| Summary : A former military airfield, opened in 1943 and closed in 1944. It was situated south of Appledram / Apuldram on the east bank of the Chichester Channel, between the channel and the A286 road.The airfield was an Advanced Landing Ground, for the Royal Air Force 11th Fighter Group comprising an area of 1600 by 1400 yards equipped with a steel matting landing surface of a type known as Sommerfeld Track, which also served as hard standing. This landing surface was composed of a wire and chain link mesh with metal rods inserted at narrow intervals. The accommodation for the airfield was a tented camp, there was one "E.O. blister" type hangar. By 1985 the site was given over to agricultural use. |
More information : Appledram Airfield, SU 842 023. A former military airfield, opened in 1943 and closed in 1944. The airfield was an Advanced Landing Ground, for the Royal Air Force 11th Fighter Group comprising an area of 1600 by 1400 yards equipped with a steel matting landing surface of a type known as Sommerfeld Track, which also served as hard standing. The accommodation for the airfield was a tented camp, there was one "E.O. blister" type hangar. By 1985 the site was given over to agricultural use. The sketch map provided of the airfield shows its location south of "Appledram" between the east bank of the Chichester Channel and the A286 Road, bounded in part to the sout-east by a canal. (1)
Sheet SU 80 SW, the area around SU 842 023 is already marked as fields on the 1979 map, with no indication of an airfield shown. The settlement to the North of the area is spelt "Apuldram" on this map. (2)
Appledram is sited as an example of an advanced landing ground constructed in preparation for D-Day, using the Sommerfeld Track landing surface. This was a surface composed of woven wire and chain link mesh with metal rods threaded transversley through it at eight inch intervals. (3)
The Defence of Britain Database entry is as follows: Offical name: RAF Appledram. Location: Aplledram; Area: Birdham, Sussex. Grid reference given as SU 839 018. Condition unknown. (4)
Davies' work on Advanced Landing grounds includes an account of Appledram's role and a list of units. (5)
Customer comment recieved August 2016: 'I believe that the air strip was to the West of the Canal, not the East.'
Structures and features associated with Appledram airfield were recorded from photographs of the 1940s during the South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment mapping project. Two parallel linear ditches which may also be a feature of the airfield were recorded during a survey carried out as part of a doctoral research project. The linear ditches are positioned 47 m apart and measure 355 m in length. (6-8) |