RAF West Malling over the Channel. The three surviving aircraft were rescued only when the fight was joined by Hurricanes from No. 111 Squadron. The remainder of the unit returned north to RAF Prestwick on 25 July due to the ineffectiveness of the Defiant against single-seat fighters. No. 29 Squadron flying Bristol Beaufighters arrived for its first tour of duty on 27 April 1941. One of the Squadron's pilots, Guy Gibson VC, later officer commanding 617 Squadron on the Dambusters Raid, said of the station "Of all the airfields in Great Britain ... we have the most pleasant". A regular and long-standing inhabitant,
RAF Hockley Heath April 1945 and 23 July 1946. The last unit to join the station was No. 21 Flying Training School RAF (FTS) flying Harvards mainly from RAF Snitterfield but the airfield were used as a satellite to disperse the aircraft to release the pressure and activity of the main base. The school operated between 3 April 1945 and 18 September 1946. RAF Hockley Heath had its fair share of accidents with a number listed between 1940 and 1945. These are just a small number of examples: The airfield is disused and is currently open land used for farming. RAF Hockley Heath