RAF Merston

Former RAF station in West Sussex

50°49′13″N 0°44′37″W / 50.8203°N 0.7435°W / 50.8203; -0.7435TypeRoyal Air Force Satellite StationCodeXMSite informationOwnerAir MinistryOperatorRoyal Air Force
United States Army Air ForcesControlled byRAF Fighter Command
1941-42 & 1943-45Site historyBuilt1940 (1940)/41In useApril 1941 - November 1945 (1945)Battles/warsEuropean theatre of World War IIAirfield informationElevation15 metres (49 ft)^[1] AMSL

Runways
Direction	Length and surface
00/00	Sommerfeld Tracking
00/00	Sommerfeld Tracking

Royal Air Force Merston or more simply RAF Merston is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located in West Sussex, England.

History

RAF Merston was built In May 1941, as a grass airfield satellite to the neighbouring RAF Tangmere. The site was used by RAF fighter squadrons from May 1941 to August 1942. The site briefly closed for redevelopment in from August 1942 until its reopening in May 1943 as an RAF fighter station. It was used by the Royal Navy as a storage site for surplus war equipment until it closed on 13 November 1945.^[2]^[3]

Units

The following squadrons were here at some point:^[3]

No. 41 Squadron RAF (1941 & 1942)^[4]
No. 80 Squadron RAF (1944)
No. 118 Squadron RAF (1943)
No. 130 Squadron RAF (1944)
No. 131 Squadron RAF (1942)
No. 145 Squadron RAF (1941)
No. 174 Squadron RAF (1943)
No. 181 Squadron RAF (1943 & 1944)
No. 182 Squadron RAF (1943 & 1944)
No. 184 Squadron RAF (1943)
No. 229 Squadron RAF (1944)
No. 232 Squadron RAF
No. 247 Squadron RAF (1943 & 1944)
No. 274 Squadron RAF (1944)
No. 303 Squadron RAF (1944)
No. 329 Squadron RAF (1944)
No. 340 Squadron RAF (1944)
No. 341 Squadron RAF (1944)
No. 402 Squadron RCAF (1943 & 1944)
No. 412 Squadron RCAF (1942)
No. 416 Squadron RCAF (1943)
No. 485 Squadron RNZAF (1943)
307th Fighter Squadron

Units;

No. 124 Airfield
No. 145 (French) Airfield became No. 145 (French) (Fighter) Wing RAF
No. 421 Repair & Salvage Unit
No. 2701 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2703 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2720 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2723 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2742 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2757 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2761 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2762 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2765 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2766 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2767 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2790 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2795 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2803 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2813 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 2956 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 4001 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment
No. 4016 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment
Air Sea Rescue Flight RAF, Merston/Westhampnett (1941) ^[5]

References

Citations

^ Falconer 1998, p. 63.
^ "Merston". American Air Museum. Imperial War Museum. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Merston". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
^ Jefford 1988, p. 38.
^ Lake 1999, p. 22.

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. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
Lake, A (1999). Flying units of the RAF. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.

Royal Air Force

Ministry of Defence

formations
and units

units	Commands Groups Wings Squadrons Flights Conversion units Operational Training units Schools / Training units Ferry units Glider units Misc units
stations	Active Former Satellite Landing Grounds
Regiment	Wings Squadrons Flights