RAF Lymington

Infobox Military Structure
name= Royal Air Force Station Lymington
USAAF Station 551
location= Located Near Lymington , Hampshire, England
coordinates=coord|50|45|59|N|001|30|46|W|


caption= Lymington Airfield - 22 May 1944
type= Military airfield
code=LY
built=1943
builder=
materials=
height=
used=1944-1946
demolished=
condition=
ownership=
controlledby=United States Army Air Forces
garrison=Ninth Air Force
commanders=
occupants=50th Fighter Group
battles= European Theatre of World War II
Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 Location map|Hampshire
caption= RAF Lymington, shown within Hampshire
lat= 50.75
long= -1.55
width= 200

RAF Lymington (also known as Lymington Advanced Landing Ground (ALG)) was a World War II airfield in England located 1 mile east of Lymington in Hampshire. During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Force Ninth Air Force. It was also known as USAAF station 551.

Overview

Ninth Air Force required several temporary advanced landing grounds in the Avon Valley or south west Hampshire prior to the Normandy invasion to provide tactical air support for the ground forces landing in France. Lymington Airfield was built by an RAF Airfield construction unit in winter of 1943. It was a temporary facility using wire mesh Sommerfeld Tracking, later being replaced with steel Marsden Matting for runways. Two runways were constructed, E/W 1600 yds,N/S 1400 yds along with several blister hangars.

USAAF use

50th Fighter Group

RAF Lymington saw the arrival of the USAAF 50th Fighter Group on 5 April 1944, the group arriving from Orlando AAF, Florida. The 50th had the following operational squadrons:

* 10th Fighter Squadron (T5)
* 81st Fighter Squadron (2N)
* 313th Fighter Squadron (W3)

The 50th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 84th Fighter Wing, IX Tactical Air Command. It flew the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The group began operations by making a fighter sweep over France on 1 May. It engaged primarily in escort and dive-bombing missions for the next month.

The 50th covered the invasion beaches during the invasion of Normandy on 6 and 7 June, and moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Carentan, France (ALG A-10) on 25 June.

On the continent, the 50th attacked bridges, roads, vehicles, railways, trains, gun emplacements, and marshalling yards during the Battle of Normandy. It bombed targets in the St Lo region in July and supported the subsequent drive across France.

The group assisted in stemming the German offensive in the Saar-Hardt area early in January 1945, engaged in the offensive that reduced the Colmar bridgehead in January and February and supported the drive that breached the Siegfried Line and resulted in the movement of Allied forces into southern Germany in March and April.

The 50th Fighter Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for close cooperation with Seventh Army in March during the assault on the Siegfried Line. In spite of the hazards of enemy opposition and difficult weather conditions, the group struck enemy defenses and isolated battle areas by destroying bridges, communications, supply areas, and ammunition dumps.

The 50th received second Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission on 25 April 1945 when, despite intense antiaircraft fire, the group destroyed or damaged many enemy aircraft on an airfield southeast of Munich.

The group ended operations at Giebelstadt, Germany in May 1945, and returned to the United States in August. It was inactivated at La Junta AAF, Colorado on 7 November 1945.

Postwar use

After the 50th moved to France in late June 1944, the airfield was used as an Admiralty Storage Area until 1946, when the land was returned to agriculture.

Civil use

With the facility released from military control in 1946, almost all traces of the former airfield were removed. One of the original blister hangars remains on the standing today, and a private airstrip is in use on the site.

ee also

* List of RAF stations
* USAAF Ninth Air Force - World War II
* 50th Space Wing

References

* Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0900913800
* Freeman, Roger A. (1996) The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle ISBN 1854092723
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
* ArmyAirForces.com 50th Fighter Group http://www.armyairforces.com/dbgroups.asp?Group=72

External links

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/SZ3435696487 Photographs of RAF Lymington from the Geograph British Isles project]
* [http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=434000&Y=96000&width=700&height=400&gride=434500&gridn=96000&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=grid&pc=&zm=0&scale=25000&multimap.x=419&multimap.y=132 Aerial Photo of RAF Lymington from Multimap.Com]
* [http://worldwar2airfields.fotopic.net/c213423.html Photos of Lymington (Pylewell House) Airfield, 23 June 2004]