RNAS – Seaplane Stations
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WWI RNAS Seaplane stations around the Forth
The first military airbase in Scotland was created in 1912 at Carlingnose Air Station, on Port Laing beach in North Queensferry for what would eventually become the RNAS – at the time it was the Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps. Experiments were conducted with seaplanes (known at the time as hydroplanes) to see what types were most suitable for operations, and to see if submarines could be spotted from the air. The combination of winds around the cliffs, and the sticky sand on the beach were not ideal for the flimsy planes, so the station moved to Dundee in January 1914.
Seaplanes were carried on board warships, then lowered onto the water to carry out remote reconnaissance and bombing missions. RNAS Seaplanes and Seaplane Carriers carried out the The Cuxhaven Raid on Christmas Day, 1914.
There was a seaplane transfer station at Granton Harbour from 1914, and a similar station was built in Rosyth in 1917, when the Forth became home to the entire Grand Fleet.
HMS Tarlair was an experimental seaplane station at Hawkcraig Point, Aberdour. It opened in December 1914. A spotting plane looked for submarines, and then manoeuvred a radio-controlled motor boat carrying an explosive charge to intercept the target.