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Ford Airfield in Hampshire UK was opened in 1918; at first called Ford junction airfield, it was also known as Yapton aerodrome but had its modern name by 1931. Originally a training station, it was briefly occupied by the United States navy later in 1918 and was closed in the following year. The original buildings lay in the western tip of the parish close to Yapton village. In the 1930s the airfield was used at different times as a flying school, for joy-rides, for building airliners, as the headquarters of Sir Alan Cobham's 'flying circus', and as a base for experimental flying. In 1937, however, it was taken back by the Air Ministry, new buildings being built in Climping parish, while the original buildings continued to be used for experimental purposes. After the closure of the airfield by the Fleet Air Arm in 1959 most of its buildings in Ford were demolished and replaced by housing; part, however, survived in industrial use. This image May 12 2012 climbing out of Southampton UK for Palma Mallorca.