Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent, (RNAS Lee-on-Solent; or HMS Daedalus 1939–1959 & 1965–1996 and HMS Ariel 1959–1965), is a former Royal Naval Air Station located near Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, approximately west of Portsmouth, on the coast of the Solent. The airfield is now mostly civilian, however is still used by HM Coastguard; flying the AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters.
It was one of the primary shore airfields of the Fleet Air Arm and was first established as a seaplane base in 1917 during the First World War. The aerodrome being opened in 1934, it commissioned as HMS Daedalus on 24 May 1939, the day administrative control of the Fleet Air Arm was transferred to the Admiralty from the Royal Air Force and one of the four airfields in the UK that were transferred to the Fleet Air Arm.
Royal Air Force (1918–1939)
On 1 April 1918, the RNAS combined with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to form the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Lee-on-Solent Naval Seaplane Training School became an RAF station. Naval aviation training continued throughout the 1920s under the RAF with both Calshot and Lee-on-Solent providing training in operating seaplanes - initially using the wartime Short Type 184s and, from late 1921, the new Fairey IIID. On 1 April 1924, the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force was formed, encompassing those RAF units that normally embarked on aircraft carriers and fighting ships (including those at shore bases such as Lee-on-Solent).
In 1931, the first grass airstrip at Lee was constructed to the west of the town, Lee-on-Solent became HQ RAF Coastal Area, and a major rebuilding programme ensued. On 14 July 1936, an expanded RAF Coastal Area became RAF Coastal Command, with the HQ remaining at Lee-on-Solent. As a consequence, on 24 May 1939, HQ RAF Coastal Command moved to Northwood and Lee-on-Solent was commissioned as HMS Daedalus. Captain T Bulteel was the first Royal Navy station commander of Lee-on-Solent and took up post the following day on 25 May 1939. as a Basic Seaplane Training and Pool Squadron. It was initially equipped with Supermarine Walrus amphibian aircraft and, Fairey Seafox and Fairey Swordfish Seaplane aircraft. The squadron trained pilots in operating seaplane aircraft and provided a pilot reserve for Fleet Air Arm catapult squadrons. The other unit was 771 Naval Air Squadron, formed out of a fleet requirements unit, with a northern 'X' flight and southern 'Y' flight, equipped with Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber and Supermarine Walrus.
753 and 754 Naval Air Squadrons also formed on 24 May 1939, out of the disbanded RAF unit, the School of Naval Co-operation RAF, which had itself formed at Lee-on-Solent in 1919. 753 NAS operated Blackburn Shark torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance biplane and Fairey Seal spotter-reconnaissance biplane. 754 NAS used Supermarine Walrus amphibian and Fairey Seafox floatplane along with Percival Vega Gull military trainer aircraft. May 1939 also saw the construction commence of concrete runways begin thus making RNAS Lee-on-Solent one of the early airbases to move away from grass airstrips. The two runways in question: heading 13/31 and in length and heading 24/06 with a length of . Later on, in August, 710 Naval Air Squadron formed. This was a seaplane squadron with six Supermarine Walrus for the seaplane tender HMS Albatross.
Second World War (1939–1945)
At the outbreak of the Second World War more Fleet Air Arm second line squadrons either formed or deployed at Lee-on-Solent, 772 Naval Air Squadron formed out of 'Y' Flight of 771 Naval Air Squadron, as a Fleet Requirements Unit, equipped with four Fairey Swordfish Floatplanes. At the same time a Service Trials Unit was stood up, with 778 Naval Air Squadron tasked with testing aircraft and armament, and assessing tactics, it operated with Blackburn Roc and Skua, along with Fairey Swordfish and Supermarine Walrus at HMS Daedalus and adding Fairey Albacore and Fulmar soon afterwards. In November the Deck Landing Training unit 770 Naval Air Squadron formed with a variety of aircraft, using de Havilland Moth, Gloster Sea Gladiator, Blackburn Skua and Fairey Swordfish.
A Communications Squadron was formed in March 1940, 781 Naval Air Squadron. It was equipped with a variety of aircraft including de Havilland Hornet Moth, Fairey Fulmar, Fairey Swordfish and Supermarine Walrus. 764 Naval Air Squadron was formed in April 1940 as an Advance Seaplane Training Squadron. It was equipped with Supermarine Walrus amphibian aircraft, and Fairey Seafox and Fairey Swordfish floatplanes. The squadron left HMS Daedalus for RAF Pembroke Dock on 3 July 1940, leaving behind its Seafox floatplanes.
763 Naval Air Squadron, Torpedo, Spotter, Reconnaissance Pool No.1, arrived at HMS Daedalus from RNAS Jersey at the end of May 1940. (The Admiralty had taken over Jersey Airport, to use as a Naval air station. However, due to the German occupation of France and the proximity to the Channel Islands, the Government concluded the Islands weren't defendable). The squadron remained at Lee-on-Solent for around one month before moving to RNAS Worthy Down in July.
Four Bellman hangars were initially erected at HMS Daedalus, but on 16 August 1940 the Luftwaffe attacked the airbase and caused considerable damage. In the air raid by Junkers Ju 88 multirole combat aircraft and Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter bomber aircraft, a number of people were killed and several buildings were seriously damaged, including destroying two of the Bellman hangars.
780 Naval Air Squadron arrived at HMS Daedalus from RNAS Eastleigh in October. This unit provided a conversion course tasked with training experienced civilian pilots in naval flying. It operated a variety of aircraft, including Blackburn Shark, de Havilland Gipsy Moth, de Havilland Hornet Moth, de Havilland Tiger Moth, Fairey Swordfish, Hawker Hart, Hawker Nimrod, Percival Proctor, and Percival Vega Gull. Then at the end of 1940 702 Naval Air Squadron reformed at Lee-on-Solent as a Long Range catapult squadron, operating with Fairey Seafox from armed merchant cruisers, with its shore-base being HMS Daedalus.
Improvements to the airbase were ongoing during the next three years. Additional land was acquired and a third runway was constructed. The existing shorter runway was re-aligned and extended, and by 1942 the lengths, width and orientation were: 18/00 , 24/06 and 11/29 , all by wide. Construction of dispersal hangars also continued over the same period. There was eventually eight Fromson-Massillion hangars with a footprint measuring x , these were hangars designated F, H, L, M, N, O, P and R. They were augmented with eleven hangars by A&J Main & Co Ltd, their footprint was identical to the fromson type, but had slightly lower doors. These hangars were designated A, B, C, D, E, G, J, K, Q, T and U. The original Watch Office was damaged during the August 1940 attack by the Luftwaffe’ and a new Admiralty designed control tower was constructed to replace it. By the middle of the Second World War the airbase had the capacity for five first line and three second line squadrons, at any one time. No. 26 Squadron arrived at Lee-on-Solent at the end of April, operating with Supermarine Spitfire Vb and was joined by the Supermarine Spitfire Va aircraft of No. 63 Squadron at the end of May and the British single-seat fighter-bomber Hawker Typhoon Ib equipped, No. 1320 ('Abdullah') Flight. Together with No. 268 Squadron, equipped with North American Mustang II an American long-range, single-seat fighter and No. 414 Squadron RCAF operating North American Mustang I, this mixture of units formed the Air Spotting Pool, operated by No. 34 Reconnaissance Wing, of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force.
On 6 June 1944, at 0441 hours, the first allied aircraft to take part in Operation Overlord took off from HMS Daedalus. The Air Spotting Pool operated as pairs with one aircraft covering against an air attack while the other aircraft provided aerial spotting for naval gunfire support. A large number of aircraft was required for this work because of the need to maintain aircraft over the beaches used for the invasion but with aircraft that had a limited endurance. The number of sorties from HMS Daedalus in support of Operation Neptune was 435 and this was the highest total achieved by any UK airfield on D-Day.
HMS Ariel (1959–1965)
thumb|4 SAR Flight Wessex airborne at once for a flypast of the Lee Tower. Westland Wessex HU.5, 781 Squadron, Lee-On-Solent SAR Flight. 1980.
Post-war she continued to play a significant role, being renamed HMS Ariel on 31 October 1959 to reflect her electrical, radar and ground training emphasis; she took over the work of the Royal Naval Air Electrical Training Establishment, Worthy Down prior to its closure in 1961. In 1962 the Joint Service Hovercraft Unit was formed with the aim of testing hovercraft in an operational military environment, and soon after the Air Station reverted to the name HMS Daedalus on 5 October 1965.
The Fleet Air Arm operated a separate helicopter Search and Rescue (SAR) Flight at RNAS Lee-on-Solent which formed in November 1972. This effectively replaced the disbanded Royal Air Force SAR Flight at RAF Thorney Island, from 12 February 1973. There was a need to provide a civil Search And Rescue service at 15 minutes' notice, from dawn to dusk, covering from Beachy Head in East Sussex to Start Point, Devon, tasked by the Department of Trade and Industry.
thumb|Westland Wessex HU5 (WS-58) of the RNAS Lee-on-Solent SAR flight
The flight was not in use from April 1982, but from February 1983, 772 Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Portland (HMS Osprey), operated a detachment at HMS Daedalus: 'C' Flight, covering SAR, which became and independent unit from August 1985 until March 1988. (replaced temporarily by No. 22 Sqn detachment, followed by civilian coastguard helicopter). It flew a couple of different helicopter types:
- Westland Whirlwind HAR.9 (November 1972 - March 1977)
- Westland Wessex HU.5 (April 1977 - March 1982), (February 1983 - March 1988)
RNAS Lee-on-Solent Station Flight
The Royal Navy Station Flight at Lee-on-Solent was equipped with various aircraft over different periods, from 1944 to 1959.
- Supermarine Walrus (K8564), a British single-engine amphibious biplane - (Oct - Dec 1944)
- de Havilland Tiger Moth (BB698), a British biplane military trainer - (Feb - Sep 1945)
- Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 (VX282), a British single-engine fighter bomber - (Mar - Jun 1950)
- Boulton Paul Sea Balliol T.21 (WL721), a monoplane advanced trainer aircraft - (Nov 1956 - Dec 1958)
- de Havilland Sea Vampire T.22 (XG768), a British jet fighter aircraft - (Apr 1957 - Jul 1959)
- Percival Sea Prince T.1 (WF127), a British light transport aircraft - (Jul 1957 - Sep 1959)
Previous units and aircraft
List of past flying units and major non-flying units based at Lee-on-Solent, for both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
Both RAF Coastal Area and RAF Coastal Command were located here at times.
Squadrons
The following units were here at some point:
Units
Solent Airport Daedalus (2015–present)
Since 2015 the site is now Solent Airport Daedalus
See also
- Calshot Naval Air Station
- List of former Royal Air Force stations
- List of air stations of the Royal Navy
- RNAS Kingsnorth