RNAS Lee - The Airfield Research Group

3.3 RAF RAF RAF Expansion Expansion Period Period 1934 1934-1939
1934 1939
While all of this reconstruction work was taking place under the first building contract,
rearmament plans had been announced by Parliament involving a major expansion of the RAF.
A number of schemes were formulated between 1934 and 1939 but only five were actually
passed by the Cabinet (‘A’,’C’,’F’,’L’ and ‘M’). Under Schemes ‘A’ and ‘F’, the construction of new
buildings and extensions to existing structures commenced at Lee under the second building
contract of 1935. This contract involved the following:
• Kingston Villa was extended to become a W/T signals and lecture room.
• Norbury House was also extended to include an armament instruction classroom which
became the station armoury.
• New ration store.
• New laundry.
• Watch office with tower built in front of the type ‘A’ aeroplane shed.
• A 100,000 gallon water reservoir was provided for station use.
• Type ‘C’ aircraft shed erected instead of the second type ‘A’.
• Intake sub-station.
• New institute.
Many buildings designed for the last two schemes (‘L’ and ‘M’) were not proceeded with at Leeon-Solent
as in May 1939, the station once again came under Admiralty control. Therefore Air
Ministry designs such as the central heating station, decontamination centre and the annexe to
station sick quarters were not built here. The Admiralty did however build two, three-storey
barrack blocks with an ‘H’-shaped plan-form and these were based on the RAF two-storey
version.
3.4 3.4 World WWar
W
ar Two 1939 1939-1945
1939
1945
Lee-on-Solent was one of the first stations to have hard surface runways and the construction of
these along the centre line of two flight strips started in May 1939. One of these, the east-west
(50 yards wide and 750 yards long) runway (heading 13-31) only had restricted use (Kingsland
House, occupied in the late 1930s by Percy Marsh Whettam - was on the approach). Eventually
the runway had to be abandoned when it was proposed to extend the hutted North Camp in 1941.
The other runway on a heading of 24-06, had a length of 3,000ft. Skirting around the aerodrome
to connect with runways, hangars and aircraft blast pens, is a 50ft wide perimeter track.
By the beginning of 1942 land to the east of Milville Lane was purchased for the construction of a
third runway on a heading of 18-36. The abandoned runway was rebuilt and extended further
east on a new heading (11-29) to avoid Kingslands House and the new hutted camp (East
Camp).
The final runway lengths were as follows:
• Runway 18-35: 3,000ft
• Runway 24-06: 4,290ft
• Runway 11-29: 3,300ft
It is interesting to note that, with the introduction of the Defence Regulations made under the
Emergency Powers (Defence) Act, 1939, the difficulties of obtaining possession only with the
agreement of owners were removed and now permitted the taking of immediate possession of
land and buildings. This may be the reason why Kinglands House was retained even though it
was in such a dangerous position close to runway 31. The building of a hutted camp on a site
that was restricted in area only reinforced its retention - the only option open was to rebuild the
runway on a new heading. A Highway Closing Order was also served on Drake Road, Grenville
Road and Tennyson Road. The surviving properties which had until now been in private hands,
were finally requisitioned. None of these were demolished and all were retained within the
development of the station.
The first four Bellman transportable aeroplane sheds were erected in 1939 / 1940 on a site close
to the north-west section of perimeter track. These were not the standard RAF Bellman sheds
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