Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Lympne airfield dates from 1916 when it began as an ELG (Emergency Landing Ground) for Home Defence aircraft. Canvas hangers were erected and wooden huts for airmen. The Officers Mess was at Lympne Castle. In 1917 more sheds, workshops and offices were built close to the road along the southern boundary of the airfield and the site was used for ferrying aircraft to France. Not long after this in May Gotha bombers of Kagohl 3 bombed the airfield and Folkestone.

After the war the Air Ministry kept Lympne open but allowed it to be used for civil aviation and in 1920 North Sea Aerial & General Transport began a Leeds-Lympne-Amsterdam cargo run but it did not last out the year. It then became a customs airport with a wireless station, a 30-mile aerial lighthouse and an emergency landing ground for aircraft on the London-Paris run.

1923 Lympne was chosen as the venue for a competition to find a British plane that could travel the furthest on one gallon of petrol with a 750-cc engine. The prize was £500 from the Duke of Sutherland and £1000 from the Daily Mail for the longest motor glider over a 15-mile triangular course.

During the late 1920’s and early 30’s Lympne was used by a number of pilots attempting to set new records for the UK-Cape & Cape-UK runs. These pilots included Amy Johnson, Jim Mollison, the Duchess of Bedford and Captain W. Lancaster.

With the expansion of the RAF from 1934 onwards the airfield was reopened as an operational station in 1936 as a temporary base for No1 (Bomber) Group. In early 1939 it was transferred to the Admiralty firstly as HMS Buzzard and on the outbreak of war as Daedulus II, an outstation of the Lee on Solent base. With the fall of France the airfield transferred back to Fighter Command as a satellite airfield of the Biggin Hill Sector of No 11 Group. Although heavily bombed the airfield took no part in the Battle of Britain and only became fully operation in 1941 with a flight of fighters from Hawkinge. Dispersed hardstandings, hangers, a fighter pen and temporary accommodation were built to bring the station up to standard.

In 1942 the station was used during Operation Jubilee, the raid on Dieppe, and this led to the airfield being further upgraded with further dispersal’s to accommodate more fighters. Fighters also took part in Operation Overlord, D-Day, and Operation Diver, Anti-V-1 missions.

After the war the airfield was down graded to Care and Maintenance only and used for pleasure flights. In 1948 Silver City Airways began freight flights, initially mainly cars and passengers, only into 1954 when they transferred to a new site near Dungeness as conditions at Lympne when it rained had become unmanageable. With the loss of the Silver City route part s of the airfield were sold off, but commercial flights continued until 1974. Parts of the airfield have now been developed as an industrial estate.

Images

Monument Types

• MILITARY AIRFIELD (Modern - 1916 AD to 1919 AD (between))
• AIRFIELD (Modern - 1920 AD to 1936 AD (between))
• RADIO STATION (Modern - 1920 AD to 1936 AD?)
• MILITARY AIRFIELD (Modern - 1936 AD to 1945 AD (between))
• AIRFIELD (Modern - 1945 AD to 1974 AD (between))

Full description

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Lympne airfield dates from 1916 when it began as an ELG (Emergency Landing Ground) for Home Defence aircraft. Canvas hangers were erected and wooden huts for airmen. The Officers Mess was at Lympne Castle. In 1917 more sheds, workshops and offices were built close to the road along the southern boundary of the airfield and the site was used for ferrying aircraft to France. Not long after this in May Gotha bombers of Kagohl 3 bombed the airfield and Folkestone.

After the war the Air Ministry kept Lympne open but allowed it to be used for civil aviation and in 1920 North Sea Aerial & General Transport began a Leeds-Lympne-Amsterdam cargo run but it did not last out the year. It then became a customs airport with a wireless station, a 30-mile aerial lighthouse and an emergency landing ground for aircraft on the London-Paris run.

1923 Lympne was chosen as the venue for a competition to find a British plane that could travel the furthest on one gallon of petrol with a 750-cc engine. The prize was £500 from the Duke of Sutherland and £1000 from the Daily Mail for the longest motor glider over a 15-mile triangular course.

During the late 1920’s and early 30’s Lympne was used by a number of pilots attempting to set new records for the UK-Cape & Cape-UK runs. These pilots included Amy Johnson, Jim Mollison, the Duchess of Bedford and Captain W. Lancaster.

With the expansion of the RAF from 1934 onwards the airfield was reopened as an operational station in 1936 as a temporary base for No1 (Bomber) Group. In early 1939 it was transferred to the Admiralty firstly as HMS Buzzard and on the outbreak of war as Daedulus II, an outstation of the Lee on Solent base. With the fall of France the airfield transferred back to Fighter Command as a satellite airfield of the Biggin Hill Sector of No 11 Group. Although heavily bombed the airfield took no part in the Battle of Britain and only became fully operation in 1941 with a flight of fighters from Hawkinge. Dispersed hardstandings, hangers, a fighter pen and temporary accommodation were built to bring the station up to standard.

In 1942 the station was used during Operation Jubilee, the raid on Dieppe, and this led to the airfield being further upgraded with further dispersal’s to accommodate more fighters. Fighters also took part in Operation Overlord, D-Day, and Operation Diver, Anti-V-1 missions.

After the war the airfield was down graded to Care and Maintenance only and used for pleasure flights. In 1948 Silver City Airways began freight flights, initially mainly cars and passengers, only into 1954 when they transferred to a new site near Dungeness as conditions at Lympne when it rained had become unmanageable. With the loss of the Silver City route part s of the airfield were sold off, but commercial flights continued until 1974. Parts of the airfield have now been developed as an industrial estate.(1-3)

<1> Ashword, Chris, 1985/1990, Action Stations 9: Military Airfields of the Central South & South East (Monograph). SKE8330.

<2> Victor Smith and Andrew Saunders, 2001, Kent's Defence Heritage (Unpublished document). SKE6956.

<3> Ministry of Defence (RAF), 1946, Photograph, 106G/UK/1449/3342 (Photograph (Print)). SKE8331.

Sources and further reading

Related records

Related thematic articles

• Aviation in Kent (Thematic Essay)