RAF Coolham

RAF Coolham was a temporary wartime airfield near the village of Coolham in West Sussex, built between the autumn of 1943 and early 1944 as one of the many Advanced Landing Grounds laid out across southern England in preparation for the invasion of Europe. Rather than concrete, it relied on two grass-seeded Sommerfeld tracking runways, ringed by dispersal hardstandings and a handful of blister hangars, and it became operational on 1 April 1944.

The station fell under the Second Tactical Air Force and No. 84 Group, and was home to fighter units flying Supermarine Spitfires and North American Mustang Mk IIIs. These included the No. 133 (Polish) Fighter Wing, made up of Nos. 129, 306 and 315 Squadrons, alongside No. 135 Wing with Nos. 222, 349 (Belgian) and 485 (New Zealand) Squadrons, giving Coolham a markedly international character. The Polish ace Stanisław Skalski served here during this period.

The airfield’s purpose was short-lived but intense, supporting Allied air operations over the Normandy beachhead from D-Day on 6 June 1944 before its flying squadrons moved on. With the front advancing, Coolham was wound down and the land was returned to farming after the war, leaving little trace of its brief but busy role.