Time Machine Designs, the team behind Hadrian’s Wall 180AD, has unveiled its next historically inspired project for Microsoft Flight Simulator. RAF Kenley 1940 aims to transport simmers back to the Battle of Britain, recreating the airfield as it appeared on August 17, 1940, the day before the intense low-level air raid during what became known as the “Hardest Day.”
This new project continues Time Machine Designs’ collaboration with boomsatsuma, the UK-based educational provider, combining professional historical research with contributions from students and recent graduates in creative technology.
A detailed snapshot of 1940
The developers are building RAF Kenley using a very inretesting selection of historical resources, including:
- A hand-drawn airfield plan from December 1939 found in a squadron Operations Record Book
- Air Ministry plans from 1946, with specific building references
- Original architectural drawings from the RAF Museum
- Archive photographs and descriptions
- Visual references from classic films Reach for the Sky (1955) and Angels One Five (1952), both filmed on location at Kenley
- Descriptions from Attack Alarm by Hammond Innes, who served at Kenley during the war
When completed, RAF Kenley 1940 will feature every known structure from that era, from latrines to the Officers’ Mess, alongside contemporary airfield vehicles, static representations of Hurricanes from No. 615 Squadron and Spitfires from No. 64 Squadron, defensive installations, and other period details.
To support virtual operations, the airfield will include 24 parking spaces, allowing users to stage massed takeoffs reminiscent of 1940’s RAF sorties.
The development team has already shared several work-in-progress images, including aircraft dispersal pens (awaiting earth coverings), period barrack huts and the Officers’ Mess, and several other objects that simmers will be able to find around the scenery.
In true Time Machine Designs fashion, the scenery aims to offer not just an airfield, but a historically immersive experience grounded in extensive research and authentic detail.
While no release timeline has been confirmed yet, progress appears steady, with regular updates promised via the Microsoft Flight Simulator forums.
