Ford Aerodrome
RNAS Ford (HMS Peregrine)
The origins of Ford as an aerodrome go back to 1917 and was used as training station leading up to the Battle of Britain.
On the 18th August 1940 RNAS Ford (HMS Peregrine) was subject to part of a coordinated attack by the Luftwaffe to disable all the fighter stations along the south coast. Twenty eight people were killed in the attack, and a memorial can be seen in Clymping Church yard.
Following the devastating raid, the station was taken over by the RAF (RAF Station Ford) to be used as a base for night fighter aircraft.
After the war the station was handed back to the Navy until decommissioning in 1958 when the site was returned to agriculttural use and some of the buildings became an open prison.
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