RAF Detling

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Former Royal Air Force station in Kent, England

title: "RAF Detling" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-in-kent", "royal-navy-air-stations-in-kent", "military-airbases-established-in-1916", "military-airbases-closed-in-1959"] description: "Former Royal Air Force station in Kent, England" topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Detling" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former Royal Air Force station in Kent, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]

FieldValue
nameRAF Detling
ensignEnsign of the Royal Air Force.svg
ensign_size90px
partof
locationDetling, Kent
nearest_town
countryEngland
imageDetling War Memorial (01).jpg
captionThis memorial commemorates the units and squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Naval Air Service, the Fleet Air Arm, the army and civilian personnel who served at Detling Air Field
image2
typeRoyal Air Force station
coordinates
pushpin_mapKent#UK
pushpin_map_captionShown within Kent
pushpin_labelRAF Detling
ownershipAir Ministry
operatorRoyal Air Force
controlledbyRAF Bomber Command 1938

| name = RAF Detling | ensign = Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg | ensign_size = 90px | native_name = | partof = | location = Detling, Kent | nearest_town = | country = England | image = Detling War Memorial (01).jpg | alt = | caption = This memorial commemorates the units and squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Naval Air Service, the Fleet Air Arm, the army and civilian personnel who served at Detling Air Field | image2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | type = Royal Air Force station | coordinates = | pushpin_map = Kent#UK | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Kent | pushpin_label = RAF Detling | pushpin_label_position = | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force | controlledby = RAF Bomber Command 1938

It was a station of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in the First World War and the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The airfield suffered several raids by the Luftwaffe, especially during the period of the Battle of Britain.

History

RNAS Detling airfield was 4 mi north east of Maidstone, and was used jointly by the Navy and Air Force between 1916 and 1919. The Fleet Air Arm aircraft also shared some facilities during the second World War. The site was developed in April 1915, covering some 95 acre, although it was April 1917 before the first occupants, No. 50 Squadron arrived from Dover. The airfield closed in December 1919 to military flying, and after the war it was used by the Short factory at Rochester to test aircraft, and civilian gliding also started in 1930.

RAF Detling opened in September 1938 and was assigned to No. 16 Group RAF (headquartered in Chatham) in Coastal Command, for patrols protecting coastal shipping. Although the site was prone to fog, it was re-activated as it had an excellent view over the Medway towns. The airfield consisted of grassed fields, with the longest runway being 4200 ft long orientated in a north east/south west direction. No. 500 Sqn were the first squadron to move in from RAF Manston. During the Battle of Britain, the base was subject to several raids by enemy aircraft, but also provided a useful stopover location for aircraft from No. 11 Group who could return to their home bases later. On 13 August 1940, a day the Luftwaffe codenamed Adlertag (Eagle Day), at least 50 bombers set out to bomb Detling and RAF Rochford. This resulted in several casualties at Detling, but had little effect on Fighter Command, as the base was an asset of Coastal Command. Twenty-two aircraft were destroyed on the ground, the hangars were set alight and a direct hit on the operations room killed the commanding officer. In total, 67 service and civilian personnel were killed in the raid. The base suffered several attacks during August and September 1940.

In 1943, it was transferred first to RAF Army Cooperation Command, then to Fighter Command, ahead of the D Day landings. By December 1944, all flying had ceased, and being a grassed airfield, which were surplus to requirements, Detling was placed on a care and maintenance basis from 1 January 1945. Fears of Nazi fanatics not abiding by a surrender, led to the RAF Regiment setting up a disarmament school, teaching students about booby-trapped buildings and dealing with German prisoners. RAF gliding schools used the site after the war, with the Air Training Corps gliders using the airfield alongside civilian gliding clubs. However, these all had to leave when the RAF disposed of the site back to its original owners who were not interested in running it as a gliding site, eventually closing in 1959.

The site of the airfield is now home to the annual Kent County Show, which takes place for three days every July, and a number of other shows and events.

Notable personnel

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Corporal_J.D.M_Pearson,GC,WAAF(1940)(Art._IWM_ART_LD_626).jpg" caption="''[[Corporal J. D. M. Pearson, GC, WAAF]]'' by [[Laura Knight]] (1940)"] ::

  • Ronald Cuthbert Hay – Served with No. 801 Squadron NAS in 1940 at the base.
  • Daphne Pearson – Pearson was billeted at Detling in 1940 when she was awarded a George Cross for an act of bravery in rescuing a pilot from a burning aircraft which had crashed on the airfield. Pearson had just got him to safety when the bombs on board exploded. Initially awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal, this was changed to the George Cross later.

Operational units and aircraft

;First World War

The following units were also here at some point:

References

Sources

References

  1. (21 September 1938). "Detling station opened". The Times.
  2. "Detling Airfield".
  3. (28 October 1949). "ATC Gliding Training". The Times.
  4. (20 December 1949). "RAF glider training". The Times.
  5. (16 March 1959). "Clubs' difficulties in obtaining sites". The Times.
  6. (5 December 2001). "Commander Ronnie Hay". The Times.
  7. (26 July 2000). "Daphne Pearson obituary". The Times.
  8. "Detling". [[Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

royal-air-force-stations-in-kentroyal-navy-air-stations-in-kentmilitary-airbases-established-in-1916military-airbases-closed-in-1959