Royal Air Force Thorney Island or more simply RAF Thorney Island is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

station located on Thorney Island,

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, England, west of

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

and east of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

Station history

RAF Thorney Island aerial photograph WWII IWM HU 92962

The airfield was built in 1938 for fighter aircraft and was involved in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

when it was attacked by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

on the same day as other stations such as

RAF Ford HM Prison Ford (informally known as Ford Open Prison) is a Category D men's prison, located at Ford, in West Sussex, England, near Arundel and Littlehampton. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Air Force and Navy use The ...

and RAF Poling radar station. RAF Thorney Island was transferred to RAF Coastal Command for the protection of shipping and other various roles, and had its concrete runways laid in 1942. The station closed as an RAF airfield on 31 March 1976; however, the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

re-opened the site in 1982.

Operational history

Major units

As with many RAF Coastal Command airfields, a great variety of squadrons and aircraft were posted to RAF Thorney Island during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

; in particular: No. 22 Squadron RAF moved to the airfield on 10 March 1938 firstly using

Vickers Vildebeest The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as light bombers, torpedo bombers and in army cooperation roles. First flown ...

and then the

Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber. At le ...

. It was possibly during this time when Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell won his

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for a daring attack on the German battleship Gneisenau which was located in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

harbour during April 1941 which unfortunately took his life. The squadron left on 8 April 1940 then came back to the airfield again on 25 June 1941 and stayed until 28 October 1941. No. 48 Squadron RAF was present between 28 September 1938 and 10 October 1938 before returning on 25 August 1939 and leaving for the last time on 16 July 1940, both times using the

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCA ...

. No. 53 Squadron RAF was operating the Hawker Hector from the airfield firstly between 24 November 1940 and 20 March 1941 before re-turning on 29 April 1943 staying until 25 September 1943 using the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. No. 59 Squadron RAF moved in to Thorney island on 3 July 1940, initially flying anti-submarine patrols and bombing raids against the German invasion ports with

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

s but left on 23 June 1941. The squadron returned 22 July 1941 and later became a general reconnaissance squadron, carrying out anti-shipping strikes, first with the Blenheims and then with

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and p ...

s then left on 17 January 1942. In August 1942 the squadron returned and converted to the Consolidated B-24 Liberator then for two months operated the

Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

before reverting to the Liberator until it left Thorney in February 1943. No. 86 Squadron RAF used RAF Thorney Island for two separate occasions. Firstly when it arrived during January 1942 using the

Mk I as a detachment before moving to RAF North Coates during March then again during August 1942 until March 1943 flying the Consolidated B-24 Liberator Mk IIIa. No. 164 Squadron RAF used RAF Thorney Island as an airfield sometime between 16 March 1944 and 12 April 1944 conducting operations against enemy shipping and coastal using the

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and i ...

IB. However they returned nine days later and then stayed until 8 June 1944. No. 198 Squadron RAF moved to the airfield on 6 April 1944 using the

IB for the preparation for D-Day before moving on 22 April 1944. The squadron returned 8 days later on 30 April 1944 was heavily used around Caen during the Battle for Caen before moving to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on 18 June 1944. No. 233 Squadron RAF used the airfield as a location for a detachment starting from 2 January 1942 while the rest of the squadron were based at

RAF Gibraltar RAF Gibraltar (also formerly known as North Front) is a Royal Air Force station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but RAF, Commonwealth and aircraft of other NATO nations will periodically arrive for transient stop ...

before finally joining them on 12 July 1942. No. 236 Squadron RAF was operational during the

as on 4 July 1940 it moved to the airfield using

s carrying out anti-shipping patrols. The squadron changed aircraft in October 1941 to Bristol Beaufighters before moving to RAF Wattisham in February 1942. No. 280 Squadron RAF formed at the airfield on 12 December 1941 as an Air Sea Rescue unit but did not receive any aircraft until February 1942 when

s arrived but the squadron left on 10 February 1942. The squadron returned on 25 September 1943 and stayed until 21 October 1943. No. 404 Squadron RCAF formed at RAF Thorney Island on 15 April 1941 conducting coastal patrols flying the

Mk.IV, Bristol Beaufighter and the de Havilland Mosquito Mk.VI before moving to RAF Davidstow Moor on 20 June 1941. No. 407 Coastal Strike Squadron (RCAF) was formed at Thorney Island on 8 May 1941, first training on the

. From September 1941 to January 1943, the squadron operated as a "strike" squadron attacking enemy shipping with the

. On 29 January 1943 it was re-designated 407 General Reconnaissance Squadron, and for the remainder of the war it protected friendly shipping from the

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

threat operating the Vickers Wellington. The squadron was disbanded at the end of the Second World War on 4 June 1945. No. 415 Squadron RCAF formed at the airfield on 20 August 1941 using

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

s as a torpedo-bomber squadron attacking enemy convoys and shipyards until 11 April 1942. Before returning on 16 May 1942 until 5 June 1942 and a third and final time between 11 November 1942 and 15 November 1943. The next unit to use the airfield was No. 547 Squadron RAF which arrived 25 October 1943 with Liberators which it operated over the Bay of Biscay. The squadron moved again on 14 January 1944 to RAF Leuchars. No. 612 Squadron RAF operated at the airfield between 18 August 1942 and 23 September 1942 with detachments at

RAF Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

and

RAF St Eval Royal Air Force St. Eval or RAF St. Eval was a Royal Air Force station for the RAF Coastal Command, southwest of Padstow in Cornwall, England, UK. St Eval's primary role was to provide anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the south wes ...

before moving to RAF Wick. The squadron flew both Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys and Vickers Wellingtons during the war.

Minor units

+ data from

Fleet Air Arm Squadrons

The airfield was also used by squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm for instance, in April 1945 703 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) was reformed as the "Air Sea Warfare Development Unit" at RAF Thorney Island to conduct experimental trials on a large variety of aircraft including the

Grumman Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...

, Fairey Barracuda,

Fairey Firefly The Fairey Firefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was developed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Avia ...

and de Havilland Sea Mosquito. also two other Fleet Air Arm squadrons used the airfield with 810 NAS joining during March 1945 flying the Fairey Barracuda III and 836 NAS from January 1943 until March 1943 flying the

Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also us ...

before moving to RAF Machrihanish. Several other Naval Air Squadrons also used the airfield: * 704 NAS flying the Sea Mosquito between June 1945 and July 1945. * 816 NAS flew the

between September 1942 and December 1942. * 819 NAS using the Fairey Swordfish arriving during the winter of 1942. * 822 NAS flew the Fairey Barracuda arriving January 1945. * 833 NAS used the Fairey Swordfish and arrived during 1943. * 838 NAS flying the Fairey Swordfish between November 1944 and January 1945. * 842 NAS flew the Fairey Swordfish between November 1944 and January 1945. * 848 NAS used the

between 6 June 1944 and July 1944. * 854 NAS flying the Grumman Avenger between 7 August 1944 and late August of the same year. * 855 NAS used the Grumman Avenger between 7 August 1944 and late August 1944

Post-war units

On 1 October 1946 254 Squadron at RAF Thorney Island was renumbered to No. 42 Squadron. Equipped with Bristol Beaufighter TF.10, it was a strike unit in RAF Coastal Command until disbanded on 15 October 1947.

242 Operational Conversion Unit

No 242 OCU, was posted to RAF Dishforth, received its Blackburn Beverley Flight in 1957. The OCU's instructors trained aircrew and ground staff in the flying and maintenance of the aircraft. In 1961, the unit moved to RAF Thorney Island, but the Beverley flight was disbanded in March 1967. A mistake in embroidery work resulted in a batch of Squadron badges bearing the title '242 Operational Conversation Unit'. The first

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

was delivered on 7 April 1967 by a

crew from the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and shared the airfield with the Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy and later the

Hawker Siddeley Andover The Hawker Siddeley HS 780 Andover is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft produced by Hawker Siddeley for the Royal Air Force (RAF), developed from the Avro-designed HS 748 airliner. The Andover was named after the Avro Andove ...

C.1 which was operated by

No. 84 Squadron RAF No. 84 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is at present a Search and Rescue Squadron based at RAF Akrotiri, using the Bell Griffin HAR.2 helicopter. It is currently one of the two operational parts of the RAF Search and Rescue Force left in ser ...

and No. 46 Squadron RAF

SAR flight 22 Squadron RAF

From June 1955, a Search and Rescue flight of No. 22 Squadron RAF equipped with Westland Whirlwind helicopters were posted to Thorney Island. These remained at the airfield until the Royal Air Force left in the 1976. B Flight No 22 Squadron was re-allocated to

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the R ...

in 1973, when it became a Flight of No. 202 Squadron. RNAS Lee-on-Solent took over the area SAR capability.

Post RAF

Subsequently, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

expressed an interest in utilising the base, but in 1980 West Thorney became host to many hundreds of Vietnamese refugee families, accepted by the United Kingdom for settlement in this country. In 1984 control was handed to the

, who named the site Baker Barracks, and who remain in control of the airfield to date.

Units

The following units were also here at some point:

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

BBC History WW2 People's War – A Volunteer in the WAAF

Pastscape – Thorney Island Airfield
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorney Island Airports in West Sussex Chichester District Royal Air Force stations in West Sussex Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom