RAF Beaulieu

The former RAF Beaulieu, also known as Beaulieu Airfield or Aerodrome is located in the New Forest, Hampshire, and was a significant WW2 airfield for both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). After the heathland it sits on was requisitioned from the Crown, it became operational from 1942, and was initially was home to Coastal Command squadrons engaged in anti-submarine patrols over the Atlantic and Bay of Biscay. In early 1944, the airfield briefly hosted Hawker Typhoons of the Second Tactical Air Force, who conducted fighter bomber sorties over France, and targeted enemy shipping in the Channel.

In April 1944, Beaulieu Airfield was transferred to American control and became USAAF Station AAF-408, where it first became home to the 365th Fighter Group (aka the Hell Hawks) and later the 323rd Bombardment Group (aka the White Tails). The Hell Hawks supported the D-Day invasion, and in July, the White Tails conducted bombing missions over occupied Europe as the Allies advanced.

During the post-war period, RAF Beaulieu became a home for experimental work of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE) who worked with gliders, parachutes, rotary wing aircraft, and captured German technology until 1950.

Beaulieu Airfield was eventually returned to the Crown and Forestry Commission in 1959, at which point the dismantling of the building and runways began. Today, the former wartime aerodrome has returned to heathland managed by the Forestry Commission, but some aspects of the airfield remain.