Merston

Airfield
Aerial photograph of Merston airfield looking north west, the control tower and technical site are at the top of the airfield, 25 September 1945. Photograph taken by No. 544 Squadron, sortie number RAF/106G/UK/842. English Heritage (RAF Photography). eh-657.jpg RAF_106G_UK_842_V_5017 Aerial photograph of Merston airfield looking north west, the control tower and technical site are at the top of the airfield, 25 September 1945. Photograph taken by No. 544 Squadron, sortie number RAF/106G/UK/842. English Heritage (RAF Photography). Historic England

IWM, English Heritage Collection

Object Number - RAF_106G_UK_842_V_5017 - Aerial photograph of Merston airfield looking north west, the control tower and technical site are at the top of the airfield, 25 September 1945....

Built during 1939-41 as a grass airfield satellite to RAF Tangmere, Merston initially had no fixed runways, 17 hardstandings, 12 double pens and six blister hangars. Occupied by RAF fighter squadrons from May 1941 to August 1942, it had been allocated to the Eighth Air Force in June 1942 as a satellite to RAF Westhampnett. It eventually became home to the 307th Fighter Squadron of the 31st Fighter Group, equipped with Spitfire Vs, during August to October 1942. The station then closed for redevelopment with two Sommerfeld Track runways and other improvements. Re-opened in May 1943 as an RAF fighter station, it was re-allocated to the Eighth Air Force in July 1943, and transferred to the Ninth Air Force in October 1943, but was never again used by American squadrons. The airfield closed in August 1944 when the process began of returning the site to agriculture. It was used by briefly by Air Disarmament Units of SHAEF during March to May 1945, and then by the Royal Navy for storage of war surplus equipment until finally closed in November 1945.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: Spitfire
  • Unit: 309th Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: Master
  • Unit: 31st Fighter Group 307th Fighter Squadron

Revisions

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978)

Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Ninth Then and Now (London, 1994)

Chris Ashworth, Action Stations 5: Military Airfields of the South-West (London, 1982)

http://www.airfieldinformationexchange.org/community/showthread.php?994…

http://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/merston

Merston: Gallery (6 items)