EGUS.Lat/Long50 48 35N/01 12 25W .Grid Ref SU 562020 .32 feet ASL.3 miles WNW of Gosport.Ident "LS"
RUNWAYS:Initially grass,tarmac laid in late 1942, 17/35 975x50 yds,05/23 1420x50 yds,10/28 1100x50 yds.
The story of Lee-on-Solent up to the present comes in three distinct phases.The first phase started on 30/7/17 when the Naval Seaplane Training School opened as a sub-station of Calshot.Originally intended as temporary,the station ,which consisted of slipway and hangars,was made permanent in 1918,and later renamed the RAF Seaplane Training School. Seaplane operations continued until 1934 when,on 25th October ,a new land airfield immediately to the NE of the slipway,was opened.For the next 5 years the RAF continued to control the station,but on 24/5/39 Lee was transferred to the Admiralty as HMS Daedulus.
The Navy occupied the airfield for the next 50 years,with a very wide variety of units being resident over that period,The slipway fell into disuse after WW2 in 1946,only to be revitalised with the advent of the Hovercraft in 1962.Very occasional use of the slipway was made by increasingly rare civilian seaplanes/flying boats.The airfield's most notable event was the Coronation Review in 1954,when over 300 aircraft used Lee as a temporary base for the Flypast.
The start of the third ,and so far,final phase in Lee's history came in 1988,when Naval flying ceased at Lee-on-Solent.With the ever contracting size of the armed forces,there was no longer any need for the airfield ,and the last flying unit(The SAR Sea Kings of 202 Sq RAF)left in May 1988.They were replaced by civilian aircraft operated by Bristow Helicopters.The Air Engineering School continued to some of the buildings with some instructional airframes for several years,but,on 31/3/96,HMS Daedulus finally closed,and the RN presence was terminated. The airfield today(2005) is used also by the RN Gliding Club,the Police Air Wing,and occasional light aircraft.Various schemes to turn it into a general aviation field have so far not materialized.If the present trend continues it seem likely that Lee will go the same way as Gosport, Hamble ,and Portsmouth,and an area of Hampshire rich in aviation history will finish up with no airfields.
UPDATE ON FLYING AT LEE, NOVEMBER 2007
It was announced that all civilian/commercial flying was to cease at Lee from 17th November. The airfield, now run effectively by the Police Air Wing would no longer be available for club or glider flying from that date. At the moment there is much protesting going on but the eventual outcome is far from clear .At the time of writing this(16 Nov 07) it appears that the only flying will be the Police and the MCA rescue flight.
A last minute stay of execution late on the 16th has allowed 4 more weeks before the restrictions are enforced.
A FURTHER UPDATE May 16th 2008:Itwas reported in the Portsmouth newspaper todaythat the Hampshire Police, who operate the airfield on behalf of the Maritime Coastguard Agency, will keep the airfield open for General Aviation use. It was expected that GA flying would cease this month, but after the Lee Flying Association, who represent users here, set up a new air to ground radio system to be paid for by the LFA and the Portsmouth Naval Gliding Club, flying by current users will now be permitted to continue.
FAA UNITS
US NAVY UNIT