Monument record MDO29765 - First and Second World War military airfield, Chickerell

The site of a First World War airfield at Chickerell in use from 1918 until 1919. It became a civilian airfield for a short while in the 1920s and then used again by the military in the 1930s. In the Second World War the site was used as an emergency airstrip and it continued to be used by the military until 1959. The site is now occupied by the Granby Housing Estate.The airfield simply comprised of a square field with minimal facilities including a hutted camp on the east side. In June 1918, as part of the RAF's re-organisation of coastal air defences, Number 513 Flight ("D" Flight of 253 Squadron) was based there, which then transferred to 241 Squadron later that year. This Flight carried out anti-submarine patrols using the standard coastal type DH6 aeroplanes. The Squadron disbanded in January 1919 and the airfield was used for a while in a civilian capacity. In the 1930s the airfield was once again used by the military as a detachment base for aircraft on naval exercises from Portland and Sir Alan Cobham's Air Circus also made the occasional appearance there. From 1937 it was used as a support airfield under RAF Coastal Command for the Chesil Beach Bombing Ranges. During the Second World War Chickerell was used as an emergency airstrip and for occasional detachments. The site continued to be used in the 1950s by Army and Fleet Air Arm aircraft and as a base for 1606 Squadron of the Air Training Corps until it was finally decommissioned in 1959 and a housing estate built on the site. Remains of the airfield utilised between 1918 and 1959 are visible as structures and cropmarks on aerial photographs of Charlestown taken in the mid 1940's. Visible remains include ancilliary structures and buildings, roadways and cropmarks of former camps or storage areas. This area has since been built over by a modern housing estate.

No. 241 Squadron was formed in August 1918 at the Portland seaplane base and its nearby airfield at Chickerell. It flew anti-submarine patrols over the English Channel and was disbanded in June 1919. <1>

The site of a First World War airfield at Chickerell in use from 1918 until 1919. It became a civilian airfield for a short while in the 1920s and then used again by the military in the 1930s. In the Second World War the site was used as an emergency airstrip and it continued to be used by the military until 1959.

The airfield simply conisted of a square field with minimal facilities including a hutted camp on the east side. In June 1918 as part of the RAF's re-organisation of coastal air defences, Number 513 Flight ("D" Flight of Number 253 Squadron) was based there, which then transferred to 241 Squadron later that year. This Flight carried out anti-submarine patrols using the standard coastal type DH6 aeroplanes. The Squadron disbanded in January 1919 and the airfield was used for a while in a civilian capacity. In the 1930s the airfield was once again used by the military as a detachment base for aircraft on naval exercises from Portland. From 1937 it was used as a support airfield for the Chesil Beach Bombing Ranges. During the Second World War Chickerell was used as an emergency airstrip and for occasional detachments. The site continued to be used until it was finally decommissioned in 1959 and a housing estate was built on the site. The source contains a map and a photograph of the airfield. <2>

It was used in the early 1930s by the military and was a stopping point for Sir Alan Cobham's Air Circus. It was re-opened under RAF Coastal Command as a support airfield for the Chesil Beach Bombing Ranges in 1937. After WW2 it continued to be used in the 1950s by Army and Fleet Air Arm aircraft and the 1606 Squadron of the Air Training Corps was based there. It is now covered by the Granby Estate. <3>

After the First World War Chickerell was used for a short time by Handley Page Air Transport as a civil airfield for airline services to Cricklewood. It did not last long but was used occasionally by other aircraft including Sir Alan Cobham's Flying Circus. The military took over the airfield again in October 1936 and it was used as a Forward Landing Aerodrome for aircraft using the Bombing Range at Chesil Beach. It was also a satellite airfield for RAF Warmwell. It was used after WW2 by Fleet Air Arm aircraft based at Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solent. <4>

Remains of a military airfield utilised between 1918 and 1959 are visible as structures and cropmarks on aerial photographs of Charlestown taken in the mid 1940s <5-6>). Visible remains include ancilliary structures and buildings, roadways and cropmarks of former camps or storage areas. These features were digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset). They are not visible on the most recent comprehensive aerial images available to the project, this area having since been built over by a modern housing estate.

<1> Royal Air Force, Royal Air Force. 2003. Royal Air force History, <http://www.raf.mod.uk/history_old/h241.html> [Accessed 04-DEC-2008] (Digital archive). SDO20105.

<2> Delve, Ken, 2006, The Military Airfields of Britain. South Western England: Channel islands, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, 61-62 (Monograph). SDO19867.

<3> Chickerell. 2006. Chickerell Airfield, <http://www.chickerell.com/contact/2001-01.php> [Accessed 05-DEC-2008] (Digital archive). SDO20104.

<4> Southern Life. 2008. Chickerell, <http://www.southernlife.org.uk/dorset/chickerell.htm> [Accessed 05-DEC-2008] (Digital archive). SDO20106.

<5> Royal Air Force, 13-APR-1946, RAF 106G/UK/1411 F20 4032-33 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13070.

<6> Royal Air Force, 30-AUG-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/2272 5135-36 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13069.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1486549 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2023 11:49AM