From ‘Action Stations – Vol 9’.
In June 1935 two hangars and a control tower/clubhouse/restaurant were built in the SW corner of the field, which provided an E-W run of 2,250 ft. Crilly Airways and Hillman Airways operated services until September 1935 when the airfield closed.
It was extended in 1936 and re-opened on 3 July 1937, operated by Ramsgate Airport Ltd on behalf of the corporation, and occupied by Thanet Aero Club. 3 RAF squadrons held their summer camps there in August (Hence the tents and the RAF officer in the photos? – PC) and in 1938 Thanet AC joined the Civil Air Guard scheme. Southern Airways operated a summer service across the Thames Estuary.
It closed at the outbreak of war, but became a dispersal field for Manston in 1940. During a raid on Manston on 24 August 1940 some of the attackers aimed at the airfield, but the majority of the bombs hit Ramsgate town. After the Battle of Britain the airfield was obstructed for the rest of the war.
It was then leased by Air Kruise Ltd from the corporation and re-opened on 27 June 1953. The company operated scheduled services via Lympne to Ostend and Le Touquet, and later formed the Ramsgate Flying Club and Skyphotos using an Auster Autocrat. In 1958 Skyflights Ltd took over the operation, but activities became sporadic, with operations being taken over by Chrisair Ltd and then East Kent Air Services. The airfield finally closed in1968 and is now occupied by an industrial estate.
