RAF Coolham
| RAF Coolham | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coolham, West Sussex, in England | |||||||||
View from near the eastern edge of the main east-west runway looking westward down its length, former RAF Coolham, 2009 | |||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Advanced Landing Ground | ||||||||
| Code | XQ | ||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||
| Controlled by | |||||||||
| Open to the public | Yes | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
RAF Coolham Shown within West Sussex RAF Coolham RAF Coolham (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°59′20″N 0°24′05″W / 50.98889°N 0.40139°W | ||||||||
| Grid reference | TQ123223 | ||||||||
| Area | 113 acres (46 ha) | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | August 1943 – Beginning of March 1944 | ||||||||
| Built by | Airfield Construction Service RAF | ||||||||
| In use | 1 April 1944 – 4 July 1944 | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | |||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Garrison | 2 Wings of No. 84 Group RAF (See Based Units section for full list) | ||||||||
| Occupants | |||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 17 metres (56 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
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Royal Air Force Coolham, or RAF Coolham, also known as Coolham Advanced Landing Ground (ALG), 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 (Advanced Landing Ground) 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 4,500 feet (1,372 m) and the second, shorter, north-south runway was 3,600 feet (1,097 m) 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.