| RAF Stoney Cross USAAF Station AAF-452   | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton,Hampshire in England | |||||||||||
 Aerial Photo Mosaic of Stoney Cross Airfield - 5 September 1943 while additional construction of dispersal hardstands and taxiways on the southwest side of the 07/25 runway. From the air, Stoney Cross was very distinctive, the spur shape being dictated by the terrain on which it was built. The airfield was first planned as an emergency landing ground equipped with facilities. While under construction, the design was changed several times and eventually became a fully equipped airfield and station. | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||||
| Code | SS | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Army Cooperation Command 1942-43 RAF Fighter Command 1943-44 RAF Transport Command 1944- | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
  RAF Stoney Cross Shown within Hampshire | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°55′08″N001°39′36″W / 50.91889°N 1.66000°W /50.91889; -1.66000 | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1942 (1942) | ||||||||||
| Built by | George Wimpey & Co Ltd | ||||||||||
| In use | November 1943 - January 1948 (1948) | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 114 metres (374 ft)[1]AMSL | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Royal Air Force Stoney Cross or more simplyRAF Stoney Cross is a formerRoyal Air Force station in theNew Forest,Hampshire,England. The airfield is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest ofLyndhurst and 12 miles (19 km) west ofSouthampton.
Opened in 1942,[2] it served both theRoyal Air Force andUnited States Army Air Forces. During the war it functioned primarily as a combat bomber and fighter airfield. It closed in January 1948.
Today the remains of the airfield sit on New ForestCrown land managed by theForestry Commission.
Stoney Cross opened in November 1942 and served theRoyal Air Force andUnited States Army Air ForcesNinth Air Force.
The following units were here at some point:[3]
Stoney Cross was known asUSAAF Station AAF-452 for security reasons during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "SS".
The367th Fighter Group arrived fromOakland Municipal Airport,California flyingLockheed P-38 Lightnings. They had the following fighter squadrons and fuselage codes:
The 367th was a group ofNinth Air Force's70th Fighter Wing,IX Tactical Air Command. On 6 July the 367th Fighter was moved to nearbyRAF Ibsley to make way for the 387th Bomb Group.
With the fighters moved to Ibsley, the MartinB-26 Marauders of the387th Bombardment Group moved to Stoney Cross fromRAF Chipping Ongar on 25 June 1944. They had the following bomber squadrons and fuselage codes:
The 387th was a group ofNinth Air Force's98th Bombardment Wing,IX Bomber Command. By 1 September the group was able to move across theEnglish Channel to its Advanced Landing Ground at a capturedLuftwaffe airfield,Maupertus-sur-Mer Airfield, France (A-15).
Upon its release from military use, the airfield stood neglected. The Forestry Commission, who have managed the crown lands of the New Forest since 1924, took over the management of the site upon its closure. Runways were broken up in the 1960s, putting an end to their use for informal driving lessons,[4] to meet demands for hardcore in the area and most of the usable buildings were sold. The final remaining structure - the water tower - was removed in 2004.
At present aminor C road runs along the length of the main 25/07 runway as a right of way. The other two runways are still clearly visible in aerial photography, although the concrete has been removed. The eastern perimeter road is also in use as a C road. The Forestry Commission has established car parks on three dispersal pans and two campsites make use of other former dispersal sites alongside the eastern 33/15 runway. Almost all of the other dispersal hardstands have been removed, although a few survive in a deteriorated condition. There is a small marker along one of the roads as a memorial to the former airfield and an interpretation board at one of the car parks.
From 1951 to 1954 the accommodation site at Longbeech was used by New Forest District council to house families waiting for council housing. The site had grocery, doctor's surgery, library, and hall which doubled up as a cinema at the weekends.[5] The site was vacated by 1955.
In 1986 RAF Stoney Cross hit the national news when a Hampshire Constabulary-led police operation evicted a large group ofPeace Convoy travellers from the airfield site. BBC2 recorded the week-long occupation leading to an early-morning eviction in the documentary 'Seven Days At Stoney Cross (1986)[6]
The concrete roads in Longbeech still exist but those on the remainder of the airfield that had survived the earlier 'blitz' were removed in the 1990s.[citation needed]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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