Newhaven Seaplane Base is today the derelict site of an experimental

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

base at the head of the beach east of Newhaven Harbour, seaward of

Tide Mills Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

The first formation of

No. 242 Squadron RAF ("Always ready") , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= Battle of Britain, Invasion of Sicily, Berlin Airlift , anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours= , commander1= , commander1_label= , co ...

was on 15 August 1918 from numbers 408, 409 and 514 Flights at the seaplane station at Newhaven, Sussex. Operating from there and the nearby airfield at

Telscombe Cliffs Telscombe is a civil parish and electoral ward (called East Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs) with the status of a town in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It consists of three distinct settlements, separated from each other by an open ...

, it was equipped with

Short Type 184 The Short Admiralty Type 184, often called the Short 225 after the power rating of the engine first fitted, was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane designed by Horace Short of Short Brothers. It ...

seaplanes and carried out anti-submarine patrols over the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

until the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Description of derelict site

Surveys carried out in 2006 have exposed part of the slipway, concrete aprons to both hangars with door tracks and several other slabs presumed to be workshops.

Sussex Archaeological Society The Sussex Archaeological Society, founded in 1846, is one of the oldest county-based archaeological societies in the UK. A registered self-funding charity whose charitable aims are to enable people to enjoy, learn about and have access to the he ...

started a dig in April 2006 to catalogue the entire East Beach site.

External links

Friends of The Tidemills and Newhaven Eastside Conservation Group
Archaeological sites in East Sussex Royal Naval Air Stations in England History of East Sussex Seaplane bases in the United Kingdom Seaplane bases in England Defunct airports in England {{mil-aviation-stub

History

Description of derelict site

See also

External links