Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent (HMS ''Daedalus'') was one of the primary shore airfields of the
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
. First established as a
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...
base in 1917 during
the First World War, it later became the main training establishment and administrative centre of the Fleet Air Arm. Situated near
Lee-on-the-Solent
Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the Borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a resi ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, approximately four miles west of
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
on the coast of the
Solent
The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...
at , the airfield closed for military use in 1996 and passed through several owners until 2014 when the current owners Fareham Borough Council bought the airfield and re-branded as Solent Airport. The airfield hosts the Solent Enterprise Zone.
History
Naval aviation began at Lee-on-Solent on 30 July 1917 when the
Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) opened the Naval Seaplane Training School as an extension to the seaplane training station at nearby
Calshot
Calshot is a coastal village in Hampshire, England at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the Solent.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013).
History
In 1539, Henry VIII order ...
. The school's first commander was Squadron Commander
Douglas Evill
Air Chief Marshal Sir Douglas Claude Strathern Evill, (8 October 1892 – 22 March 1971) was an Australian-born Royal Naval Air Service pilot and squadron commander during the First World War. Serving in the Royal Air Force between the wars, h ...
. Initially, aircraft had to be transported from their temporary hangars to the top of the nearby cliff, then lowered by crane onto a trolley which ran on rails into the sea. Permanent hangars, workshops, accommodation and a new double slipway were soon constructed, however.
Royal Air Force use
On 1 April 1918, the RNAS combined with the
Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to form the
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) an ...
(RAF) and the Lee-on-Solent Naval Seaplane Training School became an RAF station. Naval aviation training continued throughout the 1920s under the RAF with both Calshot and Lee-on-Solent providing training in operating seaplanes - initially using the wartime
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 ...
s and, from late 1921, the new
Fairey III
The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants. First flying on 14 September 1917, examples were still in u ...
D.
On 1 April 1924, the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force was formed, encompassing those RAF units that normally embarked on aircraft carriers and fighting ships (including those at shore bases such as Lee-on-Solent).
In 1931 the first grass airstrip at Lee was constructed to the west of the town, Lee-on-Solent became HQ
RAF Coastal Area
RAF Coastal Area was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). Founded in 1919, it was to act as the RAF's premier maritime arm. It was replaced by RAF Coastal Command on 14 July 1936.
Beginnings of maritime aviation
The Committee of Imper ...
, and a major rebuilding programme ensued.
On 14 July 1936, an expanded RAF Coastal Area became
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
, with the HQ remaining at Lee-on-Solent.
Royal Navy use
With the expansion of the RAF during the 1930s, however,
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
decided that the Fleet Air Arm should transfer to the Admiralty.
As a consequence, on 24 May 1939, HQ RAF Coastal Command moved to
Northwood and Lee-on-Solent was commissioned as HMS ''Daedalus'', becoming Headquarters of Flag Officer Air (Home).
Second World War
During the Second World War a number of naval air squadrons were posted or formed here at some point.
Post-war
![Westland Wesex HU](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Westland_Wesex_HU.5%2C_781_Squadron%2C_Lee-On-Solent_SAR_Flight.jpg)
Post-war she continued to play a significant role, being renamed HMS ''Ariel'' on 31 October 1959 to reflect her electrical, radar and ground training emphasis; she took over the work of the
Royal Naval Air Electrical Training Establishment, Worthy Down prior to its closure in 1961. In 1962 the Joint Service Hovercraft Unit was formed with the aim of testing hovercraft in an operational military environment, and soon after the Air Station reverted to the name HMS ''Daedalus'' on 5 October 1965.
She was home to the Naval Air Trial Installation Unit (NATIU), formed to install and test new systems in a variety of flying test bed aircraft including a
Hawker Hunter and a
De Havilland Devon
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report whi ...
.
Units
The following units were here at some point:
Post-Royal Navy use (1996–2014)
In 2003 it was the subject of much controversy over the proposal to use a small part of it as a refuge for asylum-seekers.
In March 2006 the site was split, with ownership of the central area including the runways transferred to the
Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) who have continued to use it as a base for their air sea rescue helicopters.
Hampshire Constabulary
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.Hampshire Constabulary, 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2012
The force area inc ...
's fixed wing aircraft also continued to use the airfield. The outlying areas, including the former accommodation and technical area and surrounding land, hangars, and dispersals, were transferred to the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).
In April 2006, Gosport and Fareham Borough Councils issued a oint Planning Statement for Daedalus stating that "There should be provision of leisure and community facilities which could complement existing facilities to the benefit of local residents" and "Future development should seek to maximise the benefit of the existing runways for general and private aviation use."
In April/May 2006, whilst conducting repairs to the runway, building crews discovered a giant unexploded
land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
over 60 feet long that had been placed underneath the runway in the 1940s to cripple the airfield's operational capabilities in the event of a German invasion. The bomb (along with 19 others subsequently discovered) was scheduled to be removed in September 2006. The work was completed on 24 October 2006.
During its RN ownership the airfield had been used for a variety of groups, including the Portsmouth Naval Gliding Club (PNGC). The Lee Bees Model Flying Club, The Tigers Children's Motorcycle Display Team and two flying schools, and a number of privately owned aircraft were based at the airfield. When the RN moved out in 1996, operational management of the airfield was taken over by Hampshire Police Air Support Unit (HPASU). This management continued until October 2010, with HPASU being tenants of the MCA, which is an Executive Agency of the
Department for Transport. In October 2010 Hampshire Police Air Support Unit was closed and its tasks taken over by the newly formed South East Air Support Unit covering Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey from bases at RAF Odiham and Shoreham Airport.
On acquiring their land SEEDA stated "The lack of availability of serviced employment land and new business space has been identified as an important requirement in South Hampshire. Our intention is that development of the site will focus on new aviation and marine related businesses, exploiting access to the existing runways and the Solent. Plans are to create a quality business location that will attract inward investment and provide accommodation for start-up, growing and established businesses". Aviation-related businesses, including an aircraft maintenance organisation, a microlight aircraft manufacturer and a flying school, became tenants of SEEDA in 2006, as did the owners of around 50 aircraft based on the site.
The aerodrome is strategically important. The growth of commercial air transport at
Southampton Airport
Southampton Airport is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The airport is located north-north-east of central Southampton. The southern tip of the runway lies within the Sou ...
some years ago left it with no capacity for
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
(GA) aircraft. This leaves Lee-on-Solent as the only airfield in southern Hampshire with a hard runway available for general aviation, the nearest alternative in Hampshire being
Farnborough Airfield
Farnborough Airport (previously called: TAG Farnborough Airport, RAE Farnborough, ICAO Code EGLF) is an operational business/executive general aviation airport in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England. The airport covers about 8% of Rush ...
.
On 18 October 2007, users were given 30 days notice by the Airfield Manager that the aerodrome would be closed to all existing users except MCA, HPASU and PNGC from 16 November 2007. The closure was successfully challenged by Lee Flying Association which worked with other agencies such as the
Civil Aviation Authority and
AOPA
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United States ...
to develop new operating procedures, an Airfield Manual and an air-to-ground radio service and the airfield is now operating as a licensed
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airfield. In May 2008 the closure decision was reversed.
From 1 April 2011, the airfield was leased to the British aircraft manufacturer, Britten-Norman under its airfield operations subsidiary, Fly BN. Britten-Norman established corporate offices at the Daedalus Airfield site as well as a manufacturing base for its subsidiary Britten-Norman Aircraft and MRO facilities for two other subsidiaries, BN Defence and BN Aviation. In 2010 the
Regional Development Agencies were abolished and ownership of the land owned by
SEEDA was transferred to the Homes and Communities Agency Now managed by Fly BN on behalf of the airfield's new owner, the
Homes and Communities Agency
Homes England is the non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing in England. It was founded on 1 January 2018 to replace the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
HCA in turn was established by the Housing and Regeneration Act 2 ...
, the airfield was prepared for licensed operations.
In August 2011 the government announced that the airfield would host an
enterprise zone named the Solent Enterprise Zone.
In 2015 the area of land containing the runways and the surrounding land formerly owned by SEEDA, with the exception of the former technical area to the south of the operational airfield were acquired by Fareham Borough Council, who renamed the site "Solent Airport at Daedalus". The technical site remained in the ownership of HCA and is being developed for mixed industrial and residential use.
Current use
On 1 April 2015 the airfield owners, Fareham Borough Council, appointed Regional and City Airports Management on a 5-year contract to manage the airfield. New entrances have been constructed to eliminate the need for runway crossings by vehicles and redevelopment is underway. CEMAST (Centre of Engineering, Manufacturing and Advanced Skills Training), part of Fareham College is completed on previously undeveloped land in the south east corner of the airfield. Wartime Hangar A has been demolished to make way for a new Innovation Centre of business starter units to the south of the South Apron on the east side. The old MARTSU building together with hangars G, H, J, K, L M N and O have been demolished. This area is now known as Faraday Business Park and has been developed with new landside factory units that do not have access to the runway. Six new hangars (Nos 4-9) and a fuel farm have been built on the east side of the disused runway 17/35. The hangars are intended for corporate use and incorporate office space and domestic facilities. The former fire ground towards the north end of the old eastern taxiway has been developed as a new hangar complex with three hangars to the north (Nos 15, 16, 17) and two to the south (Nos 13 & 14) plus a facilities block and car park to the east. Hangars 13 and 14 are occupied by Bournemouth Avionics.
In September 2017 it was announced that Solent Airport (Daedalus) is to open up scheduled flights, with destinations possibly including Alderney, Cardiff, Swansea and Exeter. The ''Daily Echo'' reports that there may also be a small passenger terminal to accommodate the up to 20 seater planes. By 2021 this had not happened.
In May 2018, Portsmouth Naval Gliding Centre announced that it would not be remaining at the site after its eviction notice on 31 May 2018. The charity stated this was because the airfield owners, Fareham Borough Council, had been unable to offer them a viable replacement to their current hangar, Belman 4, from which they had been served eviction notice for.
On 31 May 2018, exactly 69 years to the day of the centre's formation, the last 'pure' glider flight from Lee-on-the-Solent flew. The centre has resumed flying at
Middle Wallop
Middle Wallop is a village in the civil parish of Nether Wallop in Hampshire, England, on the A343 road. At the 2011 Census the population was included in the civil parish of Over Wallop. The village has a public house, The George Inn, and a ...
.
In 2021 the newly built
IFA2 converter station came on stream. Built on land in the north-east part of the airfield and south of the extended runway centreline it links to the UK electricity grid at Chilling, near Warsash to the French electricity grid via a similar converter station at Tourbe in France. The converter station converts between alternating current used in the UK grid and direct current used for the cross-channel link. It is connected to the UK and French grids by cables running across the airfield and entering The Solent to the west.
Land to the south of the eastern end of northern boundary of the airfield has been converted to public open space and was due to open for public use in 2021 after delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As well as the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's search and rescue helicopters the airfield also houses a Coastguard Training Centre and a Driving Test Centre.
Fixed-base operator
A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...
s (FBO) at the airfield include:
* Bournemouth Avionics LTD
*
BN Aviation
* Hampshire Aeroplane Club
*
HM Coastguard
His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the ...
Search and Rescue (flying the
Leonardo AW189
The AgustaWestland AW189 is a twin-engined, super-medium-lift helicopter manufactured by Leonardo S.p.A. It is derived from the AW149, and shares similarities with the AW139 and AW169.
Development
On 20 June 2011, development of the eight-tonne ...
)
* Phoenix Aviation
* Solent Microlight Flying Group
* Spitfires.com - The Spitfire Academy
Operates Spitfire Tr.9 SM520 (G-ILDA) on pleasure flights during the Spring and Autumn.
See also
*
Britten-Norman
*
Calshot Naval Air Station
*
Hovercraft Museum
The Hovercraft Museum, in Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, England is a museum run by a registered charity dedicated to hovercraft.
The museum has a collection of over 60 hovercraft of various designs. Situated at HMS ''Daedalus'' by the larg ...
- situated on the site
*
List of former Royal Air Force stations
This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force.
The stations are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the du ...
*
List of air stations of the Royal Navy
This is a list of naval air stations of the Royal Navy. Naval air stations are land bases of the Fleet Air Arm, the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft.
Current naval air stations
Currently RNAS means "R ...
*
RNAS Kingsnorth
RNAS Kingsnorth was a First World War Royal Navy air station for airships, initially operating as an experimental and training station, it later moved on to large scale production of airships. It also provided anti-submarine patrols. A number o ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
External links
*
Solent AirportSolent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rnas Lee-On-Solent (Hms Daedalus)
Lee-on-Solent
Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the Borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a res ...
Lee-on-Solent
Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the Borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a res ...
Lee-on-Solent
Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the Borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a res ...