The military history of RAF Friston began in 1936, when the long flat stretch of Sussex downland was used by the RAF as a landing ground for pilot training exercises. In 1940, the runway was requisitioned to act as an emergency landing ground and in 1942, the facilities were upgraded and it functioned primarily as a fighter airfield. The site soon saw active use with several Hurricane and Spitfire Squadron and became home to nine anti-aircraft squadrons. The airfield also played an important role in supporting the D-Day landings of June 1944. The Operations Record Book notes that “Many emergency landings were made and the airfield began to look like a Bomber Station, where almost every type of bomber and fighter could be identified.”