Built c.1940 this site is the only World War Two concrete dispersal bay surviving at Manston. It was used for the parking and protection of aircraft from enemy fighters and bombers and is surrounded by a protective earthwork bank on its northern side. A modern corrugated metal storage bunker currently sits on the bay. (1)

A fighter pen of Second World War date was visible as an earthwork in RAF/HLA/407 V 77 28-FEB-1942. This E-type figher pen is situated on the western side of the airfield. The western arm of the fighter pen was already truncated by the time of this photography. A long, narrow revetted slit trench was positioned behind the fighter pen's eastern arm (RAF/HLA/564 V 6013 01-JUN-1942).

The slit trench was recorded as a levelled earthwork in Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 07-APR-2021 but part of the fighter pen is an extant earthwork. These features were mapped as part of the Historic England Isle of Thanet project in 2024. (2-4)

<1> KCC, 2016, Survey of Buildings and Structures Associated with Manston Airport and the Surrounding Areas. (Unpublished document). SKE31558.

<2> Historic England Archive, 1941-1960, Historic England Archive RAF vertical aerial photographs, RAF/HLA/407 V 77 28-FEB-1942 (Archive). SKE57101.

<3> Historic England Archive, 1941-1960, Historic England Archive RAF vertical aerial photographs, RAF/HLA/564 V 6013 01-JUN-1942 (Archive). SKE57101.

<4> Next Perspectives, 2003-2021, Next Perspectives APGB orthophotography, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 07-APR-2021 (Archive). SKE57110.