MAXS,later EGUS,later EGHF.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.
Only runway 05/23 remains active nowadays with the southern threshold displaced by 160 yards. Gliders use the grass parallel to the south side of 05/23.
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.
One of the more unusual units nominally based at Lee-on-Solent during the 1960s was the HMS Protector flight which operated Whirlwinds HAR.1s from the Antarctic patrol vessel.The Flight was based at Lee during the northern summer and southern winter. When Protector returned from the Antarctic in about May each year it would return its Whirlwind HAR1s to Fleetlands for major servicing and draw another aircraft of the same type to use during the summer, operating from Lee. The Flight later became part of 771 Sqn.Joe Barr, who served in the HMS Protecter Flight from May 1963 to May 1965, has kindly sent the picture below which shows Whirlwind HAR.1 XA870(the summer aircraft) at Lee.Joe is dropping a dinghy from the doorway, the pilot is Tony Matthias. During Joe's time with the flight aircraft taken to the Antarctic were XA866 and XA868 .The lower picture(also from Joe) shows XA866 in it's prefered environment.
The start of the third 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 was then used by the RN Gliding Club,the Police Air Wing,and occasional light aircraft.Various schemes to turn it into a general aviation field ran into problems , partly at least to do with security issues arising from the use of the field by the Hampshire Police Air Support Unit.
However , after a series of on and off situations , the airfield eventually settled down to use as a general aviation field with some restrictions as to use
The airfield is now owned by the Department of Transport (Jan 2010) and operates as a general aviation airfield open for shared public aviation and community uses, including gliding, alongside priority operations such as Coastguard and Hampshire Constabulary operational flights .
It was announced in May 1910 that Britten-Norman was moving production of it's Defender aircraft to a new facility at Lee-on-Solent.
The Lee Flying Association represents the interests of the general aviation users and have a comprehensive website covering all aspects of flying at Lee.
In April 2011 Britten-Norman signed a new two-year lease for the Airfield . The new lease from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) will allow the continued operation of the airfield which had been under the management of the Hampshire Police Air Support Unit. Fly BN Ltd, Britten-Norman’s airfield management subsidiary, will have full responsibility for day-to-day operations at Daedalus Airfield. Pete Dalby, the company’s airfield manager, said: “We pride ourselves on offering a safe, friendly and welcoming service to both regular airfield operators and any new visitors that we can attract. “Our aim is to put the Gosport peninsula back on the aviation map as a place that welcomes visitors to this important heritage area.” The lease also includes agreements between SEEDA and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA).
FAA UNITS
US NAVY UNIT
Link to"AVIATION in Hampshire UK 1900 to 2000"