RAF Appledram

Military decommissioning. RAF Appledram was built as a temporary Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) with a specific, short-term purpose: to support the D-Day landings in Normandy. Once the Allied forces successfully established a foothold and created their own airfields in France, the ALGs in southern England became redundant and were no longer needed.

The site has been fully returned to its pre-war state as agricultural land. All runways (which were constructed of Sommerfeld Tracking or steel mesh), taxiways, and temporary buildings were removed after the war. There are no visible remnants of the airfield on the ground or from the air, with the area now consisting of open fields. A memorial stone was erected in 2014 on the Salterns Way cycle path, which crosses the former airfield, to commemorate the site's history and the personnel who served there.

RAF Appledram was a strategically vital World War II airfield. Constructed in early 1943, it was one of several temporary ALGs built across southern England in preparation for Operation Overlord (the D-Day invasion). Its primary role was to act as a forward operating base for fighter squadrons of the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force. Squadrons flying Supermarine Spitfires and North American Mustangs, including Nos. 19, 65, 122, and 602 Squadrons, were based here. These units flew missions providing air superiority, bomber escorts, and ground-attack support before, during, and immediately after the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944. Its proximity to the English Channel made it an ideal launch point for operations over the invasion beaches.

None. The airfield was a temporary military installation that was completely dismantled over 75 years ago. The land is privately owned and has been in continuous agricultural use since the end of WWII. There are no plans, proposals, or any practical likelihood of the site ever being reopened as an airfield.