RAF Bognor (also known as ''Bognor Advanced Landing Ground (A.L.G.)'') is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Advanced Landing Ground Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 19 ...

north of

Bognor Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, England.

History

Survey work on the site was undertaken in "mid-1942", with construction beginning in early 1943, completed by the

Royal Canadian Engineers The Canadian Military Engineers (CME; french: links=no, Génie militaire canadien) is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engi ...

. Bognor was one of 82 planned Operation Hadrian sites planned with only 26 being built. The original budget for the site was £20,500. The airfield became operational on 1 June 1943 with two intersecting Sommerfield track runways. The site was under the control of

RAF Tangmere RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a ...

located four miles further north. The site was originally a training site for aircrews to practise operating with few facilities, however, in Autumn 1943, extra over blister hangars were installed. These provided shelter for most aircraft that were stationed at Bognor, little accommodation was provided for the aircrews who lived in tented camps. The site was used as a forward staging base for a number of fighter and ground attack units for the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

assault, however, these soon moved to back to Tangmere and were replaced by 83 Group and 1310 Flight. 1310 flew Ansons from Bognor in an air ambulance and medical supply capacity to the advancing forces on the French coastline. 83 Group left the site in late September 1944 and need for the airfield ceased to exist. Runway removal works were carried out during the Autumn of 1944 and by early 1945, the site had been returned to its original owners. Parts of the site have now been built over by the expanding

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns ...

or returned to farmland with few noticeable remnants of the airfield remaining.

Units

Additional units: * No. 122 Airfield RAF * No. 132 (Norwegian) (Fighter) Wing RAF * No. 2765 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2893 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2894 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 3205 Servicing Commando * No. 3207 Servicing Commando

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bognor Royal Air Force stations in West Sussex Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom