Headcorn Aerodrome is a private airfield in Kent,

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 ...

. The airfield is located south of Maidstone; about southeast of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Opened in 1943 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 opposi ...

, it was named RAF Lashenden. It became a prototype for the temporary Advanced Landing Ground airfields that were built in France after D-Day, when the need for advanced landing fields became urgent as the Allied forces moved east across

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and

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. RAF Lashenden was used by the Royal Air Force,

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

and United States Army Air Forces before closing in September 1945. After the war, the airfield reverted to farmland until the present private grass airfield was opened in the late 1960s.

History

It was originally farmland, called Shenley Farm. Headcorn Aerodrome was first used for general aviation in 1927 when the local landowner flew with a group of friends. In 1942 it was requisitioned by the Airfields Board. It was named RAF Lashenden in an attempt to confuse the enemy (Lashenden is to the southwest of the field). Flying started in 1943. The USAAF Ninth Air Force required several temporary Advanced Landing Grounds (ALG) along the channel coast prior to the June 1944 Normandy Landings to provide tactical air support for the ground forces landing in

. The following units were here at some point: * No. 17 (Fighter) Wing RAF * No. 127 Airfield RAF *

No. 403 Squadron RCAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

(1943) *

No. 421 Squadron RCAF No. 421 Squadron RCAF was a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It was the last RCAF fighter squadron to be formed in the UK during World War II. Establishment Initially established at RAF Digby in April 1942 with Supermarine Spitfire Mk V ...

(1943) * 354th Fighter Group ** 353rd Fighter Squadron **

355th Fighter Squadron The 355th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the ''Fightin' Falcons'', is a United States Air Force unit stationed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. It is an active-duty unit assigned to the 354th Fighter Wing and operates the Lockheed Martin F-35 ...

356th Fighter Squadron The 356th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force fighter squadron. It is assigned to the 354th Fighter Wing, being stationed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. It was reactivated in 2019 to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35 Li ...

** 362nd Fighter Squadron With the Americans having left, farming resumed in 1945 but this was not the end of the land's association with aircraft. In the late 1960s, the landowners started using part of the former wartime east-west runway site adjacent to the A274, for private flying. A grass airstrip was built aligned 10/28 with a grass parking area for light aircraft. This led to the formation of Weald Air Services Limited, a small charter company, and later a flying school was set up and the airfield became a busy centre for light flying in the area.

Current use

The airfield is host to Headcorn Parachute Club, the only skydiving club in Kent. The club operates a

Cessna Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...

and regularly flies to altitudes between AGL. The club offers introductory training (tandem, static line/RAPs and AFF). The Tiger Club was also based at the airfield after moving from Redhill Aerodrome in 1990 before moving onto Damyns Hall Aerodrome A small museum of aviation relics was established on the site, the Lashenden Air Warfare Museum. Headcorn Aerodrome has a

CAA CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to another party * Clean Air Act, United States law to reduce air ...

Ordinary Licence (Number P838) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee.Civil Aviation Authority Aerodrome Ordinary Licences
It is still also sometimes known as Lashenden Aerodrome (the

non-directional beacon A non-directional beacon (NDB) or non-directional radio beacon is a radio beacon which does not include directional information. Radio beacons are radio transmitters at a known location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid. NDB are ...

identifier is "LSH"). PPR (Prior Permission Required) is required to land.

References

External links

Aerodrome website

Photographs of Lashenden (Headcorn) Airfield from the Geograph British Isles project

Headcorn Parachute Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lashenden Airports in Kent

History

Current use

See also

References

Further reading

External links