Royal Air Force Friston or more simply RAF Friston is a former Royal Air Force satellite station and Emergency Landing Ground located in East Sussex, England.
RAF Friston | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friston, East Sussex in England | |||||||||
  RAF Friston Shown within East Sussex | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°45′53″N 000°10′04″E / 50.76472°N 0.16778°E | ||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force satellite station | ||||||||
| Code | FX[1] | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command * No. 11 Group RAF | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1940 | ||||||||
| In use | May 1940 - April 1946 | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 108 metres (354 ft)[1] AMSL | ||||||||
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Units
editThe following units were here at some point:[2]
- No. 32 Squadron RAF, two visits between 14 June 1942 and 20 August 1942 with Hawker Hurricanes.[3]
- No. 41 Squadron RAF, three visits between 27 May 1943 and 11 July 1944 with Supermarine Spitfires.[4]
- No. 64 Squadron RAF between 7 August 1943 and 19 August 1943 with Spitfires.[5]
- No. 131 (County of Kent) Squadron RAF.
- No. 253 (Hyderabad State) Squadron RAF Its Spitfires arrived on 13 June 1942.
- No. 306 Polish Fighter Squadron.
- No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron.
- No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron.
- No. 349 (Belgian) Squadron RAF Arrived on 22 October 1943.
- No. 350 (Belgian) Squadron RAF.
- No. 411 (Grizzly Bear) Squadron RCAF.
- No. 412 Squadron RCAF Squadron Detachments with Spitfires there from November 1942 to January 1943, before the squadron arrived on 21 June 1943 with Spitfire Mk. Vb aircraft.
- No. 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron RAuxAF.
- No. 610 (County of Chester) Squadron RAuxAFF.
- No. 666 (Scottish) Squadron RAuxAF Its Auster aircraft appeared on 18 April 1945 and stayed a little over a month.
- Units
- No. 7 Fighter Command Servicing Unit - arrived in early 1945
- No. 2720 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2727 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2751 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2762 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2792 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2793 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2803 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2807 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2846 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2851 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 4065 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment
- Air Sea Rescue Flight RAF, Shoreham/Friston/Shoreham (1941) became 'C' Flight, No. 277 Squadron RAF [6]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Falconer 2012, p. 97.
- ^ "Friston". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Halley 1988, p. 79.
- ^ Halley 1988, p. 95.
- ^ Halley 1988, p. 130.
- ^ Lake 1999, p. 22.
Bibliography
edit- Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
- Halley, J.J. (1988). RAF Squadrons. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
- Lake, A (1999). Flying units of the RAF. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.