Latitude 50°41'15"N Longitude 1°56'40"W


ACQUISITION
OPENED	May 1940
COMMISSIONED	15th May 1940 as 'DAEDALUS II' ¹
PAID OFF	9th October 1943 to Care & Maintenance status
CLOSED
O..I.C.	Lt Cdr J.B. Wilson 12 Jul 1940 Lt Cdr G.R. Brown, DSC, 12 Aug 41 Lt Cdr C. R. Bateman 26 Apr 43

FUNCTION	Seaplane Flying Training Part I
ADDRESS	R.N. Air Station, Sandbanks, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England
LOCALITY	The seaplane station is situated on the N.W. side of Sandbanks, the narrow promontory which forms the N. entrance point of Poole Harbour. Poole lies 2½ miles N.W. across he harbour. Bournemouth lies 3 miles N.E.
LANDMARKS	Not known
ROAD AND RAIL ACCESS	Southern Railway station Bournemouth West, 6 miles, Southern Railway station Poole, 5 miles.


CONTROL	Not known
ELEVATION	?' above M.S.L.
RUNWAYS /LANDING AREA	Not known
TRACKS	Not known
SLIPWAY	One, width 18ft leading to hanger apron. Hauling out by hand.
OBSTRUCTIONS	Not known
WIND INDICATOR	Not known


HOMING - VISUAL	None
HOMING--RADIO	None
APPROACH - VISUAL	None
APPROACH - RADIO	None
COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT	Not known
GROUND RADAR	None

ACCOMMODATION

Capacity:

Officers:	Unknown.
Chiefs, P.O.s and ratings:	Unknown.
W.R.N.S. Officers:	None.
W.R.N.S. Chiefs, P.O.s and ratings;	None.

ARMOURIES

Not known

COMPASS BASE

Not known

DISPERSAL

Concrete hanger apron extending below low waterline and suitable for use as a slipway.

HANGARS

One, capacity 14 Walrus (folded).

Number /Type	Size	Door Height	Door Width
1 boat shed	292' x 87'	n/k	n/k

MEDICAL

Sick bay in Fowey Cottage

METEOROLOGICAL

From RAF

FUEL AND OIL

Aviation:	Two 500 gallons aviation petrol tanks with pumps
M/T:	Not known.
Oil :	Not known.

TEST BASE

None.

TEST BUTT

None

WORKSHOPS

Small workshop equipped for overhaul I.C.E.

EXPLOSIVES

None.

BOMBING AND FIRING RANGES

None.

Information taken from CB 4368 A. Admiralty Handbook of Naval Air Stations Aug. 44

List of first and second line squadrons, station flight and other flying units based at this location

700 'W'	'W' flight of 700 catapult squadron formed at Sandbanks on July 12th 1943 with 6 Walrus and 4 Swordfish Floatplanes. Moved to RNAS Machrihanish on July 27th.
765	Basic Seaplane Training and Pool Squadron Moved here from RNAS Lee-on-Solent 26.08.40. Disbanded 25.10.43. Operated Walrus, Seafox, Swordfish and Kingfisher seaplanes

In May 1940 the premises of the Royal Motor Yacht Club (RMYC) at Sandbanks, Poole Harbour, and various others nearby locations were requisitioned by the Admiralty for use as a seaplane base.

RNAS Sandbanks commissioned as HMS DAEDALUS II on May 15th, an out-station of RNAS Lee-on-Solent operating as a Basic Seaplane flying school, part 1 of the Seaplane training course; part 2 was done at RNAS Lawrenny Ferry. The 'DAEDALUS II' was later dropped and the station was borne 'on the books of Daedalus'.

Commissioned as an RN Air Station

On August 26th 76 squadron moved here from RNAS Lee-on-Solent with a mix of Supermarine Walrus, with a small number of Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Seafox floatplanes; at least one Roc floatplane is believed to have been operated by the squadron. The squadron was under the command of Commander (A) ..(P) J. B. Wilson and comprised of a handful of pilots and observers. From December 1942 Commander Wilson is listed as Officer in Charge of RNAS Sandbanks as well as Commanding Officer of 765 squadron.

Station closed

By this time the need for dedicated Seaplane Training schools had passed and both the station and it's squadron were to be closed by the end of the year. The station reduced to Care and Maintenance status on October 9th on three months’ notice to resume flying, 765 Squadron was officially disbanded on October 25th 1943. No further use was made of the base and it was closed sometime in late 1945.

Notes:
1 Reference to 'DAEDALUS II' is probably spurious; the name has been linked to Sandbanks, Lawrenny Ferry, Lympne, and Newcastle-under-Lyme. Only one establishment bore this name RN Aircraft Training Establishment Lympne/Newcastle-under-Lyme, which commissioned 01 January 1940, paid off 31.01.46. .RNAS Sandbanks does not appear in the Navy List until the April 1941 edition where it is listed under Portsmouth Command Establishments as part of 'Daedalus', in the June 1941 edition this has changed to 'on books of Daedalus'.

PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Click here for a list of Primary sources

Additional sources:

Poole Flying Boats Celebration (Charity No.1123274) . 2012. "Newcomers and New Beginnings at Poole". [ONLINE] Available at: http://archive.pooleflyingboats.com/03 Newcomers-at-Poole-with-RNAS-Sandbanks.pdf. [Accessed 16 December 13].