Newhaven Seaplane Base is today the derelict site of an experimental

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

base at the head of the beach east of

Newhaven Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse. The town developed during the Middle Ages as the nearby port of Seaford began drying up, forcing a new port to be established. A ...

Harbour, seaward of

Tide Mills Tide Mills is a derelict village in East Sussex, England. It lies about two kilometres (1.2 miles) south-east of Newhaven, East Sussex, Newhaven and four kilometres (2.5 miles) north-west of Seaford, East Sussex, Seaford and is near ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

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 ...

History

The first formation of

No. 242 Squadron RAF No. 242 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron. It flew in many roles during the First World War, Second World War and Cold War. During the Second World War, the squadron was notable for (firstly) having many pilots who were either ...

was on 15 August 1918 from numbers 408, 409 and 514 Flights at the seaplane station at Newhaven, Sussex. Operating from there and the nearby airfield at

Telscombe Cliffs Telscombe is a town and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It consists of three distinct settlements, separated from each other by an open area of downland called Telscombe Tye. Telscombe village is a small village on t ...

, it was equipped with

Short Type 184 The Short Admiralty Type 184, often called the Short 225 after the power rating of the engine first fitted, was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane designed by Horace Short of Short Brothers. It ...

seaplanes and carried out anti-submarine patrols over the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

until the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Description of derelict site

Surveys carried out in 2006 have exposed part of the slipway, concrete aprons to both hangars with door tracks and several other slabs presumed to be workshops.

Sussex Archaeological Society The Sussex Archaeological Society is an organisation dedicated to researching and preserving the history and archaeology of the English counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. It manages six historic sites, including Lewes Castle and Fishbourne ...

started a dig in April 2006 to catalogue the entire East Beach site.

External links

Friends of The Tidemills and Newhaven Eastside Conservation Group
Archaeological sites in East Sussex Royal Naval Air Stations in England History of East Sussex Seaplane bases in England Defunct airports in England {{mil-aviation-stub

History

Description of derelict site

See also

External links