RAF Ashford

Military Decommissioning. RAF Ashford was a temporary military airfield built for a specific purpose. As an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG), it was never intended for permanent use. Its sole function was to support the Allied invasion of Europe during World War II. Once the Allied forces had advanced deep into France and the war in Europe concluded, the airfield was no longer strategically necessary. The land was derequisitioned by the government and returned to its original agricultural use.

The site of the former RAF Ashford has been almost entirely returned to farmland, and very little physical evidence of the airport remains on the ground. However, the faint outline of the two runways is still clearly visible in aerial and satellite imagery. The land is privately owned and used for agriculture. A large portion of the adjacent area to the west has been developed into the Ashford Business Park (also known as Orbital Park), a major commercial and industrial estate. A memorial plaque is located nearby to commemorate the American airmen of the Ninth Air Force who served at the station.

RAF Ashford, also known as USAAF Station 417, was a critically important Advanced Landing Ground constructed in 1943. It was primarily used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ninth Air Force. Its main occupants were the 362nd Fighter Group and later the 373rd Fighter Group, both flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers. From this airfield, pilots flew countless missions in the lead-up to, during, and after the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. Operations included fighter sweeps, bomber escorts, and ground-attack missions to disrupt German troop movements and supply lines in Normandy and Northern France. Its proximity to the English Channel made it an ideal forward base for supporting the invasion force. The airfield was officially handed back to the RAF in September 1944 as the front lines moved further east, and it was fully closed in 1945.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening RAF Ashford. The site has been fully decommissioned for over 75 years, the land has been repurposed, and all aviation infrastructure was removed long ago. The significant commercial development of the adjacent Orbital Park and the return of the land to productive agriculture make any potential redevelopment as an airport economically and logistically unfeasible. Furthermore, the nearby Lydd Airport is commercially marketed as 'London Ashford Airport', serving any potential aviation demand for the region.