Royal Air Force Brenzett or more simply RAF Brenzett was a

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 ...

close to the village of

Brenzett Brenzett is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe District of Kent, England. The village lies on the Romney Marsh, three miles (4.8 km) west of New Romney. The population of the civil parish includes the hamlet of Snave. ...

near

Romney Marsh Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about . The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until the ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was used as an airfield in 1944 for the Mustang Wing which comprised three squadrons including two Polish squadrons in exile and operated patrols against

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

History

The site was chosen for an

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 ...

in July 1942 and construction work on the site of flat marshland commenced in 1943, it was due to open on 1 March 1943 but was not ready for occupation until September and the airfield opened as RAF Brenzett as part of

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

on 14 September 1943 with two Sommerfeld Tracking runways. The locals referred to the airfield as

Ivychurch Ivychurch is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England. The village is located on the Romney Marsh, three miles (4.8 km) north-west of New Romney. The parish council consists of five members.< ...

after the nearest village. The airfield eventually had five blister

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s for the aircraft but most of the personnel were housed in a tented camp. The first unit to use the airfield was

No. 122 Squadron RAF No. 122 (Bombay) Squadron was a Royal Air Force fighter squadron during the First and Second World Wars. History The squadron was formed on 1 January 1918 at Sedgeford as a day bomber unit with the Airco DH.4, the intention was to train the squ ...

with

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s in August 1943 who used it relieve pressure on their home airfield of RAF Kingsnorth five miles (8 km) to the north. The airfield was not used to support the D-Day landings but in July 1944 No. 133 Wing RAF, with Polish-flown

North American Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

s, three squadrons strong, was based there, mainly on anti-flying bomb patrols. The

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

designated the airfield Station Number 438. The main American unit was Battery C, 635 AAA (Anti-aircraft Artillery), Automatic Weapons Bn, IX Air Defence Command.USAAF bases in the United Kingdom
The Mustang wing left in October 1944 and the airfield was no longer needed, and closed on 13 December 1944, returning to agricultural use. In 1972 the Brenzett Aeronautical Museum, a military and aviation museum, was opened near the site in buildings formerly occupied by the

Women's Land Army The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the ...

Units and aircraft

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Airfield Images
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brenzett Royal Air Force stations in Kent Military history of Poland during World War II Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom