IRGON (International Research Group Orford Ness) is a group of volunteers who are interested in the wide-ranging military trials that have taken place on Orford Ness for many years.
IRGON was formed by a number of Orford Ness volunteer rangers who wanted to make the public more aware of the historic significance of what took place there.
IRGON now includes a wider group of people and organisations that are also keen to add to the knowledge of the many Orford Ness weapons trials and developments that occurred between 1915 and 1973, and to take advantage of the personal experiences of the, sadly diminishing, pool of Orford Ness Veterans.
Most of our activity is online, and we have regular virtual meetings
Our research encompasses both on-site investigation, plus primary records such as documents from the National Archive, AWE, and other sources
A number of our members are also National Trust volunteers who regularly visit the Ness. This is a clear synergy, as IRGON is continuously uncovering new information.
Not only are we a multi-national team but our researches extend beyond the United Kingdom. This is especially true for former UK/US collaborative projects on the Ness, or evaluation of enemy weapons.
We regularly give talks to interested bodies on Orford Ness subjects, and participate in various events like open days.
We have far more information to be processed than our small team can handle. So we would welcome any new people with an interest in any of the Orford Ness themes.
1914
War Office purchases Orford Ness
1915
Airfield established
April 1916
No. 37 Sqn RFC formed at Orfordness. Shortly afterwards, merged with the station establishment for the formation of a new RFC Experimental Station. (DEFE 71/48)
JUNE 1917
Zeppelin shot down
OCTOBER 1917
Became known as the Armament Experimental Station (DEFE 71/48)
SEPTEMBER 1919
Reduced to a care and maintenance basis, under control of the Aeroplane Experimental Station, Martlesham Heath (DEFE 17/48)
JUNE 1921
Orfordness closed, and handed over to the Works and Buildings Dept. (DEFE 71/48)
MARCH 1924
Orford Ness re-opened as an emergency landing ground and also bombing and gunnery trials re-commenced. Personnel sent over from Martlesham as required. (DEFE 17/48)
1928
The Orfordness Rotating Beacon was built by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (colloquially known as the Black Beacon)
1929
Bomb ballistics experiments were carried out using an instrumented dugout.
1933
Bomb ballistics building constructed close to the existing dugout, to house cameras and other equipment related to bombing trials.
JANUARY 1934
The Bomb Ballistics building was handed over to RAF Martlesham Heath and a programme of research was authorized by the Air Ministry.
MAY 1935
The old airfield at Orfordness was taken into use as a research station for RDF (later known as radar), manned by scientists of the National Physical Laboratory under the auspices of the Air Ministry (DEFE 71/48)
1929
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SEPTEMBER 1939
The Air Firing Research Station at Orfordness as placed under the administration of RAF Martlesham Heath (DEFE 17/48)
15th MAY 1940
A Dutch pilot, Justus Heyman, escaped from Holland in a light aircraft, and managed to land on Orford Ness in spite of the erected obstacles.
MARCH 1924
Orford Ness re-opened as an emergency landing ground and also bombing and gunnery trials re-commenced. Personnel sent over from Martlesham as required. (DEFE 17/48)
1928
The Orfordness Rotating Beacon was built by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (colloquially known as the Black Beacon)
1929
Bomb ballistics experiments were carried out using an instrumented dugout.
1933
Bomb ballistics building constructed close to the existing dugout, to house cameras and other equipment related to bombing trials.
JANUARY 1934
The Bomb Ballistics building was handed over to RAF Martlesham Heath and a programme of research was authorized by the Air Ministry.
MAY 1935
The old airfield at Orfordness was taken into use as a research station for RDF (later known as radar), manned by scientists of the National Physical Laboratory under the auspices of the Air Ministry (DEFE 71/48)
1929
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries
MAY 1946
The Bomb Ballistics Unit (later to combine with the Blind Landing Experimental Unit to become the Armament and Instrument Experimental Unit) moved into Martlesham Heath and used the rages at Orford Ness. (DEFE 17/48)
AUGUST 1946
Firing trials of the German R4M aircraft rocket were carried out against British heavy bomber aircraft stuctures.
MARCH 1950
Firing trials carried out on Orford Ness with Swiss 20mm and 30mm ammunition. Weapons evaluated were the Hispano Suiza Type 820 and 830 autocannon, and comparison was made with British Hispano No.3 Mk. V (AVIA 13/828)
13th FEBRUARY 1960
The first French nuclear test Gerboise Bleue at Regganne in the Sahara was detected by an AWRE team on Orford Ness.
1st APRIL 1960
Gerboise Blanche, the second French nuclear test in the Sahara, was detected by AWRE staff on Orford Ness.
1933
Bomb ballistics building constructed close to the existing dugout, to house cameras and other equipment related to bombing trials.
JANUARY 1934
The Bomb Ballistics building was handed over to RAF Martlesham Heath and a programme of research was authorized by the Air Ministry.
MAY 1935
The old airfield at Orfordness was taken into use as a research station for RDF (later known as radar), manned by scientists of the National Physical Laboratory under the auspices of the Air Ministry (DEFE 71/48)
1929
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries
MAY 1946
The Bomb Ballistics Unit (later to combine with the Blind Landing Experimental Unit to become the Armament and Instrument Experimental Unit) moved into Martlesham Heath and used the rages at Orford Ness. (DEFE 17/48)
AUGUST 1946
Firing trials of the German R4M aircraft rocket were carried out against British heavy bomber aircraft stuctures.
MARCH 1950
Firing trials carried out on Orford Ness with Swiss 20mm and 30mm ammunition. Weapons evaluated were the Hispano Suiza Type 820 and 830 autocannon, and comparison was made with British Hispano No.3 Mk. V (AVIA 13/828)
AUGUST 1957
Laboratory 2 (for weapon and explosive assembly work) was handed over.
13th FEBRUARY 1960
The first French nuclear test Gerboise Bleue at Regganne in the Sahara was detected by an AWRE team on Orford Ness.
1st APRIL 1960
Gerboise Blanche, the second French nuclear test in the Sahara, was detected by AWRE staff on Orford Ness.
1933
Bomb ballistics building constructed close to the existing dugout, to house cameras and other equipment related to bombing trials.
JANUARY 1934
The Bomb Ballistics building was handed over to RAF Martlesham Heath and a programme of research was authorized by the Air Ministry.
MAY 1935
The old airfield at Orfordness was taken into use as a research station for RDF (later known as radar), manned by scientists of the National Physical Laboratory under the auspices of the Air Ministry (DEFE 71/48)
1929
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries
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Basic Flight Training
2 Years Flight-Experience
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Basic Flight Training
Advanced Flight Training
5 Years Flight-Experience
When compiling the military history of Orford Ness, it becomes evident that there are subjects which do not allow themselves to be categorized neatly into eras (WW1, Inter-War, etc). An example of this is bomb ballistics, which was being researched from the earliest days on Orford Ness until the atomic weapons age, where test drops were being made with ballistic casings of weapons like Blue Danube and Yellow Sun.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Vitae, eos, voluptatem, et sequi distinctio adipisci omnis in error quas fuga tempore fugit incidunt quos. Atque, debitis architecto ducimus eligendi dignissimos modi ut non officiis repudiandae maiores. Fugit sit atque eaque dolorum autem reprehenderit porro omnis obcaecati laborum? Obcaecati, laboriosam, ex, deserunt, harum libero a voluptatem possimus culpa nisi eos quas dolore omnis debitis consequatur fugiat eaque nostrum excepturi nulla. Qui, molestias, nobis dicta enim voluptas repellendus tempore mollitia hic tempora natus ipsam sed quo distinctio suscipit officiis consectetur omnis odit saepe soluta atque magni consequuntur unde nemo voluptatem similique porro. Read more
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Vitae, eos, voluptatem, et sequi distinctio adipisci omnis in error quas fuga tempore fugit incidunt quos. Atque, debitis architecto ducimus eligendi dignissimos modi ut non officiis repudiandae maiores. Fugit sit atque eaque dolorum autem reprehenderit porro omnis obcaecati laborum? Obcaecati, laboriosam, ex, deserunt, harum libero a voluptatem possimus culpa nisi eos quas dolore omnis debitis consequatur fugiat eaque nostrum excepturi nulla. Qui, molestias, nobis dicta enim voluptas repellendus tempore mollitia hic tempora natus ipsam sed quo distinctio suscipit officiis consectetur omnis odit saepe soluta atque magni consequuntur unde nemo voluptatem similique porro. Read more
