RAF Coolham
Royal Air Force Coolham, or RAF Coolham, also known as Coolham Advanced Landing Ground , is a former British Second World War Royal Air Force Advanced Landing Ground, a type of temporary advance airfield. The airfield is located in Coolham, England. The site was surveyed for suitability by the Air Ministry between June and July of 1942 and in October of 1942 it was agreed that an ALG would be constructed there, to be one of seven constructed in Sussex during the war.
The site was requisitioned by the Air Ministry soon after the agreement, and construction began in August 1943 with the work being carried out by the RAF Airfield Construction Branch, supplemented by various local landscaping, construction, and maintenance contractors. Two runways were constructed of Sommerfield tracking, then seeded with grass. The main east-west runway streached and the second, shorter, north-south runway was long. Supporting infrastructure, installations, and defence posts for the ALG were also erected.
On 15 February 1944, while Sommerfield tracking was still being laid, an American B-26 Marauder that had earlier been hit by flak and damaged while on a bombing mission over France made an emergency crash landing on the main east-west runway, which was still under construction at the time. Inadvertently, it become the first plane to land at RAF Coolham, even though the ALG was not operational by this point. RAF Coolham lost its first serviceman when a soldier from the RAF Airfield Construction Branch was killed, while the main runway suffered damage. All the crew of the B-26 Marauder survived, but construction was elongated because of the landing.
Construction of RAF Coolham was finally complete to an operational standard by the beginning of March 1944, and the airfield was operational from 1 April 1944 until 4 July 1944.
Background
During June and July 1942, Southern England was searched by Air Ministry surveyors attempting to identify suitable sites for the construction of Advanced Landing Grounds. The main purpose of the Southern England ALGs was, owing to their close proximity to Nazi-occupied Europe, to provide air support to allied forces prior to, during, and after an anticipated future liberation of the European mainland, which later manifested on 6 June 1944 as the Normandy Landings and the Battle of Normandy. In total, 72 such sites were located, although this figure was considerably whittled down to just 23 sites which were eventually used to construct ALGs upon, this being mainly due to the war agricultural executive committees' fierce opposition to such large swathes of agricultural land being requisitioned and thus no longer being agriculturally productive. One of these sites was located on land near the small village of Coolham, West Sussex, England. A top-level Air Ministry conference was held at Coolham on 8 October 1942 when it was at last agreed that an ALG would indeed be constructed on the previously identified site at Coolham.The site consisted of land accessed by, and to the east of, the B2139 Thakeham Road, and just south east of Coolham crossroad, with Saucelands Lane itself adjoining the southern perimeter. This ALG, which would be known as Royal Air Force Coolham, or more simply, RAF Coolham, was situated roughly southwest of Horsham and would be one of seven ALGs eventually constructed in Sussex for use by RAF Fighter Command, along with its allies. The other 6 Sussex ALGs constructed were RAF Appledram, RAF Bognor, RAF Chailey, RAF Deanland, RAF Funtington, and RAF Selsey. On account of the Coolham site's level terrain and the area's excellent transport infrastructure connections via road and rail, specifically Billingshurst, Christ's Hospital, Southwater, and Horsham, it was considered to be an ideal location.
Construction
Preparation
In total, of both wooded and agricultural land was requisitioned by the Air Ministry at Coolham. Original estimates were that 700–800 hedgerow trees would need to be cleared, and approximately of high-tension electrical cable would need to be laid and buried, along with wiring for telex and PBX telephone facilities. The area's natural flatness, although partly why it was chosen as an ALG site, also meant that, in conjunction with the heavy topsoil of Weald Clay present in the area, under-drainage would be required to prevent the strip area becoming boggy after rainfall, and this initially made planners believe preparation of the site would be slow.The seven-month-long construction of the airfield commenced during August 1943 with 156 personnel of Nos. 4661 and 4663 AC Flight, of 5004 Airfield Construction Squadron, Airfield Construction Service RAF, commanded by Squadron Leader J. K. Lancaster. 5004 Squadron utilised a large amount of plant to carry out construction, including bulldozers, tractors, dump trucks, road rollers, a paint sprayer, and a concrete mixer. A number of airmen constructing the ALG at Coolham were billeted at the prisoner-of-war camp at Barn House Farm, Shipley, at the southern end of the airfield, while others were billeted in numerous farm buildings along Saucelands Lane. As a temporary measure, those who happened to live nearby could apply for a 'living out' pass and cycle/commute to and from RAF Coolham. H. Kay, a local Horsham contractors, were also employed in the initial ground clearance and levelling, and Ronald Coleman, a civil engineer who had been seconded to the War Office, worked with both civilians and RAF personnel in constructing RAF Coolham from the very beginning.
The north-south runway's southern end was initially obstructed by buildings. Five Mile Ash, situated on the south side of Saucelands Lane, was demolished as it directly obstructed the southern end of the north-south runway. An adjacent historic property, Saucelands, was saved from destruction after the West Sussex County Council objected to its demolition. Bridge Hill House, situated on B2139 Thakeham Road at the western end of the main east-west runway, had its roof removed due to safety concerns about its height possibly hindering clearance at the end of the runway, making it uninhabitable until the roof was restored after the end of the war.
Runways
Two runways were constructed in total: the larger main runway running east-west for, and the smaller second runway running north-south for, with both runways constructed using Sommerfeld tracking. Sommerfeld tracking was a relatively light weight, inexpensive, quick, and easily assemblable method of reinforcing a ground bearing surface for use by heavy vehicles and high volumes of traffic, preventing the bearing surface from wearing away, and preventing vehicles from sinking and becoming bogged down or stuck. For those reasons, Sommerfeld tracking was ideal for constructing ALGs' runways which were only intended to be used temporarily, had to be built quickly, and would see heavy aeroplanes taking off and landing regularly. It consisted of rolls, long and wide, of metal wire mesh, similar to chicken wire or chainlink fencing, with round iron bars at regular intervals all along its length running widthways and looped at either end. It was rolled out flat on the ground like a mat, and flat iron bars were then threaded through the loops to physically anchor each track together, before it was all anchored to the ground using 2ft and 3ft iron pickets.At RAF Coolham, 5004 Airfield Construction Squadron laid most of the Sommerfeld tracking down. A mobile crane was used to move the rolls into place as the weight of each roll, although lighter than other alternatives, meant that it would otherwise take 6 personnel to move each roll into position. One row of tracking was laid along the entire length of each of Coolham's runways and secured by a group of 3 personnel with sledgehammers driving the 2ft and 3ft iron pickets into the ground one at a time, swinging in harmony on the same picket. Once this initial length of tracking was laid, other rolls of tracking were laid next to, and adjoined with, the side of the initial length, until the required width of the runway was completed. A tractor was used to stretch the width of the tracking taut so it could be secured in place with further pickets until the whole length was taut. Although the Sommerfeld tracking patent states that asphalt or a similar material should then be added onto the mesh to cover it, at Coolham this was not the case due to the temporary nature of advanced landing grounds. Instead, grass seed was sown over the tracking; the grass' roots would help to consolidate the soil together and to aid in the drainage of rainwater.
In order to prevent traffic from crossing the north-south runway, which could otherwise cause a collision with aircraft during take offs and landings, traffic barriers were erected on Saucelands Lane, which crossed the north-south runway's southern end. The barriers were to be brought down to close the lane off to the public when the runway was in use. The control tower at RAF Coolham was a moveable caravan and the ALG was designated by the airfield identification letters XQ. There was no instrument landing system to aid aircraft in landing at night or during bad weather, and sorties were monitored by the personnel of ROC Group No. 2, Royal Observer Corps, based nearby at Denne Road, Horsham.
Installations
36 aircraft dispersal hardstandings were constructed. The hardstandings were intended to space aircraft apart from each other when not in use, in order to mitigate aircraft losses if the airfield suffered enemy bombing, sabotage, or accidents. Five blister hangars were also erected along with an armoury, pyrotechnic dumps, a defence post, a technical and communal site, two refuelling points, a bulk oil compound, eight marshalling areas, two refuelling points, five small arms ammunition stores, and a 24,000 gallon capacity petrol installation. Marquees and tents were used for squadron offices, the canteen, motor transport buildings, and stores. Virtually all accommodation for operational airmen was tented, and medical facilities were also tented but included a mobile surgery. Conditions in the tented accommodation were cold, wet, and sometimes cramped, and a number of NCO airmen resorted to sleeping on wooden boxes. Toilet and bathing facilities were present but extremely basic. Part of Farleys Farm, which was situated to the east of Thakeham Road and within the requisitioned site for the airfield, was used as an administration centre and nursing ward.Although transport links from elsewhere to nearby areas was good, the majority of the airmen at RAF Coolham did not possess motorised transport of their own, and during their brief off-duty periods they would visit the Selsey Arms pub at the nearby Coolham Crossroads, or cycle to nearby villages.