Full WW2 control tower details and photos for this wartime airfield are coming soon. Please check back later as this is work progress. If you would like to contribute information or photos please get in touch.
RAF Lympne, on the Kent coast near Hythe, sat on the front edge of Britain’s war from the very beginning. As a forward base within reach of France and the Channel, it experienced rapid changes of role and intense enemy attention. Its wartime history captures the vulnerability and importance of coastal airfields: they were invaluable for quick response and short-range operations, but they were also exposed to attack and disruption.
In May 1940, during the crisis of the Battle of France and the opening of Operation Dynamo, Lympne saw a rapid influx of squadrons. Army co-operation Lysanders from Nos. 2, 16 and 26 Squadrons operated from the station, supporting operations and, in some cases, undertaking dangerous low-level missions linked to the collapsing front. At the same time, bomber units with Bristol Blenheims such as Nos. 18, 53 and 59 Squadrons used the airfield briefly, reflecting the desperate, fast-moving nature of the period. Lympne’s role shifted repeatedly as the RAF sought any usable forward strip from which to operate.
During the Battle of Britain, Lympne functioned largely as a forward staging satellite for 11 Group rather than as a permanent squadron base. That did not protect it. In August 1940 the airfield was attacked and heavily damaged by Stuka dive-bombers, with hangars hit and aircraft destroyed; the station had to be evacuated and became, for a time, mainly an emergency landing ground. The episode illustrates a key Battle of Britain theme: RAF operations continued even when airfields were cratered, burning and partly abandoned, because the system depended on resilience and improvisation.
As the war progressed, Lympne reappeared in fighter and tactical narratives. Spitfires from units such as No. 91 Squadron arrived as the airfield recovered. Later, Typhoon units including No. 1 Squadron used the station for extended periods, and in 1944 the airfield’s role again intensified in connection with the invasion and the air war over north-west Europe. Lympne became associated with a stream of Spitfire squadrons and multinational wings, including Czech and Belgian units. Notable arrivals and associations included squadrons such as No. 310, No. 312 and No. 313 (Czechoslovak), and No. 350 (Belgian) Squadron, reflecting how the RAF integrated Allied exiled air forces into operational structures close to the front.
- Early war and 1940: Lysander squadrons (Nos. 2, 16, 26) and Blenheim squadrons (Nos. 18, 53, 59) used the airfield during the Battle of France/Dynamo period.
- Battle of Britain: heavily attacked in August 1940 and used largely as a forward staging and emergency landing ground; later supported Spitfire operations.
- Later war: associated with Typhoon activity (including No. 1 Squadron) and 1944-45 Spitfire-era multinational wing activity including Czech and Belgian squadrons.
Lympne’s significance is that it compresses many themes of the air war into one site: improvisation in 1940, vulnerability under attack, and the later offensive posture that followed Allied air superiority. It is a coastal airfield story written in craters, repairs, and repeated changes of role.