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Royal Air Force Coolham, or more simply RAF Coolham, also known as Coolham Advanced Landing Ground (ALG), is a former
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
Advanced Landing Ground located in
Coolham Coolham is a small village in the civil parish of Shipley and the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is at the crossroads of the A272 and B2139 roads 2.8 miles (4.6 km) south-east of Billingshurst. During the Second World War ...
,
West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...
, England, United Kingdom.


Background

During June and July 1942,
Southern England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...
was combed by
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...
surveyors attempting to identify suitable sites for the construction of Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs). The main purpose of the Southern England ALGs was, owing to their close proximity to
Nazi-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
, to provide air support to allied forces prior to, during, and after an anticipated future liberation of the
European mainland Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by so ...
, which later manifested on 6 June 1944 as the
Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
(Operation Neptune, AKA D-Day) and the
Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...
(Operation Overlord). In total, 72 such sites were located, although this figure was considerably whittled down to just 23 sites which were eventually used to construct ALGs upon, this being mainly due to the
war agricultural executive committee War agricultural executive committees were government-backed organisations tasked with increasing agricultural production in each county of the United Kingdom, during both the First and Second World Wars. They were established in Autumn 1915 by the ...
s' fierce opposition to such large swathes of agricultural land being requisitioned and thus no longer being agriculturally productive. One of these sites was located on land near the small village of
Coolham Coolham is a small village in the civil parish of Shipley and the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is at the crossroads of the A272 and B2139 roads 2.8 miles (4.6 km) south-east of Billingshurst. During the Second World War ...
,
West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. A top-level Air Ministry conference was held at Coolham on 8 October 1942 when it was at last agreed that an ALG would indeed be constructed on the previously identified site at Coolham. The site consisted of land accessed by, and to the east of, the B2139
Thakeham Thakeham is a village and civil parish located north of the South Downs in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village is situated approximately 12 miles south-west of Horsham and 11 miles north of the sea-side town of Worthing ...
Road, and just south east of Coolham crossroad, with Saucelands Lane itself adjoining the southern perimeter. This ALG, which would be known as Royal Air Force Coolham, or more simply, RAF Coolham, was situated roughly southwest of
Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
and would be one of 7 ALGs eventually constructed in
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
for use by
RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...
along with its allies. The other 6 Sussex ALGs constructed were RAF Appledram, RAF Bognor, RAF Chailey, RAF Deanland,
RAF Funtington Royal Air Force Funtington or more simply RAF Funtington is a former Royal Air Force advanced landing ground located in West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered b ...
, and RAF Selsey. On account of the Coolham site's level terrain and the area's excellent transport infrastructure connections via road and rail, specifically
Billingshurst Billingshurst is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village lies on the A29 road (the Roman Stane Street) at its crossroads with the A272, south-west of Horsham and north-east of Pulboro ...
,
Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...
,
Southwater Southwater is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, with a population of roughly 10,000. It is administered within Horsham District Council and West Sussex County Council. History One of the oldest ...
, and
Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
, it was considered to be an ideal location.


Construction


Preparation

In total, of both wooded and agricultural land was requisitioned by the Air Ministry at Coolham. Original estimates were that 700–800 hedgerow trees would need to be cleared, and approximately of high-tension electrical cable would need to be laid and buried, along with wiring for
telex Telex is a telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communica ...
and PBX telephone facilities. The area's natural flatness, although partly why it was chosen as an ALG site, also meant that, in conjunction with the heavy
topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic mat ...
of
Weald Clay Weald Clay or the Weald Clay Formation is a Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock unit underlying areas of South East England, between the North and South Downs, in an area called the Weald Basin. It is the uppermost unit of the Wealden Group of ...
present in the area, under-drainage would be required to prevent the strip area becoming boggy after rainfall, and this initially made planners believe preparation of the site would be slow. The 10-month-long construction of the airfield commenced during August 1943 with 156 personnel of Nos. 4661 and 4663 AC Flight, of 5004 Airfield Construction Squadron, Airfield Construction Service RAF, commanded by
Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...
J. K. Lancaster. 5004 Squadron utilised a large arsenal of
plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
to carry out construction including (but not limited to)
bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large tractor equipped with a metal #Blade, blade at the front for pushing material (soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock) during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, ...
s,
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
s,
dump truck A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials (such as dirt, gravel, or demolition waste) for construction as well as coal. A typical dump truck is equipped ...
s,
road roller A road roller (sometimes called a roller-compactor, or just roller) is a compactor-type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations. Similar rollers are used also at lan ...
s, a paint sprayer, and a
concrete mixer A concrete mixer (also cement mixer) is a device that homogeneously combines cement, Construction aggregate, aggregate (e.g. sand or gravel), and water to form concrete. A typical concrete mixer uses a revolving drum to mix the components. For ...
. A number of airmen constructing the ALG at Coolham were billeted at the
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
at Barn House Farm, Shipley, (POW Camp 658) at the southern end of the airfield, while others were billeted in numerous farm buildings along Saucelands Lane. As a temporary measure, those who happened to live nearby could apply for a 'living out' pass and cycle/commute to and from RAF Coolham. H. Kay, a local Horsham contractors, were also employed in the initial ground clearance and levelling and Ronald Coleman, a civil engineer who had been seconded to the
War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
, worked with both civilians and RAF personnel in constructing RAF Coolham from the very beginning. The north-south runway's southern end was initially obstructed by buildings. Five Mile Ash, situated on the south side of Saucelands Lane, was demolished as it directly obstructed the southern end of the north-south runway. An adjacent historic property, Saucelands, was saved from destruction after
West Sussex County Council West Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of West Sussex in England. The county also contains seven district and borough councils, and 158 town, parish and neighbourhood councils. The county c ...
objected to its demolition. Bridge Hill House, situated on the B2139 Thakeham Road at the western end of the main east-west runway, had its roof removed due to safety concerns about its height possibly hindering clearance at the end of the runway, making it uninhabitable until the roof was restored after the end of the war.


Runways

Two runways were constructed in total. The larger main runway running east-west (12/30) for and the smaller second runway running north-south (05/23) for , with both runways constructed using Sommerfeld tracking. Sommerfeld tracking was a relatively light weight, inexpensive, quick, and easily assemblable method of reinforcing a ground
bearing surface A bearing surface in mechanical engineering is the area of contact between two objects. It usually is used in reference to bolted joints and bearing (mechanical), bearings, but can be applied to a wide variety of engineering applications. The choic ...
for use by heavy vehicles and high volumes of traffic, preventing the bearing surface from wearing away or rutting, and preventing vehicles from sinking and becoming bogged down or stuck, and thus was ideal for constructing ALGs' runways which were only intended to be used temporarily, had to be built quickly, and would see heavy
aeroplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...
s taking off and landing regularly. It consisted of rolls, long and wide, of metal wire mesh, similar to
chicken wire The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and ...
or chainlink fencing, with round iron bars at regular intervals all along its length running widthways and looped at either end. It was then rolled out flat on the ground like a
mat A mat is a hard or soft floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including: * serving to clean items passed over it, such as a doormat, which removes dirt from the soles of shoe ...
, and flat iron bars were then threaded through the loops to physically anchor each track together, before it was all anchored to the ground using 2ft and 3ft iron pickets. At RAF Coolham, 5004 Airfield Construction Squadron laid most of the Sommerfeld tracking down. A
mobile crane A mobile crane is a cable-controlled crane mounted on crawlers or rubber-tired carriers or a hydraulic-powered crane with a telescoping boom mounted on truck-type carriers or as self-propelled models. They are designed to easily transport t ...
was used to move the rolls into place as the weight of each roll, although lighter than other alternatives, meant that it would otherwise take 6 personnel to move each roll into position. One row of tracking was laid along the entire length of each of Coolham's runways and secured by a group of 3 personnel with
sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, massive, often metal head, attached to a long wooden or solid handle. The long handle is combined with a heavy head which allows the sledgehammer to pick up momentum during a swing and applying a large ...
s driving the 2ft and 3ft iron pickets into the ground one at a time, swinging in harmony on the same picket. Once this initial length of tracking was laid, other rolls of tracking were laid next to, and adjoined with, the side of the initial length, until the required width of the runway was completed. A tractor was used to stretch the width of the tracking taut so it could be secured in place with further pickets until the whole length was taut. Although the Sommerfeld tracking patent states that
asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
or a similar material should then be added onto the mesh to cover it, at Coolham this was not the case due to the temporary nature of advanced landing grounds. Instead, grass seed was sown over the tracking; the grass' roots would help to consolidate the soil together and to aid in the drainage of rainwater. Traffic barriers were erected on Saucelands Lane because the lane crossed the north-south runway's southern end. The barriers were to be brought down to close the lane off to the public when the runway was in use in order to prevent
traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...
from crossing the north-south runway which could otherwise cause a collision with aircraft during take offs and landings. The
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled a ...
at RAF Coolham was a moveable caravan and the ALG was designated by the airfield identification letters XQ. There was no instrument landing system to aid aircraft in landing at night or bad weather and sorties were monitored by the personnel of ROC Group No. 2,
Royal Observer Corps The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 Decembe ...
, based nearby at Denne Road, Horsham.


Installations

36 aircraft dispersal
hardstand A hardstand (also hard standing and hardstanding in British English) is a paved or hard-surfaced area on which vehicles, such as cars or aircraft, may be parked. The term may also be used informally to refer to an area of compacted hard surface su ...
ings were constructed which intended to space aircraft apart from each other when not in use in order to mitigate aircraft losses if the airfield suffered enemy bombing, sabotage, or accidents. Five blister hangars were also erected along with an armoury, pyrotechnic dumps, a defence post, a technical and communal site, two refuelling points, a bulk oil compound, eight marshalling areas (two situated opposite each other at each of the four ends of the two runways), two refuelling points (both situated opposite each other outside of the perimeter track at the eastern end of the main east-west runway), five small arms ammunition stores (dispersed across the empty space of the requisitioned area), and a 24,000 gallon capacity petrol installation. Marquees and tents were used for squadron offices, the canteen, motor transport buildings, and stores. Virtually all accommodation for operational airmen was tented, and medical facilities were also tented but included a mobile surgery. Conditions in the tented accommodation were cold, wet, and sometimes cramped, and a number of NCO airmen resorted to sleeping on wooden boxes. Toilet and bathing facilities were present but extremely basic. Part of Farleys Farm, which was situated to the east of Thakeham Road and within the requisitioned site for the airfield, was used as an administration centre and nursing ward. Although transport links from elsewhere to nearby areas was good, the majority of the airmen at RAF Coolham did not posses motorised transport of their own, and during their brief off-duty periods they would visit the Selsey Arms
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
at the nearby Coolham Crossroads, or cycled to nearby villages.


Crash Landing of 'Flounder Gus'

In February 1944, the runways at RAF Coolham were still under construction with the laying of Sommerfield tracking actively ongoing. On 15 February, the American
B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...
No. 41-34913 'Flounder Gus', of the 323rd Bombardment Group, 454th Bomb Squadron,
2nd Air Division The 2nd Air Division (2nd AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Military Airlift Command, assigned to Twenty-Third Air Force, being stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It started operations on ...
,
Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...
,
USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
, had taken off at 8:45AM from its base in
RAF Earls Colne Earls Colne Airfield is a general aviation aerodrome located south-east of the village of Earls Colne, Essex, England. The site was previously RAF Earls Colne, a Royal Air Force station which was primarily used by the United States Army Air Forc ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, on a bombing mission to destroy a
V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...
launch site in the
Cherbourg Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gul ...
,
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, France. 12 planes had set off on this mission consisting of 2 flights. Flounder Gus was the lead aircraft of the 2nd flight, but upon bombing their target and turning to leave the Cherbourg Peninsula, the lead aircraft of the 1st flight was hit by accurate German
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
fire and so Flounder Gus assumed the role of lead aircraft for the first flight. Upon pulling into position, Flounder Gus was subsequently also peppered by German anti-aircraft fire,
knocking out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
her right engine and causing her left engine to spew oil. The Captain, 1st Lieutenant Richard H. Lightfine, asked his engineer-gunner, Staff Sergeant Fay C. Kruger, what they should do in light of the damage. Kruger replied "Get home as quickly as we can 'cos I doubt we'll get there unless we start right now and the first field you see, land.". Flounder Gus limped back towards England, but due to the loss of one engine, lagged behind the rest of the flight and had to drop from 12,000ft to 5,000ft to maintain airspeed. The radio being made inoperable by the anti-aircraft fire, the crew could not locate
RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpor ...
or one of the other larger airfields on which they could attempt a landing, and knew that even if they could, they likely wouldn't make it in time. The crew threw out flak vests, ammunition, guns, and anything of weight they could no longer use, fearing they would have to ditch the plane into the English Channel, whilst the left engine was running at full throttle to maintain minimum altitude and necessary airspeed. As Flounder Gus approached the English coast, Lightfine stated "Boys, you have a choice, you can bale out over water, you can bale out over land, or we can take it in" to which the bombardier-navigator Arthur Hanni replied "I've bailed out once, landed on the slate roof of an English mansion, bounced off that into oak trees and got beat up and under no circumstances am I going to bale out, we'll ride it in". With that, the crew of Flounder Gus committed to attempting to land the aircraft on the first appropriate field or airstrip they could locate by sight. Visibility was initially poor, but by pure chance, Hanni spotted what looked like a small grassy landing strip in a field which was the then-incomplete RAF Coolham. Hanni pointed it out to the pilot who began to descend for a landing. With the right engine knocked out and the left engine still spewing oil, they began to circle the airfield to line up with the runway and could see personnel on the ground watching them, who assumed Flounder Gus was conducting a dummy run. The crew were oblivious to the fact that the airfield was still under construction and that they would soon be the first plane to land at RAF Coolham. Flounder Gus then came in to land from the east on the main 1500m east-west runway, but at an altitude of just 100ft, right before the aircraft touched down on the incomplete runway, the left engine finally failed and shut off. With the trim controls engaging and the right propeller wind-milling, Lightfine could no longer control the plane as it started to yaw sharply to the left. Upon seeing this the construction personnel on the ground began to scatter as Flounder Gus endeavoured to avoid hitting them. The crew tried to straighten out the plane's approach and Hanni pulled up the
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...
for a
belly landing A belly landing or gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or belly, as its primary landing device. Normally the term ''gear-up landing'' refers to incidents in which the pilo ...
to slow their speed before Flounder Gus touched down. Heading directly towards a large oak tree, Flounder Gus collided with it, sheering off its left wing but considerably slowing its speed in the process and inadvertently saving many lives, skidding along the newly laid runway and causing considerable damage ripping up some 100ft of Sommerfield tracking. Sergeant Charles Gordon of 5018 Airfield Construction Squadron who was overseeing a Sommerfield track laying party, was hit in the head by the propeller of the left wing which had broken off upon hitting the oak tree and was killed instantly. An eye witness said that had he laid flat like the rest of the construction personnel the propeller would have missed him. Flounder Gus was completely destroyed and had broken in two with the tail section of the aircraft, still with rear gunner Staff Sergeant Lloyd A. Raymond inside, soaring over Thakeham Road and a hedgerow at the end of the field and landing in the farmyard of Bridge Hill Farm. The other part of the fuselage came to a stop at the end of the field underneath telephone wires just across Thakeham Road also near to Bridge Hill Farm. Raymond managed to escape the incident badly bruised with minor cuts but alive. A lady walked out of the cottage and upon seeing the fuselage and Raymond laying on the ground she asked "Would you like a cup of tea?" to which Raymond replied "Yes, I will have a cup of tea." Remarkably, after crash landing in a B-26 Marauder at RAF Coolham, he then proceeded to have a cup of tea and talk with the lady for roughly 15 minutes, clearly in a state of shock after the event. Meanwhile, the radio operator-gunner Staff Sergeant Rue Farnum had received a broken nose and was knocked unconscious in the crash and had to be picked up and rescued from the wreckage by Hanni and Kruger and they, along with Lightfine began looking for Raymond, who eventually appeared having walked back to meet them. The whole crew of Flounder Gus were taken as a precaution by the Canadian forces in the area via ambulance to the Canadian Base Hospital in
Roffey Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby ...
, Horsham, where Raymond and Farnum were detained for 24 hour observation, with the others being released and taken to
RAF Dunsfold Dunsfold Aerodrome (former ICAO code EGTD) is an unlicensed airfield in Surrey, England, near the village of Cranleigh. It extends across land in the villages of Dunsfold and Alfold. It was built by the Canadian Army and civilian contractors ...
shortly after where they were flown back to their base at RAF Earls Colne. Construction of the airfield to an operational standard was completed not long after by the beginning of March 1944.


Operational History

RAF Coolham was operational from 1st April 1944 until 4th July 1944.


Based Units

It is believed that personnel served at RAF Coolham at some point, 15 of whom were killed whilst carrying out their duties at or from RAF Coolham (each denotated below with a †). The following ''
order of battle Order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed force. Various abbr ...
'' shows all units which were stationed at RAF Coolham at any point during its construction and its operational history (August 1943 – July 1944) as well as deconstruction efforts as the
aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...
was reverted back to agricultural land (September 1945 – October 1945):


Second Tactical Air Force The Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, and ...
,
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...


No. 84 Group


= — No. 18 (Fighter) Sector

=


—— No. 133 (Polish) (Fighter) Wing

* No. 129 (Mysore) (Fighter) Squadron ††††† * No. 6129 Servicing Echelon * No. 306 (Polish) (Fighter) Squadron †††† * No. 6306 Servicing Echelon * No. 315 (Polish) (Fighter) Squadron †††† * No. 6315 Servicing Echelon * No. 411 (Polish) Repair and Salvage Unit


—— No. 135 (Fighter) Wing

* No. 222 (Natal) (Fighter) Squadron * No. 6222 Servicing Echelon * No. 349 (Belgian) (Fighter) Squadron * No. 6349 Servicing Echelon * No. 485 (New Zealand) (Fighter) Squadron * No. 6485 Servicing Echelon


= — No. 84 Group Signals

= * No. 5090c (Polish) Mobile Signal Unit * No. 16 Advanced Landing Ground Signal Section


Royal Air Force Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by Royal Warrant in 1942, the Corps carries-out security tasks relating to the protection of assets and personnel dedicated ...

* No. 1314 Mobile Wing RAF Regiment * No. 2701 (Light Anti-Aircraft) Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2722 (Light Anti-Aircraft) Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2800 (Light Anti-Aircraft) Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2829 (Field) Squadron RAF Regiment


Airfield Construction Service

* No. 5003 Airfield Construction Squadron * No. 5004 Airfield Construction Squadron * No. 5018 Airfield Construction Squadron † * No. 5027 Airfield Construction Squadron * No. 5206 (Plant) Airfield Construction Squadron


Maintenance Command


No. 40 Group

* No. 49 (Faygate) Maintenance Unit


No. 42 Group

* No. 422 Aviation Fuel and Ammunition Park ** No. 8 Section


RAF Fire and Rescue Services

* RAF Fire and Rescue Services


Notes


Citations


References


Websites

* * * * * * * * * *


Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coolham, RAF Military installations closed in 1945
Coolham Coolham is a small village in the civil parish of Shipley and the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is at the crossroads of the A272 and B2139 roads 2.8 miles (4.6 km) south-east of Billingshurst. During the Second World War ...
Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom