Lashenden Airfield is a private airfield in Kent, England. The airfield is located south of Maidstone; about southeast of LondonOpened in 1943 during the Second World War, RAF Lashenden became a prototype for the temporary Advanced Landing Ground airfields that were built in France after D-Day, when the need for advanced landing fields became urgent as the Allied forces moved east across France and Germany. RAF Lashenden was used by the Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and United States Army Air Forces before closing in September 1945.After the war, the airfield reverted to farmland until, with the resurgence of interest in civil aviation in the 1950s, the current private grass airfield was opened.HistoryHeadcorn Aerodrome was first used for general aviation in 1927 when the local landowner flew with a group of friends.The USAAF Ninth Air Force required several temporary Advanced Landing Grounds (ALG) along the channel coast prior to the June 1944 Normandy Landings to provide tactical air support for the ground forces landing in France.United States Army Air Forces usageLashenden was known as USAAF Station AAF-410 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location.354th Fighter GroupOn 17 April 1944 the 354th Fighter Group arrived at Lashenden from RAF Boxted, from where the group had already achieved fame for introducing the Rolls-Royce Merlin-engined North American Aviation P-51 Mustang into combat. Its combat squadrons were: