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Royal Air Force Westhampnett or more simply RAF Westhampnett is a former Royal Air Force satellite station, located in the village of Westhampnett near Chichester, in the English County of West Sussex.
| RAF Westhampnett | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westhampnett, West Sussex in England | |||||||||||
Aerial photograph of RAF Westhampnet, the technical site is to the right, 19 April 1946 | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||||
| Code | WQ[1] | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces 1942 | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command * No. 11 Group RAF 1938-42 & 1942-45 RAF Second Tactical Air Force * No. 83 Group RAF | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°51′40″N 000°45′33″W / 50.86111°N 0.75917°W | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1938 & 1940 | ||||||||||
| In use | July 1940 - 1946 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 33 metres (108 ft)[1] AMSL | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Sources: UK AIP at NATS[2] | |||||||||||
It was built as an emergency landing airfield for fighter aircraft, as a satellite station to RAF Tangmere. Built on land belonging to the Goodwood Estate, the then landowner, the Duke of Richmond, Frederick Gordon-Lennox retained the Title Deed to the land.
History
editRoyal Air Force use
editSquadrons
edit- No. 41 Squadron RAF.,[3] from RAF Merston 16 December 1941, to RAF Merston 1 April 1942; operating Supermarine Spitfire Vb
- No. 43 (China-British) Squadron RAF[4]
- No. 65 (East India) Squadron RAF[5] (1941)
- No. 91 (Nigeria) Squadron RAF[6] (1943)
- No. 118 Squadron RAF[7] (1943 & 1944)
- No. 124 (Baroda) Squadron RAF[8] (1942 & 1944)
- No. 129 (Mysore) Squadron RAF[9] (1941 & 1942)
- No. 130 (Punjab) Squadron RAF[9] (1944)
- No. 131 (County of Kent) Squadron RAF[9] (1942-43)
- No. 145 Squadron RAF - operating Hawker Hurricane.[10] (1940)
- No. 167 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF[11] (1943)
- No. 174 (Mauritius) Squadron RAF[12] (1943-44)
- No. 175 Squadron RAF[12] (1944)
- No. 184 Squadron RAF[13] (1944)
- No. 245 (Northern Rhodesian) Squadron RAF[14] (1943-44)
- No. 302 Polish Fighter Squadron[15] (1940-41)
- No. 303 Squadron RAF[16] (1944)
- No. 340 (GC IV/2 Île-de-France) Squadron RAF[17] (1942)
- No. 350 (Belgian) Squadron[18] (1944)
- No. 402 Squadron RCAF[19] (1944)
- No. 416 Squadron RCAF[20] (1942)
- No. 441 Squadron RCAF[21] (1944)
- No. 442 Squadron RCAF[21] (1944)
- No. 443 Squadron RCAF[21] (1944)
- No. 485 (NZ) Squadron RAF[22] (1943)
- No. 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron AAF[23] (1943 & 1944)
- No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron AAF - operating Supermarine Spitfire[24] (1940)
- No. 610 (County of Chester) Squadron AAF - operating Supermarine Spitfire[25] (1941, 1943 & 1944)
- No. 614 (County of Glamorgan) Squadron AAF[25]
- No. 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron AAF[25]
- 787 Naval Air Squadron.[26][27]
Units
edit- No. 83 Group Support Unit during November 1944[28]
- No. 121 Airfield Headquarters RAF between October 1943 and April 1944[29]
- No. 144 (RCAF) Airfield Headquarters RAF during April 1944[29]
- No. 402 Air Stores Park between October 1943 and January 1944[30]
- Detachment of No. 1493 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight between June and July 1943[31]
- Air Sea Rescue Flight RAF, Merston/Westhampnett during November 1941[32]
- No. 1307 Mobile Wing RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2703 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2704 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2709 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2713 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2742 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2761 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2766 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2778 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2793 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 2795 Squadron RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 4001 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment[26]
- No. 4067 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment[26]
United States Army Air Forces
edit- 31st Fighter Group between 1 August 1942 and 8 November 1942.[33]
Current use
editUpon its closure by the RAF, Westhampnett airfield subsequently became the Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit and Chichester/Goodwood Airport.
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- 1 2 Falconer 2012, p. 209.
- ↑ Chichester/Goodwood - EGHR
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 38.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 39.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 45.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 52.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 57.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 58.
- 1 2 3 Jefford 1988, p. 59.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 61.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 64.
- 1 2 Jefford 1988, p. 65.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 66.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 77.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 84.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 85.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 87.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 88.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 89.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 90.
- 1 2 3 Jefford 1988, p. 92.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 94.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 95.
- ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 98.
- 1 2 3 Jefford 1988, p. 100.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Westhampnett (Chichester) (Goodwood)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ↑ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 1.
- ↑ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 161.
- 1 2 Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 46.
- ↑ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 58.
- ↑ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 125.
- ↑ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 53.
- ↑ Maurer 1980, p. 85.
Bibliography
edit- Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
- Hillier, Mark (2015). A Fighter Command Station at War: A Photographic Record of RAF Westhampnett from the Battle of Britain to D-Day and Beyond. Barnsley: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-47384-468-1.
- Jefford, C. G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Maurer, M. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. USAF Historical Division. Washington D.C., USA: Zenger Publishing Co., Inc, 1980. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- Sturtivant, R.; Ballance, T. (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
- Sturtivant, R.; Hamlin, J. (2007). Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 978-0851-3036-59.
External links
editWikimedia Commons has media related to RAF Westhampnett.