RAF Brenzett

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RAF Brenzett
Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
Brenzett, Kent in England
Site information
Type RAF advanced landing ground
CodeZT [1]
Owner Air Ministry
Operator Royal Air Force
Controlled by RAF Second Tactical Air Force
* No. 84 Group RAF
RAF Fighter Command
* No. 11 Group RAF [1]
Location
Kent UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
RAF Brenzett
Shown within Kent
United Kingdom adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
RAF Brenzett
RAF Brenzett (the United Kingdom)
Coordinates 51°00′52″N000°52′45″E / 51.01444°N 0.87917°E / 51.01444; 0.87917
Site history
Built1943 (1943)
Built byRAF Airfield Construction Service
In useMarch 1943–1944 (1944)
Battles/wars European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation3 metres (10 ft) [1] AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
00/00  Sommerfeld Tracking
00/00 Sommerfeld Tracking

Royal Air Force Brenzett or more simply RAF Brenzett was a Royal Air Force advanced landing ground close to the village of Brenzett near Romney Marsh in Kent during the Second World War. It was used as an airfield in 1944 for the Mustang Wing which comprised three squadrons including two Polish squadrons in exile and operated patrols against V-1 flying bombs.

Contents

History

Polish airmen at RAF Brenzett during the Second World War RAF Brenzett (19).jpg
Polish airmen at RAF Brenzett during the Second World War

The site was chosen for an advanced landing ground in July 1942 and construction work on the 300-acre (1.2 km2) site of flat marshland commenced in 1943, it was due to open on 1 March 1943 but was not ready for occupation until September and the airfield opened as RAF Brenzett as part of RAF Fighter Command on 14 September 1943 with two Sommerfeld Tracking runways. The locals referred to the airfield as Ivychurch after the nearest village. The airfield eventually had five blister hangars for the aircraft but most of the personnel were housed in a tented camp.

The first unit to use the airfield was No. 122 Squadron RAF with Supermarine Spitfires in August 1943 who used it relieve pressure on their home airfield of RAF Kingsnorth five miles (8 km) to the north. The airfield was not used to support the D-Day landings but in July 1944 No. 133 Wing RAF, with Polish-flown North American Mustangs, three squadrons strong, was based there, mainly on anti-flying bomb patrols. [2] [3]

The United States Army Air Corps designated the airfield Station Number 438. The main American unit was Battery C, 635 AAA (Anti-aircraft Artillery), Automatic Weapons Bn, IX Air Defence Command. [4]

The Mustang wing left in October 1944 and the airfield was no longer needed, and closed on 13 December 1944, returning to agricultural use. In 1972 the Brenzett Aeronautical Museum, a military and aviation museum, was opened near the site in buildings formerly occupied by the Women's Land Army.

Units and aircraft

UnitDatesAircraftNotes
No. 122 (Bombay) Squadron RAF 1943 Supermarine Spitfire IXDetachments from RAF Kingsnorth [5]
No. 129 (Mysore) Squadron RAF 1944 North American Mustang III [6] Part of No. 133 Wing RAF [7]
No. 306 Polish Fighter Squadron 1944 North American Mustang III [8] Part of No. 133 Wing RAF
No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron 1944 North American Mustang III [9] Part of No. 133 Wing RAF

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Falconer 2012, p. 58.
  2. ↑ Brenzett Aeronautical Museum Trust
  3. ↑ "Brenzett ALG". History of Romney Marsh. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  4. ↑ USAAF bases in the United Kingdom Archived 10 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 58.
  6. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 59.
  7. ↑ "Brenzett". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust . Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 85.
  9. ↑ Jefford 1988, p. 86.

Bibliography

Further reading

Commons-logo.svg Media related to RAF Brenzett at Wikimedia Commons

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