Royal Air Force Station Hornchurch or RAF Hornchurch was an airfield in the parish of Hornchurch, Essex (now the London Borough of Havering in Greater London), located to the southeast of Romford. The airfield was known as Sutton's Farm during the First World War, it occupied 90 acres (360,000 m²) of the farm of the same name and it had Albyns Farm alongside its southern perimeter. It was an airfield located and used for the protection of London and was situated 14 miles (22.5 km) east north-east of Charing Cross. Although the airfield closed shortly after the end of World War I, the land was requisitioned in 1923 because of the expansion of the Royal Air Force and it re-opened as a much larger fighter station in 1928. The airfield was ideally located in bomb alley to cover both London and the Thames corridor from German air attacks.