Royal Air Force Tangmere or more simply RAF Tangmere is a former

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 ...

(RAF) station located in

Tangmere Tangmere is a village, civil parish, and electoral ward in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Located three miles (5 km) north east of Chichester, it is twinned with Hermanville-sur-Mer in Lower Normandy, France. The pari ...

, England, famous for its role in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () 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 defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. It was one of several stations near

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

, West Sussex. The Second World War

aces An ace is a playing card. Ace(s), ACE(S) and variants may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Awards * ACE Awards (Award for Cable Excellence) Comics * ''Ace Comics'', a 1937-1959 comic book series * Ace Magazines (comics), a 1940- ...

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) 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. Wing commander is immediately se ...

Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared ...

, and the then inexperienced Johnnie Johnson were stationed at Tangmere in 1941.

History

First World War

The aerodrome was founded in 1917 for use by the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

as a training base. In August 1918 it was sold to the US Government and turned over to the

Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the aerial warfare service of the United States from 1914 to 1918, and a direct statutory ancestor of the United States Air Force. It absorbed and replaced the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps, Aer ...

(USSC) as a training ground for US-built Handley-Page O/400 biplane bombers, although almost none were completed by the time of the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

. The Aviation Section of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

(ASAEF) agreed to improve the airfield and constructed further hangars. Tangmere continued to host the 92d Aero Squadron until the end of the

Great 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 ...

in November 1918, after which the airfield was put up for sale at the end of 1919. Additional units:

Interwar years

Responsibility for the

Air Defence of Great Britain The Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) command comprising substantial army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles. It lasted from 1925, following recommendations that the RAF take contr ...

(ADGB) passed from the War Department to the

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 ...

, and Tangmere, in its finished state, was one of the first airfields to be re-activated. By the end of 1923 it was re-purchased by the Crown and in 1925 the station re-opened to serve the RAF's new fighter capability. It went operational in late 1926 with No. 43 Squadron from RAF Henlow equipped with biplane Gloster Gamecocks. They were joined by a nucleus of officers from 1 Squadron and a friendly rivalry grew up between the two squadrons., who later flew Armstrong Whitworth Siskins. As war threatened in the late 1930s, the

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

based at Tangmere became faster, with Hawker Furies,

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed privat ...

s, and

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

s all being used. In 1934, Squadron Leader C W Hill, a famous First World War prisoner-of-war escaper, commanded No. 1 Fighter Squadron at RAF Tangmere. Two years later, as a Wing Commander, he became the station commander. Additional units: * Coastal Area Storage Unit (1925–28) * 1 Squadron between 1927–39 * 43 Squadron between 1926–39

Second World War

In a memoir, Peter Townsend (noted Battle of Britain pilot and, post-war, romantically linked with

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

), recounts the arrival of 605 Squadron at Tangmere, just before the outbreak of war. Townsend says that

Things hummed at Tangmere Cottage, just opposite the guard room, where 605's commanding officer John Willoughby de Broke and his wife Rachel kept open house. There we spent wild evenings, drinking, singing, dancing to romantic tunes . . . we danced blithely, relentlessly towards catastrophe. . . . With one chance in five of survival - not counting the burnt and the wounded - only a handful of us would come through.

In 1939 the airfield was enlarged to defend the south coast against attack by the

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

, with Tangmere's only hotel and some houses being demolished in the process. The RAF commandeered the majority of houses in the centre of the village, with only six to eight families being allowed to stay. The village would not resume its status as a civilian community until 1966. Supermarine Spitfire of Fighter Command

In August 1940 the first squadron ( No. 602 Squadron RAF) of

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

s was based at satellite airfield

RAF Westhampnett 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. It was built as an emergency landing ...

, as the

began. By now the villagers had mainly been evacuated, and extensive ranges of RAF buildings had sprung up. The first, and worst, enemy raid on the station came on 16 August 1940 when hundreds of

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

(Stuka)

dive bombers A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

and fighters crossed the English coast and attacked Tangmere. There was extensive damage to buildings and aircraft on the ground and 14 ground staff and six civilians were killed. However the station was kept in service and brought back into full operation. Throughout the war, the station was used by the Royal Air Force Special Duty Service when 161 (Special Duty) Squadron's

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British Army cooperation aircraft, army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operat ...

flight came down to do their insertion and pick-up operations into occupied Europe. The SOE used Tangmere Cottage, opposite the main entrance to the base to house and receive their agents. Today the cottage sports a commemorative plaque to its former secret life. Later in the war, as the RAF turned from defence to attack, Group Captain Douglas Bader, the legless fighter ace, commanded the Tangmere wing of

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 ...

. Today he is commemorated by a plaque outside the former ''Bader Arms''

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, now a Co-operative Food outlet in the village. 616 Squadron, which included Johnnie Johnson and Hugh Dundas, arrived at Tangmere in late February 1941. Johnson went on to become the highest scoring Western Allied fighter ace against the Luftwaffe. For

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, the RAF created Airfield Headquarters units which transformed into wings to control multiple similar squadrons for offensive actions for eventual use in mainland Europe. Many of those killed at the base, from both sides in conflict, are buried in the cemetery at St Andrew's Church, Tangmere, today tended by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

. United American RAF pilot

Billy Fiske William Meade Lindsley Fiske III (4 June 1911 – 17 August 1940) was an American combat fighter pilot and Olympic bobsledder. At the 1928 Winter Olympics, 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics, Fiske won gold as driver for the US Bobsleigh at the Win ...

who died at Tangmere in 1940 was one of the first American aviators to die during the

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 ...

. Defensive units (1939–41): Offensive units (1941–45): Units: RAF Regiment: The following RAF Regiment units were also here at some point:

Postwar

Towards the end of the war, the Central Fighter Establishment arrived from

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire ...

on 27 February 1945 with the station being renamed as CFE Tangmere. The RAF High Speed Flight was re-formed here on 14 June 1946 and in September 1946, a world air speed record of 616 mph (991 km/h) was set by Group Captain Edward "Teddy" Mortlock Donaldson in a

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

F.4; after his death in 1992, he was buried in St Andrew's Church. In September 1953, Squadron Leader

Neville Duke Neville Frederick Duke, (11 January 1922 – 7 April 2007) was a British test pilot and fighter ace of the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of 27 enemy aircraft. After the war, Duke was acknowledged as one of the world's f ...

became holder of the world air speed record when he flew a modified

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

prototype at 727.63 mph (1,170 km/h) – the 50th anniversary of this event was commemorated in 2003. A number of units associated with the CFE also arrived including: * Day Fighter Leaders School (1945) part of CFE * Enemy Aircraft Flight RAF (1945) part of CFE * Fighter Interception Development Squadron RAF (1945) part of CFE * Night Fighter Development Wing RAF (1945) part of CFE * Night Fighter Training Squadron RAF (1945) part of CFE * 787 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm (1945) connection to CFE The unit moved to

RAF West Raynham Royal Air Force West Raynham, or more simply RAF West Raynham, is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located west of West Raynham, Norfolk and southwest of Fakenham, Norfolk, England. The airfield opened ...

on 1 October 1945, while No. 85 Squadron RAF arrived on 11 October 1945 with the de Havilland Mosquito XXX. It upgraded to the Mosquito NF.36 from January 1946. The unit deployed to RAF Lubeck and

RAF Acklington Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located southwest of Amble, Northumberland and north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The a ...

for varying periods of time, until finally leaving Tangmere on 16 April 1947, for RAF West Malling. No. 1 Squadron RAF returned on 30 April 1946 from their previous base of RAF Hutton Cranswick with the Supermarine Spitfire F.21; the unit deployed to Acklington and Lubeck at various times. From October 1946 the Gloster Meteor F.3 was introduced but was replaced by the Harvard T.2b and Oxford T.2 from August 1947, in preparation for conversion to the Meteor F.4 which arrived during June 1948. This was replaced by the F.8 during August 1950 and this in turn was replaced by the Hawker Hunter F.5 in September 1958. The squadron was disbanded on 1 July 1958. No. 222 (Natal) Squadron RAF arrived on 2 October 1946 from

RAF Weston Zoyland Royal Air Force Westonzoyland, or more simply RAF Westonzoyland, is located approximately east-southeast of Bridgwater, Somerset; about west-southwest of London. It was opened in 1925 with summer camps lasting from May until September each ...

. They were already operating the Meteor F.3 and converted to the newer F.4 during the first few months of 1948, before moving to RAF Lubeck on 1 May 1948. On 1 June 1950, a Gloster Meteor flying eastwards over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

reported a UFO at 20,000 ft. It was also seen by the radar at RAF Wartling, and was described as ''Britain's first flying saucer'', and led to the Flying Saucer Working Party later that year. No. 266 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF arrived on 16 April 1947 from RAF Wattisham with the Meteor F.3, replacing No. 85 Squadron RAF. No. 266 Squadron upgraded to the Meteor F.4 from February 1948, with the squadron deploying to Lubeck and Acklington during its stay. 266 was disbanded on 11 February 1949 and renumbered as

No. 43 Squadron RAF Number 43 Squadron, nicknamed ''the Fighting Cocks'', was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron originally formed in April 1916 as part of the Royal Flying Corps. It saw distinguished service during two world wars, producing numerous Flying ace, ...

The Meteor F.8 was introduced from September 1950 and the squadron moved to RAF Leuchars on 11 November 1950. On 25 November 1950 No. 29 Squadron RAF arrived from RAF West Malling with the Mosquito NF.30, converting to the Meteor NF.11 from July 1951. The squadron moved to RAF Acklington on 14 January 1957 where it eventually re-equipped with the

Gloster Javelin The Gloster Javelin is a twin-engined all-weather interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the Gloster Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s and was the final aircraft design to b ...

FAW.6. On 1 August 1954 No. 34 Squadron RAF was re-formed here with the Meteor F.8, upgrading to the Hunter F.5 from October 1955 before being disbanded on 15 January 1958. On 30 September 1957 No. 25 Squadron RAF arrived from RAF West Malling, flying the Meteor NF.12 & NF.14 until 1 July 1958 when the squadron was disbanded. No. 164 (Argentine–British) Squadron RAF arrived from

RAF Turnhouse Royal Air Force Turnhouse, or more simply RAF Turnhouse, is a former Royal Air Force Sector Station located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is now Edinburgh Airport. History A landing ground was first established at Turnhouse in 1915. The airfield ...

on 25 March 1946 with the Spitfire IX, staying until 26 April 1946 when the squadron moved to RAF Middle Wallop. No. 587 Squadron RAF arrived from

on 1 June 1946 with the Spitfire XVI, for two weeks before being disbanded. No. 69 Squadron RAF arrived on 19 April 1947 from RAF Wahn during a break from West Germany. It used the Mosquito B.16 until 16 May 1947 when it moved back to Wahn. On 1 July 1950 No. 74 (Trinidad) Squadron RAF, with its Meteor F.4s, arrived Jefford, 1988, p=48from RAF Horsham St Faith {{sfn, , on deployment for 8 days. In the late 1950s flying was reduced to ground radar calibration under RAF Signals Command, upon the arrival of No. 115 Squadron RAF on 25 August 1958 from

RAF Watton Royal Air Force Watton or more simply RAF Watton is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located southwest of East Dereham, Norfolk, England. Opened in 1937 it was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) an ...

, with the Varsity T.1. The Valetta C.1 was introduced from August 1963 but the squadron moved back to Watton on 1 October 1963.{{sfn, Jefford, 1988, p=57

No. 245 Squadron RAF No. 245 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It flew as an anti-submarine squadron during World War I and as a fighter squadron during World War II. After the war it was first a jet-fighter squadron and its last role was as a radar-cal ...

arrived on 25 August 1958 from Watton. The squadron was equipped with the Canberra B.2 but was disbanded on 19 April 1963, to become No. 98 Squadron.{{sfn, Jefford, 1988, p=77 No. 98 Squadron RAF used the Canberra B.2 until 1 October 1963 when it moved to RAF Watton.{{sfn, Jefford, 1988, p=53 Between January and March 1958 a detachment of No. 208 Squadron RAF operated here, training crews on the new Hunter F.6.{{sfn, Jefford, 1988, p=69 The Joint Services Language School moved here and in 1960 the station was granted the "freedom of the City of

", the event being marked by a march through the town and service in the Cathedral. No. 38 Group Tactical Communications Wing RAF and 244 Signal Squadron (Air Support) were the last units to leave the base, relocating to

RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) List of Royal Air Force stations, station located at Benson, Oxfordshire, Benson, near Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line st ...

. Some of the last flying units to be based at the station included: {{columns-list, colwidth=30em, * 'B' Flt, No. 22 Squadron RAF (June 1961 - May 1964) * 22 Squadron - detachment sometime between 1956-74{{sfn, Jefford, 1988, p=32 * 720 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm (1947) {{sfn, Sturtivant, Ballance, 1994, p=41 * 771 Naval Air Squadron detachment, Fleet Air Arm (1948-49){{sfn, Sturtivant, Ballance, 1994, p=91 * 778 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm (1947-48){{sfn, Sturtivant, Ballance, 1994, p=99 * 801 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm (1947){{sfn, Sturtivant, Ballance, 1994, p=132 Units: {{columns-list, colwidth=30em, * No. 38 Group Support Unit (December 1964 - December 1970){{sfn, Sturtivant, Hamlin, 2007, p=161 * No. 49 Maintenance Unit RAF detachment (November 1946){{sfn, Sturtivant, Hamlin, 2007, p=177 * No. 161 Gliding School RAF (1945 & 47-53){{sfn, Sturtivant, Hamlin, 2007, p=147 * No. 623 Gliding School RAF (1963-74){{sfn, Sturtivant, Hamlin, 2007, p=147 * No. 8 Fighter Command Servicing Unit (September to October 1945){{sfn, Sturtivant, Hamlin, 2007, p=113 * No. 9 Fighter Command Servicing Unit (February 1945 to April 1946){{sfn, Sturtivant, Hamlin, 2007, p=113 *

Fighter Command Instrument Training Flight RAF Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, a person legally entitled to participate in hostilities during an armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed primarily for air-to-air combat ** Fighter pilot, ...

(1948-50){{sfn, Sturtivant, Hamlin, 2007, p=112 * Towed Target Flight, Tangmere RAF (1950-51){{sfn, Sturtivant, Hamlin, 2007, p=273 In 1963–64 the last flying units left. However the station continued to be used for several years and, in 1968,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

took his first flying lesson at Tangmere. The station finally closed on 16 October 1970; a single Spitfire flew over the airfield as the RAF ensign was lowered for the last time.

Present use

Following the closure of the RAF station, some of the land around the runways was returned to farming. Tangmere Airfield Nurseries have built large glasshouses for the cultivation of peppers and aubergines. RAF Tangmere Control Tower - geograph

Until 1983, {{convert, 37, acre, m2 of barracks, admin blocks and repair workshops remained derelict until bought by Seawards Properties Ltd. Housing soon spread around the airfield, and most RAF buildings were demolished. Officers' quarters have been retained as homes and two original RAF buildings remain, the

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Control Tower, and one of the 'H Block' accommodation buildings. The majority of the airfield is now farmed, and since 1979 the runways have slowly been removed thus returning the whole airfield back to large scale farming once again. In 2016 the final piece of apron and the three T.2 hangars were removed, with houses built in their place on a street called Hangar Drive. The derelict

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 ...

forms part of the farm but is now bricked up and partly overgrown. It became a Grade II listed building in 2011 and was placed on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

in 2015.{{NHLE , desc=Watch Office (Control Tower), former RAF Tangmere , num=1403165 , access-date=20 May 2019 A campaign is currently underway to restore the control tower which has received local and national press coverage. This is being led by Tangmere Tower Community Interest Company, who restaged 'The Eisenhower Dinner' at the Chichester Harbour Hotel in 2019 to mark the 75th anniversary of General Eisenhower's original meal in 1944.{{cite news , last1=Khoo , first1=Anna , title=Recreation of Eisenhower's visit as Tangmere Tower campaign progresses , url=https://www.chichester.co.uk/news/people/recreation-of-eisenhower-s-visit-as-tangmere-tower-campaign-progresses-1-8867345 , access-date=20 May 2019 , work= Chichester Observer , date=27 March 2019 The CIC are working with the local Aviation Museum, the University of Chichester and Sussex Police and with their architect have submitted a planning application for phase one of the project.

Tangmere Military Aviation Museum

{{Main, Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Tangmere Air Museum - geograph

Tangmere Military Aviation Museum was founded by a group of enthusiastic veterans. It has a replica

and

as well as many original aircraft, including

's speed record

. On display is the 'Star' Meteor flown by Teddy Donaldson when he set the world air speed record in September 1946, breaking the 1,000 km/h barrier.Thomas, Nick. RAF Top Gun: Teddy Donaldson CB, DSO, AFC and Bar Battle of Britain Ace and World Air Speed Record Holder, Pen & Sword, 2008. {{ISBN, 1-84415-685-0

34067 locomotive

A number of

Oliver Bulleid Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 September 1882 – 25 April 1970) was a British railway and mechanical engineer best known as the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway ( ...

's light pacific locomotives were named after Battle of Britain squadrons, stations, or commanders. One such locomotive that is preserved and still in main line operation is named "Tangmere" (no 34067).{{Citation needed, date=April 2023

References

Citations

{{Reflist

Bibliography

*{{cite book , last1=Birtles, first1=P., title=UK Airfields of the Cold War , year=2012 , publisher= Midland Publishing, isbn=978-1-85780-346-4 *{{cite book , last1=Falconer, first1=J., title=RAF Airfields of World War 2 , year=2012 , publisher= Ian Allan Publishing, location= UK, isbn=978-1-85780-349-5 *{{cite book , last1=Jefford , first1=C. G. , title= RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912 , year=1988 , publisher= Airlife , location=

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, isbn= 1-85310-053-6 *{{cite book , last1=Sturtivant, first1=R. , last2=Ballance , first2=T. , title=The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm , year=1994 , publisher=Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd , location=

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, UK , isbn=0-85130-223-8 *{{cite book , last1=Sturtivant, first1=R., last2=Hamlin, first2=J., title=Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912 , year=2007 , publisher= Air-Britain (Historians), location= UK, isbn=978-0851-3036-59

External links

{{Commons category, RAF Tangmere
Tangmere Military Aviation Museum
{{Royal Air Force {{authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Tangmere, RAF Royal Air Force stations in West Sussex Battle of Britain Military installations closed in 1970 Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom