The New Forest WW2 Airfields: Then vs Now

➜ https://nfhwa.org/ww2-new-forest-airf...
Click the link to see a map of the New Forest Airfields from WW2.

The New Forest area is often said to have had 12 wartime airfields during the Second World War... but this isn’t strictly true.

Hurn and Christchurch fell just outside the New Forest boundary. But during WW2, both were operationally integrated with the other local airfields. Plus Calshot wasn’t actually an airfield. It had no runways and was mainly used to service RAF flying boats.

The Sway Emergency Landing Ground was just a handful of grass fields, and had no concrete or temporary steel tracking runways. There were also other smaller operational airstrips which aren’t as well known and not included in the twelve.

However, when the term “12 New Forest Airfields” is used, it’s the ones in this short film that everyone means.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this "then versus now".

The 12 New Forest airfields included are:

RAF Beaulieu (USAAF Station AAF 408)
https://rafbeaulieu.co.uk
RAF Bisterne (USAAF Station AAF 415)
RAF Calshot / RNAS Calshot
RAF Christchurch (USAAF Station AAF 416)
RAF Holmsley South airfield (USAAF Station AAF 455)
RAF Hurn (USAAF Station AAF 492)
RAF Ibsley (USAAF Station AAF 347)
RAF Lymington (USAAF Station AAF 551)
RAF Needs Oar Point
RAF Stoney Cross airfield (USAAF Station AAF 452)
RAF Winkton (USAAF Station AAF 414)
Sway Emergency Landing Ground
https://nfhwa.org/sway-airfield-emerg...

#newforest

Music royalty free license
Music by Juan Sanchez from Pixabay

CHAPTERS

00:00 Map of the New Forest airfields
00:17 Beaulieu
00:49 Bisterne
01:08 Calshot
01:36 Christchurch
01:54 Holmsley South
02:14 Hurn
02:33 Ibsley
02:59 Lymington
02:59 Needs Oar Point
03:31 Stoney Cross
03:59 Sway
04:11 Winkton
04:30 Is there really 12 Airfields though?