RNAS Lee-on-the-Solent

The Royal Naval Air Station's squadrons, operations and lasting legacy

RNAS Lee-on-the-Solent, formally known as HMS Daedalus, was one of the Royal Navy's most important air stations for nearly eighty years. While the airfield's founding and wartime chapters have their own stories, the operational life of the station across the decades, from its squadrons and aircraft to its role in naval aviation training, deserves separate attention.

The station's early operational role centred on seaplanes and flying boats. During the First World War, naval pilots trained at Lee before deploying to operational stations around the coast. The aircraft of the period were fragile, open-cockpit biplanes with float undercarriages, and the Solent provided the calm water needed for safe takeoff and landing practice. The observer and telegraphist schools at Lee trained the crew members who operated alongside the pilots, building the multi-crew traditions that would continue throughout the Fleet Air Arm's history.

Between the wars, the station's role evolved as naval aviation itself changed. The formation of the Royal Air Force in 1918 placed naval flying under RAF control, and Lee-on-the-Solent became an RAF station for two decades. When the Admiralty regained control of the Fleet Air Arm in 1939, HMS Daedalus returned to full Royal Navy management just as the Second World War began.

Wartime operations at Lee were extensive. Multiple squadrons were based or transited through the station, flying Swordfish torpedo bombers, Seafire fighters, Barracudas and other Fleet Air Arm types. The station served as a major maintenance and repair facility, with workshops capable of overhauling engines, airframes and instruments. Aircraft damaged in operations or training were returned to Lee for repair, and the technical expertise at the station was a critical part of the Fleet Air Arm's ability to keep aircraft flying.

The post-war decades saw Lee-on-the-Solent transition from fixed-wing operations to a predominantly helicopter station. As the Royal Navy adopted helicopters for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and ship-borne operations, Lee became a centre for helicopter training and conversion courses. Westland Whirlwinds, Wessex and, later, Sea King and Lynx helicopters operated from the airfield. The sound of helicopter rotors became the daily backdrop to life in Lee-on-the-Solent.

The station also served as the headquarters of Flag Officer Naval Air Command, the senior officer responsible for all Royal Navy aviation. This administrative function gave Lee-on-the-Solent an importance beyond its operational role, placing it at the centre of policy and planning for naval air power.

Training was a constant throughout the station's life. Lee produced generations of naval aircrew, engineers and technicians. The Air Engineering School trained the mechanics and fitters who maintained the Fleet Air Arm's aircraft, and the rigour of the training was reflected in the Fleet Air Arm's operational safety record. Apprenticeships at HMS Daedalus were prized, and many former apprentices went on to long careers in naval aviation or the wider aerospace industry.

The Cold War years brought their own character. Anti-submarine warfare was a primary concern, and the helicopters based at Lee flew regular sorties over the English Channel and the Western Approaches. The station participated in NATO exercises and maintained readiness for the possibility of conflict. The 1982 Falklands War saw aircraft and personnel associated with Lee-on-the-Solent deployed to the South Atlantic as part of the task force.

The decision to close HMS Daedalus came in the early 1990s, as part of the post-Cold War defence review that reduced the Royal Navy's shore infrastructure. The station was decommissioned in 1996. The closure removed a significant employer and a defining institution from the town. Many of the naval families who had lived in Lee moved away, and the social character of the town shifted.

The legacy is visible today. The hangars survive, the runway operates as Solent Airport, and the Hovercraft Museum occupies buildings that once maintained Fleet Air Arm aircraft. Street names in the Daedalus area reference naval aviation, and the town's war memorial and Remembrance services honour those who served at the station. For visitors, the former RNAS site is a walk through nearly a century of British naval aviation history.