RAF Calshot
RAF Calshot
 |
|
|---|---|
| Located near Calshot in Hampshire | |
 RAF Calshot
|
|
| Coordinates | 50°49′10″N 1°18′30″W / 50.8194°N 1.3083°W |
| Type | Seaplane and Flying boat station |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Controlled by | Royal Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1913 |
| In use | 1913-1961 |
Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hampshire, England, at grid reference SU487024. It was the main seaplane/flying boat development and training unit in the UK, with the landing area sheltered by the mainland, to the west, north and east, and the Isle of Wight, a few miles away to the south on the other side of the Solent, where seaplanes and flying boats were mass-produced by Saunders-Roe. It closed in 1961. Much of the former base has been preserved, with most of the site now being occupied by the RNLI.
The station was originally established on 29 March 1913 by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), as the Calshot Naval Air Station, for the purpose of testing seaplanes for the RFC Naval wing. The station was taken over by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) during the First World War and finally became a Royal Air Force station on the merger of the RNAS and the RFC on 1 April 1918.
On 8 August 1918 'A' & 'B' Boat Seaplane Training Flights was formed here within 210 Training Depot Station before being disbanded during 1919.
On the formation of the RAF, Calshot retained the two RNAS flights of Felixstowe flying boats and the flight of seaplanes, and for a short while the station became the headquarters of No. 10 Group RAF. After the war, Calshot continued its crew training and aircraft development role, and became home to the RAF School of Naval Co-operation and Aerial Navigation. The station was officially renamed as RAF Calshot on 5 February 1922.
...
Wikipedia