| Name | HMS Daedalus II |
| Acquired | 1940 |
| Commissioned | 15 May 1940 |
| Decommissioned | 31 January 1946 |
| Type | Naval air station and training establishment |
HMSDaedalus II was a BritishRoyal Navyair station and training establishment between 1940 and 1946. The name applied to four different locations with the United Kingdom at various times during theSecond World War. The establishment was formed to free up space atRNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMSDaedalus).
The first location was formerRoyal Air Force (RAF) station atLympne Airport. This RAF station was taken over by theFleet Air Arm in July 1939 and commissioned asHMSBuzzard for use as a training establishment for mechanics from HMSDaedalus. It was renamed as HMSDaedalus II in January 1940 but the airfield was transferred back to the RAF in May 1940.
As the airfield in Kent was being transferred back to the RAF anair-sea rescueseaplane base and aircrew training centre was established at the Royal Motor Yacht Club atSandbanks in Dorset[1] and this base was formallycommissioned as HMSDaedalus II on 15 May 1940.[2]764 &765 Naval Air Squadrons (NAS) were based there with theirSupermarine Walrus,Fairey Swordfish andFairey Seafox aircraft.[1] This station was also known asRNAS Sandbanks.[1] Concurrently the training establishment formerly at Lympne was moved to Clayton Hall,Newcastle-under-Lyme as a base to train artificers but also retained the nameDaedalus II.[3]
In 1942 an outstation of the Sandbanks base was opened atRNAS Lawrenny Ferry inPembrokeshire and 764 NAS was moved there as an operational conversion unit. 764 NAS remained at Lawrenny Ferry until October 1943 when the squadron was disbanded and the base reduced to care and maintenance status.[1][2]
Sandbanks was also reduced to care and maintenance status in October 1943 and 765 NAS was also disbanded.[1] The base at Sandbanks later became part of thelanding craft baseHMS Turtle.[2]
By Christmas 1943, Clayton Hall was the only remaining site of HMSDaedalus II and continued to train aircraft artificers throughout the war until January 1946 when HMSDaedalus II was decommissioned.[2]
HMS Daedalus II features as a level within the game WW2 Rebuilder under its original name, RAF Lympne. The player has to rebuild the damaged facility and convert it for civilian air ferry services.[4]
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