Airfields Index

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RAF Merston    RAF Merston was in West Sussex, opened in May 1941, as a grass satellite to RAF Tangmere. It was used as a satellite until August 1942 when it was redeveloped as an RAF Fighter Station and Somerfield Track runways were laid. It closed in November 1945 and has reverted to agricultural use.   30th May 1941 Short move 3rd July 1941 Lost over France 6th July 1941 Aircraft Lost 28th July 1941 On the Move 28th July 1941 Move for new role Feb 1942 In Support 10th May 1942 Move to the south coast 5th June 1942 Missing over Le Havre 15th August 1942  Shot down off the Isle of Wight 20th August 1942 On the move 1st June 1943 Training with the Canadians 5th June 1943 Film stars 12th June 1943 Move to 2nd Tactical Airforce 12th June 1943 Squadron moves for offensive ops 14th July 1943 Operational once more 8th October 1943  Equipped for rocket firing 11th October 1943 Bad weather 12th October 1943 Sticky Trip 15th October 1943 Better facilities appreciated 17th October 1943 Engine failure at 9,000ft 20th October 1943 German airfield bombed 25th October 1943 Rocket attack on power station 31st October 1943 Flights given to ATC Cadets 4th November 1943 Promotions 7th November 1943 German airfield bombed 10th November 1943 Two bombing operations 11th November 1943 Construction works bombed 12th November 1943 Typhoon lost attacking a train 13th November 1943 Three Typhoons and pilots lost 13th November 1943 Rhubarb operations 17th November 1943 Lectures 18th November 1943 Low level bombing practice and ops 19th November 1943 Tame FW190 shown off 20th November 1943 'Missing' pilot returns to squadron 23rd November 1943 Bad weather 24th November 1943 Stand-by 25th November 1943 Bombing ops 26th November 1943 Ice stops show 3rd December 1943 Lecture on invasion plans 7th December 1943 Evasion practice December 1943 V1 launch sites attacked 14th December 1943 First op of December 15th December 1943 Unexplained loss of pilot over Normandy 20th December 1943 Typhoons collide over Normandy 21st December 1943 Weather disrupts operations 22nd December 1943 Clouds hide targets 25th December 1943 Aerodrome unserviceable 31st December 1943 Squadron relocated 31st December 1943 Squadron relocated 13th January 1944 Return to RAF Merston 18th January 1944 Move prevented by bad weather 21st January 1944 Delayed move completed 22nd January 1944 Repairs and cleaning 24th January 1944 Squadron's first op with rockets 25th January 1944 Flying accident over the Channel 25th January 1944 V1 launch sites attacked 26th January 1944 V1 site launch attacked 29th January 1944 Bad weather disrupts ops 3rd February 1944 V1 site in Normandy attacked 4th February 1944 Two attacks on V1 sites 5th February 1944 Two ops 6th February 1944 Refresher rocket training 6th February 1944 Heavy flak defences 8th February 1944 3 Ops in one day 9th February 1944 Same target hit twice 12th February 1944 Support for army exercise 13th February 1944 Fighter sweep 14th February 1944 Long range sweep to the Loire 15th February 1944 Long range sweep 21st February 1944 Pilot crashed on German airfield 22nd February 1944 Practice for new pilots 24th February 1944 German aerodromes attacked 25th February 1944 Two ops against V1 rocket launch sites 27th February 1944 Manhunt 28th February 1944 Attack on ship 29th February 1944 Aborted raid 2nd March 1944 V1 launch site bombed 3rd March 1944 Fighter patrol 4th March 1944 Patrol disrupted by poor visibility 6th March 1944 Thick cloud 7th March 1944 Night flying training 15th March 1944 Bomber escort sortie 16th March 1944 Variety of duties 21st March 1944 Released from ops for (more) training 27th March 1944 No flying but more training 28th March 1944 R.P. practice and postings 31st March 1944 R.P. practice 1st April 1944 Move back under canvas 27th June 1944 Relocated 5th July 1944 Moved and re-equipped 17th July 1944 Engine fire 3rd August 1944 Faster aircraft provided If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Those known to have served at RAF Merston during the Second World War 1939-1945. This page is new, as yet no names have been submitted. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. Announcements 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web. 19th Nov 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 264989 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible. Looking for help with Family History Research?   Please read our Family History FAQs The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations. Want to know more about RAF Merston? There are:92 items tagged RAF Merston available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices. Links

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