RAF Calshot

RAF Calshot
Located near Calshot in Hampshire
Aerial view, late 1920s.
RAF Calshot is located in Hampshire
RAF Calshot
RAF Calshot
Coordinates50°49′10″N 1°18′30″W / 50.8194°N 1.3083°W / 50.8194; -1.3083
TypeSeaplane and Flying boat station
Royal Air Force station
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
Controlled by Royal Air Force (1918-61)
Site history
Built1913 (1913)
In useApril 1918 – April 1961
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War

Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hampshire, England, at grid reference SU487024. It was the main seaplane/flying boat development and training unit in the UK, with the landing area sheltered by the mainland, to the west, north and east, and the Isle of Wight, a few miles away to the south on the other side of the Solent, where seaplanes and flying boats were mass-produced by Saunders-Roe. It closed in 1961. Much of the former base has been preserved, with most of the site now being occupied by the Calshot Activities Centre.