Royal Air Force Needs Oar Point or more simply RAF Needs Oar Point is a former Royal Air Force advanced landing ground located near Lymington in Hampshire, England.[2] Constructed in 1943 it was used from April 1944 as a base for Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber squadrons of No. 146 Wing of the 2nd Tactical Air Force supporting the Normandy landings. All four operational squadrons moved to RAF Hurn for two weeks before moving on to France by July 1944 and the airfield was returned to agricultural use in 1945.[3][4]
RAF Needs Oar Point | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lymington, Hampshire in England | |||||||||
 The location of the airfield in 2014 | |||||||||
  RAF Needs Oar Point Shown within Hampshire | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°46′23″N 1°25′53″W / 50.77306°N 1.43139°W | ||||||||
| Type | Advanced Landing Ground | ||||||||
| Code | NI | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1944 | ||||||||
| Built by | RAF Airfield Construction Service | ||||||||
| In use | April 1944 - November 1944 | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 9 metres (30 ft)[1] AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Units and aircraft edit
- No. 193 Squadron RAF with Hawker Typhoon IBs from 11 April to 3 July 1944.[5]
- No. 197 Squadron RAF with Hawker Typhoon IBs from 10 April 1944 to 3 July 1944.[5]
- No. 257 Squadron RAF with Hawker Typhoon IBs from 10 April 1944 to 2 July 1944[6]
- No. 266 Squadron RAF with Hawker Typhoon IBs from 10 April 1944 to 29 June 1944; it temporarily moved to RAF Snaith in Yorkshire between 27 April 1944 and 6 May 1944.[7]
- No. 413 (Polish) Repair and Salvage Unit was based on the airfield between 19 June 1944 and 21 July 1944.[8]
- No. 1318 Mobile Wing RAF Regiment[9]
- No. 2898 Squadron RAF Regiment[9]
References edit
Citations
- ^ Falconer 1998, p. 65.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 169
- ^ Needs Oar Point Archived 14 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Needs Oar Point Airfield
- ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 67
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 79
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 81
- ^ Sturtivant 2007, p.223
- ^ a b "Needs Oar Point". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
Bibliography
- Falconer, J (1998). RAF Fighter Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2175-9.
- Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1 85310 053 6.
- Sturtivant, Ray (2007). RAF Flying Training and Support Units since 1912. Air-Britain. ISBN 0-85130 365 X.
External links edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Needs Oar Point airfield.