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RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus)

Royal Air Force stations in HampshireRoyal Naval Air Stations in Hampshire
HMS Daedalus airfield geograph.org.uk 1106623
HMS Daedalus airfield geograph.org.uk 1106623

Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent, (RNAS Lee-on-Solent; or HMS Daedalus 1939 - 1959 & 1965 - 1996 and HMS Ariel 1959 - 1965), is a former Royal Naval Air Station located near Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, approximately 4 miles (6.44 km) west of Portsmouth, on the coast of the Solent. It was one of the primary shore airfields of the Fleet Air Arm and was first established as a seaplane base in 1917 during the First World War. The aerodrome being opened in 1934, it commissioned as HMS Daedalus on 24 May 1939, the day administrative control of the Fleet Air Arm was transferred to the Admiralty from the Royal Air Force and one of the four airfields in the UK that were transferred to the Fleet Air Arm. Many first line squadrons were formed here and it facilitated reserve aircraft storage. During the Second World War it was home to the office of the Admiral (Air) and was the main depot for Naval Air Ratings. In October 1959 it recommissioned as HMS Ariel as a ground training establishment. It again became HMS Daedalus in October 1965, and routine service flying continued until April 1993, including a helicopter SAR Flight of 772 Naval Air Squadron, the Southampton University Air Squadron and the Hampshire Police Air Support Unit. All RN Air Engineering training was conducted at Lee-on-Solent from September 1970. As well as the flying and AE training tasks, a number of technical and administration sections were based at Lee-on-Solent, including the Fleet Air Arm Drafting Authority, Naval Aircrew Advisory Board, Naval Air Technical Evaluation Centre, Naval Aircraft Maintenance Development Unit, Naval Air Trials Installation Unit, Mobile Aircraft Repair Transport and Salvage Unit, Safety Equipment School, Photographic School. The airfield closed for military use in 1996 and passed through several owners until 2014 when Fareham Borough Council bought the airfield and re-branded it as Solent Airport Daedalus. It hosts the Solent Enterprise Zone. The airfield is situated 4 miles (6.44 km) north west of the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. Lee-on-the-Solent adjoins along the south east boundary, with the town of Gosport 2.5 miles (4.02 km) east and the port city of Southampton 8 miles (12.87 km) north west.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus)
Conqueror Way,

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Latitude Longitude
N 50.815 ° E -1.2044444444444 °
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Glider's Runway

Conqueror Way
PO14 2SD
England, United Kingdom
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HMS Daedalus airfield geograph.org.uk 1106623
HMS Daedalus airfield geograph.org.uk 1106623
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Hovercraft Museum
Hovercraft Museum

The Hovercraft Museum, in Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, England is a museum run by a registered charity dedicated to hovercraft.The museum has a collection of over 60 hovercraft of various designs. Situated at Solent Airport Daedalus by the large slipway from where many hovercraft have been tested, the museum collection includes SR.N5 and SR.N6 hovercraft. The collection also contains the last remaining SR.N4 craft, the world's largest civil hovercraft, which has been laid up in Lee-on-the-Solent since cross-Channel services ceased on 1 October 2000. The museum houses the world's largest library of documents, publications, film, video, photographs and drawings on hovercraft, all of which is available for research by prior arrangement. A number of hovercraft manufacturers have deposited their complete archives with the museum for safekeeping, thus swelling this important repository of information. The museum also contains a large collection of original manufacturers' hovercraft models including the world's first working hovercraft model built by Christopher Cockerell. The museum reopened in January 2016 after being closed for essential structural building work over nearly two years. Shortly afterwards the remaining SR.N4 craft came under threat of scrapping when the site owners, the Homes and Communities Agency, proposed the redevelopment of the land. The museum trust started a petition calling for one of the craft to be preserved.In October 2023 The Hovercraft Museum achieved Arts Council England Accreditation, joining more than 1700 museums also taking part in the scheme.