RAF Staplehurst
| RAF Staplehurst USAAF Station AAF-413 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staplehurst, Kent in England | |||||||||
Staplehurst Airfield, two weeks before D-Day on 21 May 1944. Note the blister hangar just to the west of the 19 runway. The improvised technical site and airfield station is located to the north of the 10 runway. | |||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Advanced Landing Ground | ||||||||
| Code | XS | ||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force (1943-1944) United States Army Air Forces (1944) | ||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Air Defence of Great Britain 1944- * No. 83 Group RAF | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°09′42″N 000°34′18″E / 51.16167°N 0.57167°E | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1943 | ||||||||
| In use | August 1943 - January 1945 | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 30 metres (98 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
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Royal Air Force Staplehurst or more simply RAF Staplehurst is a former Royal Air Force Advanced Landing Ground located in Kent, England. The airfield is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Staplehurst; about 38 miles (61 km) southeast of London.
Opened in 1943, Staplehurst was a prototype for temporary Advanced Landing Grounds built in France after D-Day, and as the Allied forces moved east across France and Germany. It was used by the Royal Air Force, Canadian and the United States Army Air Forces. It was closed in September 1944.
Today the airfield is a mixture of agricultural fields with no recognisable remains, except a memorial now near the site.