Coolham Advanced Landing Ground Multi-cache
Long Man: As the owner has not responded to my previous log requesting that they check this cache, I'm archiving it.
Andy
Long Man
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Coolham Advanced Landing Ground
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Coolham memorial consists of a brick wall with three inset black granite panels with all lettering in gilt. The centre panel contains the dedication in English and Polish underneath the badge of the Royal Air Force.
It is near the Selsey Arms public house in Coolham and close to the site of a former Advanced Landing Ground, a temporary airfield built to support the D Day landings in 1944 and only used for a few months. Construction began in August 1943 and was complete by the beginning of March 1944. The removal of equipment started in the autumn of 1945.
Advanced Landing Grounds (ALG’s) were small airstrips built to support D-Day. ALG’s allowed aircraft to take off and to land. They were designed for fighters such as Hurricanes and Spitfires or light bombers, such as the Mosquito, but were not large enough to support bombers such as the Lancaster or Stirling. It was originally planned to build 72 ALG’S in Southern England but in fact only 23 were eventually built. Their potential value in supporting the D-Day landings could not be disputed but some of them were planned to be built on prime agricultural land. This led to disputes between farmers and the government. In some cases, the government had to compulsory purchase land under the Defence of the Realm Act.
The construction of the ALG’s took longer than planned, primarily as the land chosen was not always the best drained. The RAF Airfield Construction Groups and Airfield Construction Groups of the Royal Engineers built them. By any standards they were basic as it was only thought that they would be in use for a very short period of time – as proved to be the case. Other than the runway, the ALG’s had little else. Those who worked at these bases were expected to live in tents. Bomb depots were kept away from the ALG’s and were based in dense woodland.
The ALG’s were originally built with runways of heavy steel netting held in place by metal pins that were dug deep into the ground. While they served a purpose, these runways were soon weakened by constant use. As a result they were replaced with Square Mesh Track developed by the British Reinforced Engineering Co Ltd. ALG’s used by the Americans had runways made from American Pierced Steel Plank.
ALG’s required for D-Day were finished by April 1944. The part played by aerial cover in the success of D-Day cannot be overstated as they not only ‘softened’ up enemy targets on the Normandy coast, they gave the ships carrying the troops who were to storm the beaches excellent cover against any potential attack by the Luftwaffe. Once it became apparent that D-Day was a success and that the foothold gained in Normandy was going to expand, there was no longer any use for the ALG’s in Southern England. Many were returned to those who owned the land. However, the experience gained from constructing these temporary airfields was important as dozens were built in northern France to support the Allied drive to Paris and on to the Ruhr.
The published co-ordinates are for the memorial.
The final cache is to be found at
N50 AB.CDE
W000 FG.HIJ
Find the number of the fourth Polish Air Force Squadron listed.
First digit = A
Third digit = B
Find the number of the Natal Squadron
Second digit = C
Find the number of Polish airmen listed.
Number + 1 = D
What is the 2nd digit of both wings of N. 84 Group Second Tactical Air Force?
Digit = E
How many times is the word ‘remembered’ on the plaque?
Number = F
In the bottom left hand corner of the right hand panel is a badge. Add together the 1st and 2nd digits in the badge.
Answer = G
Find the number of British airmen listed.
Number + 2 = H
Now go to N50 59.337 W000 23.603
Find the date on the plaque.
2nd digit of date minus 1st digit = I
Add together last 2 digits = J
You now have all the info you need to find the cache.
The final cache is to be found at
N50 AB.CDE
W000 FG.HIJ
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ebhaq gur onpx.