| Royal Air Force Staplehurst USAAF Station AAF-413 |
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| Located Near Staplehurst, Kent, United Kingdom | |
Staplehurst Airfield, two weeks before D-Day on 21 May 1944. Note the blister hangar just to the west of the 19 runway. The improvised technical site and airfield station is located to the north of the 10 runway. |
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| Type | Military airfield |
| Location code | SH |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1943-1944 |
| Controlled by | Royal Canadian Air Force United States Army Air Forces |
| Garrison | RCAF Fighter Command Ninth Air Force |
| Occupants | Nos. 401, 411 and 41 RCAF 363d Fighter Group |
| Battles/wars | European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 RAF Staplehurst, shown within Kent
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RAF Staplehurst is a former World War II airfield in Kent, England. The airfield is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Staplehurst; about 38 miles (61 km) southeast of London
Opened in 1943, Staplehurst was a prototype for temporary Advanced Landing Grounds built in France after D-Day, and as the Allied forces moved east across France and Germany. It was used by the Royal Air Force, Canadian and the United States Army Air Forces. It was closed in September 1944.
Today the airfield is a mixture of agricultural fields with no recognizable remains, except a memorial now near the site.
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The USAAF Ninth Air Force required several temporary Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) along the channel coast prior to the June 1944 Normandy invasion to provide tactical air support for the ground forces landing in France.
Staplehurst airfield was one of the first batch of ten ALGs approved for construction which started in January 1943. All had 1 March 1943 as the target date for completion but this was too optimistic in the prevailing wet winter weather conditions and the airfield was not ready for occupation until later in the spring.
It was a prototype for the type of temporary airfield which would be built in France after D-Day, when the need advanced landing fields would become urgent as the Allied forces moved east across France and Germany. It was originally planned to support light bombers and thereby would need a bomb store near the site. However, in a review of airfield building plans, this original requirement was dropped so Staplehurst was of similar specification to other ALGs in the district.
The airfield consisted of two wire-mesh Sommerfeld Track runways, the main being 4,200 ft (1,300 m) aligned 10/28 and a secondary of 3,300 ft (1,000 m) at 01/19. Pierced Steel Planking (PSP) was also used in the construction of the hardstands and perimeter track along with several temporary hangars of wood and canvas.
Tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and petrol drums, along with a drinkable water and minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting.
It was not until early August 1943 that use was made of Staplehurst for combat flying when the Supermarine Spitfires of Nos. 401, 411 and 412 Squadrons, RCAF, arrived from RAF Kenley. Although these units engaged in operations almost immediately, their presence was more in the way of a test of the ALG to see if any short-comings would be revealed. As at most other Kent ALGs, the most serious problem was the tendency of the Sommerfeld Track to ruck up and damage tail wheels. When the Canadians moved out to the permanent airfield at RAF Biggin Hill in mid-October, Staplehurst airfield was returned to a caretaker, standby status.
Staplehurst was known as USAAF Station AAF-413 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. It's USAAF Station Code was "SH".
An early American arrival by air occurred on 4 April 1944 when a 453rd Bomb Group Consolidated B-24 from RAF Old Buckenham landed with No. 4 engine out. It was duly repaired and flown out.
Staplehurst was chosen to house one of the Ninth Air Force's two P-51B Mustang fighter groups (The other being the 354th Fighter Group), and the 363d Fighter Group moved in to Staplehurst on 14 April from RAF Rivenhall. The group consisted of the following operational squadrons and fuselage codes:
Previous missions of the 363d were chiefly flown in support of Eighth Air Force heavy bomber (B-17, B-24) missions and had not fared particularly well. Its first mission from Staplehurst was also not a happy occasion as three P-51s lost in bad weather went into the sea while another crashed returning to base. Then, on 22 April four of its Mustangs failed to return and on the 29th another four were lost and yet more on 24 May.
Morale was lifted on 28 May when, in an air battle near Gardelegen, 16 enemy aircraft were claimed and 11 credited as shot down for the loss of only two P-51s and one of these was as the result of a collision with a P-47. Another seven enemy aircraft were claimed as a result of action on 30 May.
In the two weeks following D-Day, the 363rd experienced the most fruitful period of its service in the European Theater of Operations when patrols over France brought it actions with a total of 19 confirmed victories. However, a similar number of Mustangs were lost, albeit mostly to ground fire.
During operations from Staplehurst, the group was credited with 41 victories but lost 43 of its own aircraft in the process.
Another lame duck arrived on 28 June when a battle-damaged 489th Bomb Group Liberator from RAF Halesworth that put down in a hurry. Two days later, the 363rd was alerted for movement to the Continent, its new base being the airfield at Maupertus (ALG A-15), near Cherbourg.
When the rear party of the 363d left Staplehurst on 5 July it marked the end of the airfield's use as a combat base. In September, Staplehurst was de-requisitioned and in the following month RAF works organizations removed the metal surfacing and temporary structures.
Upon its release from military use, within a year there was little left to indicate that these 400 acres (1.6 km2) to the east of Staplehurst village had once been a thriving fighter airfield. Today, the farmland that was once RAF Staplehurst is unrecognizable as anything other than farmland. The location of the airfield can only be discerned by looking at the aerial photography (above) and following the path of Chickenden Lane, which runs almost parallel the former main 10/28 runway. A few wartime buildings may be in agricultural use just to the northeast of the former airfield.
There is a memorial now at this site located just off Chickenden Lane near the site of the former airfield. It was dedicated on June 6th 2010. It was attended by 95 year-old Col. John R. Ulricson who flew his P-51 "Lolita" from the Airfield, his son retired Army major C. Bruce Ulricson, who lives in Landaff and the patriarch’s grandson, N.H. Army National Guard Major Davis K. Ulricson, of Ashland. Local fundraising efforts included bottles of “Ulricsons Finest Staplehurst Ale” which on the label show Ulricson in front of his "Lolita", which reportedly made him smile. There was a flypast that included a P-51D "Big Beautiful Doll". It was supposed to include two USAF F-15's and the Kent Spitfire, but they did not show up due to weather. The dedication was preceded by a service at the church in Staplehurst.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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