Aces High

This April marks the 100th anniversary of the RAF. Aviation historian KENNETH DELVE uncovers the hidden histories of Sussex airfields

- Kenneth Delve

ON 1 APRIL 1918 the Royal Flying Corps became the Royal Air Force (RAF), making this month the 100th anniversary of the RAF. Sussex had a major part to play in aviation history, being of key strategic importance during both World Wars. Interestingly, some of those airfields are still extant, such as Shoreham, while others – Ford, for example, which was one of our most important airfields – closed shortly after World War II.

Sussex had 14 operational airfields in World War II, some with previous World War I history, many having been in service since the early 1940s, and some constructed as part of the air build-up for D-Day 1944. A few survived into the Cold War period, such as Tangmere – perhaps the most famous of the county’s airfields.

World War I saw Sussex providing flying training from airfields such as Eastbourne, Rustington, Tangmere and Shoreham, while other airfields such as Southbourne were assigned this use but not completed. Eastbourne also had an aircraft production facility – the Eastbourne Aviation Company used a site on the Crumbles and built types such as the BE2c and Avro 504. Sussex’s airship station was at Polegate, which opened in July 1915 for anti-submarine patrols. For part of the war Polegate operated out-stations at Slindon and Upton, while Telscombe Cliffs had a similar role, but for aircraft rather than airships.