From what I've found, this is an extremely lesser known site, although playing a vital part in the operation of local airfields RAF Massingham, RAF Raynham, and RAF Sculthorpe. Before I carry on, please look up https://www.jimbooks.co.uk/free-downloads.php and look for a link named "Harpley Dams". This is my main source, as I've not found much more information on the site. I'm writing this as of 3.00AM so please forgive any typos. Anyway, let's get into the details.
Harpley Dams is the name of the area in which the site is based. I can't find an official name so I will refer to it as either RAF Massingham Fuel Depot or Harpley Dams. The Lynn and Fakenham railway had a stop at a nearby quarry, known as Wilson's siding (named after the quarry's owner). This siding proved useful for the construction of local airfields, and the fuel depot itself, as it would pass through the proposed site and deliver fuel to the local airbases. This is also how fuel was delivered to and from the site until 1958. I can't find an exact date for the construction but from what I've managed to find on Mr Baldwin's website, the construction of the depot took place in 1939, when the rail siding was closed. The RAF then purchased the siding and built the depot around it.
In 1951, RAF Sculthorpe was the temporary home to seven Convair B36 bomber aircraft, each having ten engines and taking 24 hours to refuel. This necessitated many trips back and forth from the depot, and in 1958 a pipeline was installed from the site to RAF Sculthorpe, overseen by RAF Raynham, as Sculthorpe was still very much an RAF base, just housing the USAF. By the time the fuel pipeline was completed, the B36 bombers had long since left the base, but remaining aircraft made good use of the pipeline. RAF Sculthorpe was the only local airbase to have a pipeline laid. Of course, to pump this much fuel such a distance required some heft, so a Rolls-Royce engine was used. The sculthorpe end of the pipeline is still very much visible today, although on an active STANTA training ground, making entry impossible and extremely dangerous.
Come 1994, both RAF Raynham and RAF Sculthorpe had been decommissioned, leaving the fate of the depot uncertain. The site was closed and remains redundant today. No developments can be made to an extremely high concentration of asbestos in every structure on site. Not much is left anymore, and all structures have been sealed tight. The Rolls-Royce engine used to pump the fuel has since been removed, and the site is very bare. From various notebooks found in the reception, the site may have had occasional visits from someone up until 2012 at the very latest. Enough rambling. Here are the pictures from my visit.
Harpley Dams is the name of the area in which the site is based. I can't find an official name so I will refer to it as either RAF Massingham Fuel Depot or Harpley Dams. The Lynn and Fakenham railway had a stop at a nearby quarry, known as Wilson's siding (named after the quarry's owner). This siding proved useful for the construction of local airfields, and the fuel depot itself, as it would pass through the proposed site and deliver fuel to the local airbases. This is also how fuel was delivered to and from the site until 1958. I can't find an exact date for the construction but from what I've managed to find on Mr Baldwin's website, the construction of the depot took place in 1939, when the rail siding was closed. The RAF then purchased the siding and built the depot around it.
In 1951, RAF Sculthorpe was the temporary home to seven Convair B36 bomber aircraft, each having ten engines and taking 24 hours to refuel. This necessitated many trips back and forth from the depot, and in 1958 a pipeline was installed from the site to RAF Sculthorpe, overseen by RAF Raynham, as Sculthorpe was still very much an RAF base, just housing the USAF. By the time the fuel pipeline was completed, the B36 bombers had long since left the base, but remaining aircraft made good use of the pipeline. RAF Sculthorpe was the only local airbase to have a pipeline laid. Of course, to pump this much fuel such a distance required some heft, so a Rolls-Royce engine was used. The sculthorpe end of the pipeline is still very much visible today, although on an active STANTA training ground, making entry impossible and extremely dangerous.
Come 1994, both RAF Raynham and RAF Sculthorpe had been decommissioned, leaving the fate of the depot uncertain. The site was closed and remains redundant today. No developments can be made to an extremely high concentration of asbestos in every structure on site. Not much is left anymore, and all structures have been sealed tight. The Rolls-Royce engine used to pump the fuel has since been removed, and the site is very bare. From various notebooks found in the reception, the site may have had occasional visits from someone up until 2012 at the very latest. Enough rambling. Here are the pictures from my visit.
