Rahul Sharma (Editor)

HMS Forward (shore establishment 1939)

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In use
  
1940-1945

Garrison
  
Royal Navy

Controlled by
  
United Kingdom

HMS Forward (shore establishment 1939) wwwsubbritorguksbsitessitesfhmsforwardhm

Type
  
Royal Naval Headquarters

HMS Forward was a shore establishment of the British Royal Navy during World War II. It was based at South Heighton, just outside Newhaven, East Sussex.

Service history

Based in a former Guinness Trust Holiday Home, Forward served as the command centre for all Royal Naval establishments in the area and was responsible for:

  • HMS Marlborough, the Electrical Training School at Eastbourne.
  • HMS Forward II (renamed HMS Aggressive in 1942), the Coastal Forces base at Newhaven.
  • The Combined Operations Landing Craft bases of HMS Newt at Newhaven and HMS Lizard at Shoreham and Hove.
  • HMS Vernon (R), the Torpedo, Mining & Electrical Training Establishment at Roedean School, Brighton.

    • In 1941 a complex of tunnels were constructed 20 m (66 ft) underground to house a centre which plotted all shipping traffic in the English Channel between Dungeness and Selsey Bill, in conjunction with the coastal radar chain.

    Forward was decommissioned on 31 August 1945.

    References

    HMS Forward (shore establishment 1939) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA