Subject to frequent flooding and a reputation as being unsuitable and too dangerous for training, it was eventually replaced by a more suitable site at RAF Biggin Hill.

The only habitation in the area, apart from the odd farm, was the isolated "Long Reach Tavern", known for organized bare-knuckle boxing matches in the 19th century, notably Tom Sayers who fought there between 1851-1854, and a ferry to Purfleet on the opposite bank of the Thames.

The airfield consisted of a grass landing field, slightly below sea level, criss-crossed by ditches covered with boards; a 121 acres (49 ha) site, 1200 x 1000 yards of low-lying marshland below mean tide level, bordered by the River Darent to the west, the Thames to the north, the tavern's access road "Joyce Green Lane" (running north to south) to the east, and the grounds of the Joyce Green Hospitals to the south.

The RFC buildings and camp were at the north end by the Thames, grouped to the immediate south and west of the Long Reach Tavern.

[2] Vickers were to persist with aircraft development and establishing an (Aviation Department) in 1911, and promptly built hangars and workshop facilities at Joyce Green for testing the aeroplanes constructed at their Erith works.

[4] Vickers' first monoplane was tested at their new airfield in July 1911, using an under-license French-built rear fuselage and engine designed and made by the Frenchman Robert Esnault-Pelterie (hence R.E.P.)

(the rest of the components being Vickers-built), it made its maiden flight, piloted by Captain Herbert F. Wood, the manager of Vickers' aviation department.

[6] Shortly before the war started, among the many designs initiated by the Drawing Office was one known as the 'Hydravion', based on the notion that an aeroplane should be able to take off from water as well as from land.

The plane's main claim to fame was that on 14/15 June 1919, Captain Jack Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten-Brown in a converted Vimy (built at Weybridge), made the world's first non-stop trans-oceanic flight, across the Atlantic.

Later at the end of 1919 Ross and Keith Smith flew a Vimy all the way to Australia, thus highlighting the possibility of organising scheduled overseas longhaul flights.

Concurrently the erection of hangars, workshops and ground staff quarters commenced at the northern edge of the landing field alongside the Long Reach Tavern.

Unfortunately the gun jammed over Purfleet, and the gunner (having forgotten his gloves) found his hands too cold could not clear the mechanism, thus leaving the German free to drop two bombs on Cliffe railway station.

Following the attack by Zeppelins L3 and L4, two Vickers FB5 Gunbuses of No.7 Squadron were ordered to take-off from Joyce Green and patrol over the southern outskirts of London, without result.

Despite large numbers of high explosive and incendiary bombs dropped on the area, no-one was killed in Dartford as a direct result of these air raids.

[13] In one week that year, the German planes passed over Dartford three nights in succession; the Brent guns firing nearly a thousand rounds at the raiders.

[14][15] 63 TS were moved to Redcar on 13 February 1919, and the aerodrome was left only a pilots pool; and ground crew mainly composed of USAAF personnel on final training duties awaiting deployment to France.

The move was at first welcomed, as despite its pre-war success the Brooklands aerodrome was unsuitable for training and testing due to close proximity of high obstacles and electrical interference.

immediately while around them young men practised war, throwing flour bombs as they tried to make their cumbersome Henry Farman Trainers fly.

Despite ongoing bureaucratic difficulties the team successfully and developed a practical aircraft telephony set towards the end of 1915; the Mark One weighing only 20 lbs (9 kg).

Prince made a report: ‘It seemed almost beyond hope to achieve really practical wireless telephony from an aeroplane, but the difficulties have been overcome, and the new set is by no means a toy, or only of scientific interest.

Of a dozen new sets the RFC submitted to the Wireless Testing Park, all were subjected to damning comments such as ‘a monument of incompetence’ ‘hopelessly bad design’ and ‘a primitive attempt to get round real difficulties’.

A pupil taking off with a choked or failing engine had to choose, according to wind direction, between drowning in the Thames (half a mile wide at this point), or crashing into the Vickers TNT works, or hitting one of their several high chimney stacks, or sinking into a vast sewage farm, or killing himself and numerous patients in a large isolation hospital, or being electrocuted in an electrical substation with acres of pylons and cables; or trying to turn and get back to the aerodrome.

The Corp resided in a wooden barrack block, and the actual airfield (grass runways) were located almost next to the River Thames, where many pilots lost their lives by drowning.

The Wireless Radio Unit found the foul weather, incessant mist, the state of the ground, the cold, and damp at Joyce Green non conducive to the best research.

Numerous accidents, several fatalities and the planned formation of the Royal Air Force in 1918, led to the Wireless Testing Park eventually being moved in February 1917 to Biggin Hill.

[20] Three flights of the 8th Aero Squadron USAAS arrived on 24 Dec 2017, soon to be dispersed elsewhere, leaving a ground unit which eventually departed in May 2018 for Thetford.

Some notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft: The first fatalities occurred on 13 January 1913 when a new biplane design, converted from a Vickers No.6 Monoplane, on a test flight, came down in the River Thames.

The verdict of the Board of Inquiry on 25 August concluded that the French had indeed in large part taken the plane out of service, and that it would have been negligent to put an inexperienced pilot in such a machine, however Mapplebeck was an ‘expert’ so it was not negligent; the crash was caused by ‘an unfortunate error of judgment on the pilot’s part’, and “that the accident was due to the machine ‘spinning’ on a heavily banked turn, the pilot not having sufficient height to regain control before hitting the earth.”[26][27] Major Ernest Frederic Unwin (35), died 22 March 1916 in a B.E.2c, 10 RS, hit a tree on a night approach and caught fire, at Joyce Green.

Lt Harold Staples Brewster (22) (Canadian) killed 6 December 1916 in a D.H.2 A4988, 10 RS, Joyce Green, Nose dived and crashed, at Dover.

To meet increasing demands and compliance with the requirements of the Explosives Act 1875, they had opened a new factory at Honor Oak Park in 1878, just north of the railway station.