed on a motorway with lots of traffic as well.
When the Jag landed on the M55 near Weeton, the M55 was still not open to traffic. The opening was several weeks later as I recall. I witnessed the Jag landing - it was part of a series of evaluations in to the use in an emergency / war of using the motorways as runways.
Bloody jolly good show, Jon … I have used the M55 but as a kid as a passenger in my dad’s car … probably time I tried it again when I return to the UK for the first time in 11 years! Think I’ll need to hire an HGV to make the experience memorable!
As a regular driver of the M55, I can't wait for the new junction to finally open. Firstly it'll stop all but a short stretch from just being 50mph controlled, but also difference it will make in getting to the likes of Lytham. Undoubtedly though- it's likely to make the M55 even busier - making the few miles from the m61 and m6 joining, and the m6 and m55 joining even more of a car park
The Jaguar was designed to be able to operate from motorways. Some of the first targets on any nation's 'to do' list, in the event of war, is to knock out enemy airfields. This is one of the reasons why the Harrier was designed, which could take off vertically. In the present day, Ukraine has dispersed all its fighters to hidden airfields for precisely this reason. The MiG-29, which is operated by Ukraine, has specially designed air intakes to prevent ingestion of ground debris when using rough airstrips. As for the Jaguar, yes, it was tested for rough strip operations on the M55; this was to see if it could in fact manage it and make it an option if all our airfields had been disabled. Of course, it was never used operationally.
I didn’t realise how much I needed the “have you had a good week?” until today. Thanks for asking, no it’s been quite crappy really. But this video has cheered me up! It’s a roller-coaster. Speaking of which… I was expecting your closing piece to be at the Pleasure Beach. But it was better, that train passing right at that exact moment. That there is James Burke level timing!
I was going to do a "beach outro" but that would have involved driving right into Blackpool during the school run... it's not for me. So we get a moody railway instead :D Thanks for watching.
Great video. Considering I live very near to these locations, most of that stuff was completely new to me. Extra marks for totally swerving the mainstream media for a month. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be in any doubt about the correct pronunciation of Wyre!
That must have taken some balls. It need a very steep glidepath to clear the overbridge immediately before the touchdown area, and there was zero clearance to the side on the bridge it went over. Good job the Jaguar had such a small wingspan
Lived around the M55 a fair bit of my life and didn't know that's what that road was for at Jnc 1. I thought it was just for police. My dad was involved in the jaguar landing albeit not very seriously. Don't want be too pedantic but I don't think Warton was ever an RAF base. It was US Airforce in ww2. Certainly never heard of it as RAF and I grew up in sight of it. And Wyre is pronounced Wire. 🙂
Yes it is true that the Motorways were designed also as landing strips in case the airfields were destroyed. Not so much now days but in the '60's and 70's this was quite well known.
We had several aircraft landing and take off tests on interstate highways here in America during the Cold War era. They were looking to test the viability of using stretches of interstate as austere air bases in the event of the destruction of our airbase apparatus and civilian airport infrastructure. Personally, I wonder what the point of that might have been. If all of our airbases and airports were destroyed, there probably wouldn't have been much in the way of an America left to defend, but what do I know?
Hearing the Jaguar being called a fighter jet, did make me chuckle. Designed as a trainer, converted into a ground attack/ recce aircraft. It needed the curvature of the earth to get off. 🤣🤣
The Western Bypass motorway (A1(M)) also had a jaguar jet plane land and take off several times. Before it was opened to public use. It was filmed and was shown on an episode of "Look North (Newcastle) BBC TV. I watch it live and later on TV.
The former rail line to Blackpool Central is still more or less undeveloped (much of it is used for car parks) and even at street level is an obvious "gap" in the town. At the former station (now the Central Car Park next to Coral Island) you can still see (for now anyway, the area is marked for a big fancy development scheme which will no doubt be on time and on budget.....) where the lines and platforms were by of all things the colour of the tarmac.
If you drive on Sweden's main roads through forested areas you will find enlarged laybys at various points designed to allow fighter planes to land, refuel and rearm, and take off again without the need for airfields.
Very interesting. Percentage wise it must be one of the least lit motorways... soon as you pass junction 1 its darkness all the way to Blackpool. Probably means the Jaguar can still use it!
This is the morotway my Dad decided to take me on to sharpen up on motorway driving skills a few years post test & pass plus (but had no need in that time to use motorways). Went up the M6 from junction 23 and then onto M55. At night (!) as I'd run out of time to practise and I needed to drive to Epsom the next day. I did NOT appreciate the lack of lighting. Somehow ended up in an outer lane (do you merge or something...I don't remember overtaking anyone...?) and absolutely shit myself trying to get back over, I probably wasn't doing NSL and so was getting in everyone's way. I just remember my Dad screaming at me 'he's leTTING YOU GO!' and *just* stopping short of grabbing the wheel. We did get to see the illuminations though, and I have no recollection of who drove us back.
SAAB Aircraft like the Draken and Viggen were designed to be able to take off and land from sections of Swedish highway in the event of war. The SEPECAT Jaguar was designed to a similar brief, to be able to operate if 'Runway Denial' tactics were used in wartime.
Another plane/Motorway combination is, during the filming of Thunderbird 6 they flew a Tiger Moth underneath a bridge of, I believe, the M1. As far as I remember, they were told that they couldn't fly under the bridge, the plane had to land and taxi under the bridge. The pilot decided, what the hell, and the result is in the film.
That footage of the Jaguar is incredible. Wonder if the plan was to store the aircraft under the bridges or camouflaged on the sides of roads if the road was used as airfield?
XX109 has survived, it's displayed outdoors at the Norwich City Aviation Museum.
My home city lol
Must go there
@@Musashi_-81 musashi was shit!
Hello Jon, how the devil are you, have you had a good week?
You know I HAVE subscribed and it was indeed Wicked, Sweet, Awesome
I was there when they Jaguar landed it was quite a sight .The aerials at Inskip were part of HMS Inskip which was a Naval station, I used to work there in the 70,s. It’s still a government site but run by a private company now. There was at the time a Commanding Officer there who basically said that the runways where the sea and anybody seen walking on them would be put on a charge. He said that only Jesus could walk on water. So they had to use a water taxi, I.e a vehicle to travel about the site. I think it’s the same guy who decided that as he was a bit of a climber he would climb the one of the large masts which are 600 ft high. Snag was he froze about half way up and they had to get a rescue party to get him down
If he were a regular person, I'd say he was quite mad. However, being an officer in the Royal Navy, I guess that made him eccentric...
@@kirkmooneyham Nah, as a Navy officer that just made him normal, the real Navy "eccentrics" are the ones in the subs.
I love the way you say "Have you had a good week?"
It sounds genuine and concerning in a way.
It always gives me a warm and friendly feeling inside :)
Great to hear, that's what its all about :D
My Dad served in the RAF during the 70s and 80s and when serving in Germany there were regular exercises that meant the Jaguars used autobahns as runways. My Dad preferred this type of exercise as he was a cook and would commandeer a service station and all German services at the time had to have fully functioning commercial kitchens so nice and easy for my Dad. Consequently he did not like exercises that involved the Harrier jump jet as that meant being in some forest in deepest darkest Germany where he had to set up a field kitchen and apparently there was a lot of mud that got splattered around.
The M55 is the road which TVR, who were based in Blackpool, used to do their speed testing on. It’s a quiet road at night so they could get away with doing some big speeds without much trouble.
From personal experience, Sunday morning pretty popular also ! I remember being int he slow lane doing probably 80 as one came past - I felt like I was standing still !
Passed my driving test in Blackpool at the Warbreck Hill test site. Drive home on Tue M55 ten minutes after passing my test. Gotta love the 1980s
I also passed my driving test there too (and in the 80's). I suspect the M55 was my first motorway too, though at the weekends I lived near Garstang, so also drove on the M6 soon after passing.
Ive driven tge M55 many times but this makes it more interesting.
A you tube channel called Adventure me has done a video on the lost central station and the railway like if anyone is into this side of Blackpool history.
Been on the M55 once - for me personally it is a decent motorway. Certainly interesting that the M55 was once used as a runway!
Perfect timing to catch that train on the outro drone shot!! ;-)
Who'da thunked we'd all be so looking forward to the next episode of a series about motorways! Being a North Westerner I've been loving the local (to me) action of the last few weeks.
Thanks to your other televisual masterpiece all the service stations, we called at Cairn Lodge services and ate a lovely dinner on the way up to Fife yesterday.
Keep up the fascinating work. 10/10
Ref the Jaguar jet story… there was no RAF Warton at that time, it was just Warton Aerodrome and operated by BAC, formerly English Electric, and later British Aerospace. I worked for the Warton Division after graduating, they were building the Tornado and EAP demonstrator that led to the Typhoon / EFA.
I didn't realise that it was RAF, always thought it was BAE.
I understand when the Jaguar took off it left two long burnt patches of tarmac on the yet to be opened M55. Runway tarmac a different formulation - you can see the two engines on reheat... like having two blow torches applied.
Great stuff as always. At 00:40 are you standing on a cycle path with a give way sign just before a step of flights? Evolution at its finest. And a radio station with no Ringway? The world is turned upside down.
Beautifully ridiculous, isn't it?
@@qwertyTRiG But, to be fair, they have supplied one of those trough thingies to wheel bikes in, to save having to carry them up and down the stairs. It's just a pity it's on the left going down and on the right going back up, so you have to pick up your bike or walk around it at the bottom
@@kgbgb3663 It should be a "Stop" sign. "Give Way" means to proceed if there is no oncoming traffic. But if you want to ride down steps, knock yourself out.
@@philsharp758 A "stop and dismount" sign would make sense, if there is such a thing available in the UK. But if someone (not me) is athletic enough to be able to dismount and start wheeling their bike without stopping, it's fine by me, so long as they give way to people already on the steps. It looks like the authorities, despite their other failings, agree with me.
I have been waiting for this! My home town Motorway
Where you at ? I’m Leyland
“At a cost of only 207 million pounds” 😂
ah welcome to Blackpool! wondered when you would make your way here.... quite a lot of history with road and train lines up here and a lot can still be seen once into central
I've found it interesting to learn more about the motorway that I've detested all my (driving) life.
The scenery along the M55 is beautiful (until you reach Blackpool **rolls eyes**), the convenience of the road is superb and the traffic can be surprisingly less than frustrating. However, it's the 1 motorway that I have had the worst luck on due to either a vehicle break down, accident (or near miss) due to other road users or random police stops over trivial issues (less so since ANPR became a thing). I'm not even exaggerating the fact that these sort of situations have happened to me on only this motorway. So instead I only use the A583 to travel to Blackpool.
Regardless of my waffling, keep up the excellent work and I'm looking forward to the next episode.
When I worked for ICL (britains major computer company...yeah that long ago) I paid a visit to one of BAE's then sites in north Manchester (Chadderton). There were some buildings that clearly had been large hangers of WW2 vintage. So i asked around and was told that was where they had built the Lancaster bombers. But there wasnt any runways around the site. Ah, they said. Theres a piece of straight-ish dual carriage down one side of the site. They took off from there (...never to come back. Doesnt seem anyone landed there)
Now what was the Chadderton aircraft factory is the home of the Manchester Evening News, you pass it on what is now the M60 (Manchester Circular Motorway) The Lancaster's probably took off after building, to go over to either Woodford or Ringway (now Manchester Airport) for test flights, etc. before being issued to a Squadron or Maintainance Depot.
@@markbooth1117 I think its what is now called GreenGate / Lightbowne Road. The NOV building seems to be where BAE systems was and when I try to look it up, it seems that was the place. That said, its changed a lot since I was there even looking down from Google's satellite view.
If you look up exercise Highway 84 you can find videos of an German Autobahn used as a emergency landing strip. They tried it with C130 and C160 Cargo aircraft, F16 and Tornado jets, and even some A10 Warthogs. There were quite a few of these „Autobahn airfields“ in western Germany.
In Sweden this kind of events happend often during the 70-s and 80-s. Viggen, Draken and Lansen often took off and landing from road-bases.
Accidentally found this channel in a RUclips rabbit hole. It's utter madness and I love it🤣 Keep up the nutty work
im australian yet addicted to this series
2:15 "so.. now!". Nailed it
4:27 Good to see someone keeping to the left when not overtaking.
Cracking work John. Lewis is going to be upset not having a slot in this one as you discuss radio towers in what is essentially his back yard.
And at one one I thought Geoff Marshall was going to pop as you almost slid into a full on railway related thread.
Keep at it and all the best.
Summer holidays to Blackpool and lost 50p every damn time as my Dad (the driver) was always first to spot the Tower. It never occurred to me until I was taking my own kids there that he just bloody well know where it was!
I don't live in England, I rarely drive there or even visit but still I'm addicted to these. 🤷🏼
I'm an Anglophile in America enjoying these videos
The M62 between junctions 7 and 9 at Warrington is built on the main runway of the old RAF/USAF Burtonwood airbase.
similarly the M5(S) between J12 and J13 follows the line of the runway of RAF Moreton Valence, latterly used by the Gloster aircraft company for the commissioning of Gloster Javelins
And down South, part of the M5 runs along the site of the main runway of RAF Moreton Valence. Some of the buildings survived until relatively recently as a business park, but have now been demolished to make way for a Dobbies garden centre and Javelin Park EFW (typical they chose such a scenic name for a giant incinerator!) However, aerial photos show crop marks along the alignment of one of the cross runways, while at the South end of the former airfield are ghost slip roads for a missing MSA.
Part of the M4 Services at Membury are built on parts of an old WW2 airfield.
I remember being driven past the Former RAF Burtonwood in the early 1980s When the Air traffic control tower and remainder of the Taxiway was still there.
The whole area is now a massive industrial area Amazon Asda & UPS Warehouses.
During the Cold War there were a number of military production facilities located around the Preston area.
A question that is probably not asked so much today but remained very much in the minds of planners back then was: "If there is another war, to what military purpose can this civil engineering project be put?" In the 60s and 70s there were still plenty of people around who had first-hand experience of WW2.
I remember when the Worsley interchange was constructed on the M61. Everyone who saw it said the same thing, "Box tunnels! What a great way to protect stuff from surveillance overflights and indirect blast damage." The world was a different place in those days.
You may like to find on a map the following locations: Salwick, Samlesbury, Warton, ROF Chorley, and HMS Nightjar. 50 years ago those locations had things that were of critical importance to the defence of the UK (not so much since the end of the 20th century).
Reminds me of the M40 story. Just before it opened was used by the Andersons for the filming of 'Thunderbird6'. They flew a Tiger Moth under a bridge, the pilot got in to trouble as she was supposed to land it and drive under but a crosswind prevented it from happening.
My old stomping ground. Great to see the M55 on the channel, thanks Jon. Great work...! Regards the Jaguar, it did indeed come from Warton but by that time the RAF were long gone and it was (and still is) the home of BAE Systems who design and build aircraft there (currently Eurofighter Typhoon).
eh ?? the Yanks left it in the early 50s
Absolutely amazing. Great content as per usual Jon.
Notable examples of flares adorning the legs of those watching the Jaguar take off.
Tremendous John.👍👍👍
On a slightly tenuous link regading Motorway's and Military Aircraft. Alongside the M3 between Jct 9 and Jct 10 is a bridge called 'Spitfire Bridge' & a piece of road called 'Spitfire Loop' . Back in the 1940's when it was the A31 a pilot flew a Curtiss Tomahawk under the one of the bridges clipping the bridge whilst trying to miss an oncoming HGV. The pilot crashed whilst landing but was unhurt. The story got out about what had happend but people assumed it was a Spitfire, hense the name, but wasn't until the 1980's that it was accepted that it wasn't a spitfire flown. (Thanks to Sabre Road's for clarification of info)
Someone should do a video about it (M3 episode)
@@AutoShenanigans 🤦♂️🤦♂️I’d forgotten you had already done a video on the M3! I had already watched it honest!!
Great video to have playing in the background while I work on the car! My bfs been super impressed with the amount of facts I've given on motorways since I've started watching!
When you did the M61 last week, I was almost certain you would be doing the M55 this week. Thanks for another exciting episode
Cheers Jon, Motorways, Radio (miss Ringway Manchester, expected him to pop in there), Aircraft - look forward to what, boats, hovercrafts?
Another great video Mate, driven the M55 a few times heading to Blackpool and Lytham so great to get some history on it, especially the plane landing on the motorway.
Wonderful, as usual.
Thanks for another exciting episode!
Shortly before the M55 opened there was a sponsored walk along it. I went on it (as an 11 year old) with my family and many hundreds or thousands of others.
It's funny, long after it opened my mates did an unsponsored walk down it at night and ended up making a contribution to Lancashire Constabulary's Christmas party funds. Eejits.
Hey MNiJ, thanks for another great segment; enjoyed this as per usual. Looking fwd to some 'Wicked, Sweet, Awesome' merch; maybe T-shirts with 'I wave goodbye to drones' or similar? Have a great week.
I came home via this section from Garstang on Saturday night as you can tell from my channel name I'm very much into history but you learn something new everyday let's say that with the channels Motto Remember history is made everyday
Great video John
Part of the M8 at Renfrew was built over the old Renfrew Airstrip that served the city of Glasgow.
M dad redesigned the tail cone on the Jag as it had a tendency to stick when releasing the parachute. Anywayz... if you ever do the M65 you could talk about swampy et al and at Ewood, in Blackburn the road goes through water (under the canal and over the river). wot more do you want.
Very interesting stuff! Typing this from the M62, right next to something you're definitely gonna talk about when you cover it... something to do with a certain house...
farm house?
That take off estimate was a bit optomistic .I reckon those cluster bombs were just empty cases and the plane was almost empty of fuel . Jaguars usually used the curvature of the earth to take off
Worked on Jags in Germany in the late '70s. They were designed to use motorways and autobahns in the event of war.
Great concrete sculpture, a total angle that life desired then with crush velvet and purple metallic paint and your ORANGE jacket looks cool on the Jon’s outro
Did not know that a aircraft actually landed on the M55 Motorway. As the M55 Motorway is quite a short motorway from Preston to Blackpool and a new junction 2 is currently under construction to the west of Preston. Very interesting to see how a aircraft landed on a motorway with lots of traffic as well.
When the Jag landed on the M55 near Weeton, the M55 was still not open to traffic. The opening was several weeks later as I recall. I witnessed the Jag landing - it was part of a series of evaluations in to the use in an emergency / war of using the motorways as runways.
Bloody jolly good show, Jon … I have used the M55 but as a kid as a passenger in my dad’s car … probably time I tried it again when I return to the UK for the first time in 11 years!
Think I’ll need to hire an HGV to make the experience memorable!
As a regular driver of the M55, I can't wait for the new junction to finally open. Firstly it'll stop all but a short stretch from just being 50mph controlled, but also difference it will make in getting to the likes of Lytham. Undoubtedly though- it's likely to make the M55 even busier - making the few miles from the m61 and m6 joining, and the m6 and m55 joining even more of a car park
Personally I can’t see the point unless the new junction is actually being built for the benefit of lots of new housing developments.
Excellent. Wyre is pronounced as wire not weer. Harry Yeadon was the responsible County Surveyor at the time of the M55 being built.
Hello. Thanks for having me. I'm good. Yeah. my week was pretty good. Thanks!
That exact Jaguar XX109, Is not on display at Norwich aviation Museum. Great to read about a brilliant part of History and see the jet in person.
loved how they used the M55 for a runway test site during the cold war interesting bit of motorway.
It's the most interesting part of the M55 :D there's not much going on!
I will not have you cover radio sites without me 😂
It's a bit boring though innit mate... ;-)
@@AutoShenanigans I’m appalled
@@RingwayManchester Love you really x
The Jaguar was designed to be able to operate from motorways. Some of the first targets on any nation's 'to do' list, in the event of war, is to knock out enemy airfields. This is one of the reasons why the Harrier was designed, which could take off vertically. In the present day, Ukraine has dispersed all its fighters to hidden airfields for precisely this reason. The MiG-29, which is operated by Ukraine, has specially designed air intakes to prevent ingestion of ground debris when using rough airstrips. As for the Jaguar, yes, it was tested for rough strip operations on the M55; this was to see if it could in fact manage it and make it an option if all our airfields had been disabled. Of course, it was never used operationally.
I didn’t realise how much I needed the “have you had a good week?” until today. Thanks for asking, no it’s been quite crappy really. But this video has cheered me up! It’s a roller-coaster. Speaking of which… I was expecting your closing piece to be at the Pleasure Beach. But it was better, that train passing right at that exact moment. That there is James Burke level timing!
I was going to do a "beach outro" but that would have involved driving right into Blackpool during the school run... it's not for me. So we get a moody railway instead :D Thanks for watching.
Things I expected: more detail than I needed to know about a motorway I've never driven on.
Things I didn't expect: STINGRAY, STINGRAAAAAAAAY
It might have been a shorter video than usual but you still managed to fit in some quality drone shots 👍👍.
Thanks for the video I am going to Blackpool next week. So will drive down the M55 and now know what to lookout for.
Thanks again Jon. Getting busy with the thanks scroll! Loving the increased love
I spent an hour learning how to make credits "roll" :D
Wicked, sweet, and awesome!
I get the sense we’re circling the elephant in the room, the multi part epic of the M6
great video as per usual mate :)
Loving the well timed train at the end there ;)
Great video. Considering I live very near to these locations, most of that stuff was completely new to me. Extra marks for totally swerving the mainstream media for a month. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be in any doubt about the correct pronunciation of Wyre!
That must have taken some balls. It need a very steep glidepath to clear the overbridge immediately before the touchdown area, and there was zero clearance to the side on the bridge it went over. Good job the Jaguar had such a small wingspan
Best thing to come out of Blackpool.
good one john
Lived around the M55 a fair bit of my life and didn't know that's what that road was for at Jnc 1. I thought it was just for police.
My dad was involved in the jaguar landing albeit not very seriously.
Don't want be too pedantic but I don't think Warton was ever an RAF base. It was US Airforce in ww2. Certainly never heard of it as RAF and I grew up in sight of it.
And Wyre is pronounced Wire. 🙂
Yes it is true that the Motorways were designed also as landing strips in case the airfields were destroyed. Not so much now days but in the '60's and 70's this was quite well known.
Love how you get confused with pronunciation of Lancashire place names. I do too. Only been a Lancastrian for the last 59 years.
We had several aircraft landing and take off tests on interstate highways here in America during the Cold War era. They were looking to test the viability of using stretches of interstate as austere air bases in the event of the destruction of our airbase apparatus and civilian airport infrastructure. Personally, I wonder what the point of that might have been. If all of our airbases and airports were destroyed, there probably wouldn't have been much in the way of an America left to defend, but what do I know?
Hearing the Jaguar being called a fighter jet, did make me chuckle. Designed as a trainer, converted into a ground attack/ recce aircraft. It needed the curvature of the earth to get off. 🤣🤣
"RAF Warton" made me chuckle.
The Western Bypass motorway (A1(M)) also had a jaguar jet plane land and take off several times. Before it was opened to public use. It was filmed and was shown on an episode of "Look North (Newcastle) BBC TV. I watch it live and later on TV.
The former rail line to Blackpool Central is still more or less undeveloped (much of it is used for car parks) and even at street level is an obvious "gap" in the town. At the former station (now the Central Car Park next to Coral Island) you can still see (for now anyway, the area is marked for a big fancy development scheme which will no doubt be on time and on budget.....) where the lines and platforms were by of all things the colour of the tarmac.
Wicked, sweet, awesome 👍
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Proud brag: my brother was on the design team for the Boeing 787 nose landing gear, and my granddad worked on the Mark II Hurricane at RAF Kemble.
can't imagine a plane would survive landing on a motorway these days looking at how well they *are* maintained
You're probably right about that.
Excellent video subscription added.
Welcome along!
0:37 A cycle lane that has a give-way marking just before a flight of stairs. FFS, what were they thinking?
Intresting videos but more history on the railways azwell 👍👍
Making motorways suitable for aircraft is a brilliant strategic move, it was covered why, but I can't help but voice my agreement.
If you drive on Sweden's main roads through forested areas you will find enlarged laybys at various points designed to allow fighter planes to land, refuel and rearm, and take off again without the need for airfields.
Sounds like a good day out. We were thinking of taking the Saab "home" for a day.
Finally motorway grew up on. Radio mast called in skip the was sea cadet training base there used to go on weekends .
Hey Jon, love your videos and presentation, always entertaining: D. What is the music you use for your intro because it’s very catchy?
It's taken from the "RUclips royalty free collection" It's called Blakeys Burnout.
Very interesting. Percentage wise it must be one of the least lit motorways... soon as you pass junction 1 its darkness all the way to Blackpool. Probably means the Jaguar can still use it!
This is the morotway my Dad decided to take me on to sharpen up on motorway driving skills a few years post test & pass plus (but had no need in that time to use motorways). Went up the M6 from junction 23 and then onto M55. At night (!) as I'd run out of time to practise and I needed to drive to Epsom the next day. I did NOT appreciate the lack of lighting. Somehow ended up in an outer lane (do you merge or something...I don't remember overtaking anyone...?) and absolutely shit myself trying to get back over, I probably wasn't doing NSL and so was getting in everyone's way. I just remember my Dad screaming at me 'he's leTTING YOU GO!' and *just* stopping short of grabbing the wheel.
We did get to see the illuminations though, and I have no recollection of who drove us back.
SAAB Aircraft like the Draken and Viggen were designed to be able to take off and land from sections of Swedish highway in the event of war. The SEPECAT Jaguar was designed to a similar brief, to be able to operate if 'Runway Denial' tactics were used in wartime.
Another plane/Motorway combination is, during the filming of Thunderbird 6 they flew a Tiger Moth underneath a bridge of, I believe, the M1.
As far as I remember, they were told that they couldn't fly under the bridge, the plane had to land and taxi under the bridge.
The pilot decided, what the hell, and the result is in the film.
Pronounced ‘wire’. Yes an awesome landing by the Jaguar!
It's only been on the news every ten minutes for the last three weeks for crying out loud!🤣🤣
My new favourite channel……..doesn’t mean much I only subscribe to boring stuff.
That footage of the Jaguar is incredible. Wonder if the plan was to store the aircraft under the bridges or camouflaged on the sides of roads if the road was used as airfield?
Wartime sometimes makes for interesting improvisations.
Those radio masts are right next to Nicola Bulley's house!
It was, and is, not RAF Warton.
It was, in 1975, BAC Warton, and is, now, BAE SYSTEMS Warton.
I believe an amendment, at minimum a clarification, is required.
Thanks!
Thanks a lot mate!
@@AutoShenanigans You're welcome. Great videos.
Next week the obscure motorway beyond Burnley?
Great to see all of the oddities being covered as well :-)
M65, the motorway that was supposed to connect Lancashire and Yorkshire but ends in a carpark in Colne 😎
awesome video