Military Airfields in World War II
< Military History around the Forth
World War II airbases around the Forth
RAF Turnhouse
RAF Drem
RAF East Fortune
RAF Kirknewton
RNAS Donibristle / HMS Merlin
RAF/RNAS / HMS Jackdaw / HMS Bruce
RAF/RNAS Dunino / HMS Jackdaw II
RAF Pitreavie Castle – maritime air-sea command and control
RAF Turnhouse
Turnhouse Aerodrome opened in 1916 as the most northerly Royal Flying Corps in Britain. In 1918 the airfield was named RAF Turnhouse and ownership transferred to the Air Ministry.
In 1925, it became home to the newly-formed 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron, which consisted of DH 9As, Westland Wapitis, Hawker Harts, and Hawker Hind light bombers. All the aircraft used a grass air strip.
When the Second World War broke out, RAF Fighter Command took control over the airfield and a runway of 3,900 ft (1,189 m) was paved to handle the Supermarine Spitfire. During the Battle of Britain, 3, 65, and 141 Squadrons were present at the airbase.
When the war ended the airfield remained under military control, but by the late 1940s the first commercial services were launched. In 1952 the runway was extended to 6,000 ft to handle the Vampire FB5s operated by 603 Squadron; and an aircraft arresting barrier net was installed to protect traffic on the adjacent A9 road.
After the disbandment of 603 Squadron in March 1957, the Air Ministry transferred ownership to the Ministry of Aviation in 1960 to offer improved commercial service to the airport.
The British Airports Authority took over ownership of the airport on 1 April 1971.
A new, longer runway was added in 1977 as the original runway suffered from severe crosswinds.
International service from Edinburgh began in 1962 with a direct service to Dublin, and grew to cover to continental Europe by the 1980s, then the USA once Prestwick ceased to be the only “designated gateway” in Scotland following a court judgment in a case brought by Air 2000 in May 1989.
RAF Turnhouse was operational near the passenger terminal of the airport for the post war period, until it closed in 1997.
RAF Drem
RAF Drem opened in 1916 as West Fenton Aerodrome of the Royal Flying Corps. The site was vacated in 1919.
In 1939, the grass airstrip was resurfaced, and the unit was renamed RAF Drem. The station was then home to No. 13 Flying Training School. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, RAF Drem became an air defence fighter unit for the city of Edinburgh and the shipping area around the Firth of Forth, with Supermarine Spitfire of 602 Squadron posted to Drem.
On 16 October 1939, the Luftwaffe made its first attack on Great Britain. Junkers Ju 88s of 1/KG 30 led by Hauptmann Helmuth Pohle attacked British warships in the Firth of Forth. Spitfires from 603 Squadron (City of Edinburgh Squadron) joined aircraft of 602 Squadron in a defensive counter-air sortie. Following the destruction of a Luftwaffe bomber aircraft by a 603 Squadron Spitfire, 602 Squadron pilot Flight Lieutenant George Pinkerton gained the second kill of the Second World War.
In 1942, Royal Navy personnel were posted to RAF Drem and in 1945 the unit was handed over to the Admiralty and renamed HMS Nighthawk. On 15 March 1946, the unit was returned to the Air Ministry. It closed and was decommissioned a little later.
At present, the RAF Drem Museum is housed in what was RAF Drem’s mess accommodation.
RAF East Fortune
RAF East Fortune was established as a fighter and airship airfield in 1915 and became an RNAS station in August 1916. By early 1918, East Fortune was a Training Depot Stations
In 1919 the British airship R34 made the first ever return flight across the Atlantic and the first east-west crossing by air, flying from East Fortune to Mineola, New York
In February 1920, the airfield and associated buildings were closed and the hangars and airfield buildings were demolished. The airfield was reactivated during the Second World War, as a satellite airfield for nearby RAF Drem.
However, it was subsequently decided to develop RAF East Fortune as a night fighter training unit giving new pilots experience of operational aircraft initially Boulton Paul Defiant and Bristol Blenheim night fighters. From October 1941 the Defiants were replaced by the Bristol Beaufighter.
In 1942 the unit switched to training Coastal Command initially using Bristol Blenheim, Beaufort and Beaufighter aircraft, with the de Havilland Mosquito as the main type by the end of the war.
The Unit disbanded at the end of the war and the site was sold by the Air Ministry in 1960.
The National Museum of Flight opened on the site in 1975.
RAF Kirknewton
RAF Kirknewton built in 1941 as an RAF radar station, was home to a No. 289 Squadron, an anti-aircraft co-operation unit. It was also used as a temporary Prisoner of War Camp for German officers during the War, while they were awaiting transfer to the USA. From March 1943 it was home to No. 309 (Polish) Army Co-operation Squadron flying North American Mustangs.
From 1952 to 1966, Kirknewton was home to several small United States Air Force units tasked with providing mobile radio facilities in Britain. They were tasked with the interception radio signals, including military and commercial naval traffic, involving Soviet radar and air operations.
[During this time, USAF officers provided an annual Christmas Party for the children at Castlecraig Residential School near Peebles. Gratefully remembered by at least one former pupil, thank you.]
The airfield returned to UK control during the late 1960s.
Kirknewton currently houses No. 661 Volunteer Gliding Squadron, with three Grob Viking T1 gliders providing flying experience to Royal Air Force Air Cadets.
RNAS Donibristle / HMS Merlin
RNAS Donibristle, was created in 1918 for the repair and storage of naval aircraft and this continued after the First World War as the Fleet Aircraft Repair Depot. This later became the Coastal Area Aircraft Depot (CAAD) and operated at Donibristle until the spring of 1922.
After a short period of Care and Maintenance in the mid 1920’s the airfield became active again with Hawker Horsley aircraft in a coastal defence role. More Horsleys of No 100 Squadron became prominent during 1930-33, while the Torpedo Training Flight (TTF) was formed in 1934 teaching both RAF and Fleet Air Arm personnel. This unit soon became No 22 Squadron and was equipped with Vickers Vildebeest torpedo bombers during its residence later on in the 1930s.
Donibristle was put in the control of RAF Coastal Command in 1936 and was home to a few different units, such as No 16 Group Practice Flight between 1937 and 1938.
From May 1939 Donibristle was transferred to the Fleet Air Arm, becoming HMS Merlin. The site’s location close to the naval base at Rosyth made it an ideal airfield for use as an aircraft repair yard, as well as accommodating various other Fleet Air Arm units over the following twenty years. These included training and support units plus disembarked squadrons. The longest stay at Donibristle was by No 782 Squadron, a communications unit based there between 1940 and 1953. Most of the other units stayed at the airfield for far shorter periods of time as was normal with FAA bases. The two hard runways eventually built proved rather unusual in being fairly close together due to the limited area of land available.
The aircraft maintenance yard is said to have handled over 7,000 aircraft by the end of the Second World War and eventually closed in April 1959. From the late 1940s, other Navy personnel were gradually replaced by Airwork employees, a civilian company that provided a variety of defence support services.
Donibristle was closed and paid off on 23 October 1959 and most of the site has since had housing built on it. Some of the Second World War hangars remain and are now part of the Hillend Industrial Park.
RAF/RNAS Crail / HMS Jackdaw / HMS Bruce
RAF Crail opened in July 1918, as a training station for fighter reconnaissance aircraft such as the Avro 504K and Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b. The American 120th Aero Squadron was at Crail in 1918, and No 104 Squadron RAF in 1919.
The airfield was closed in 1919 and lay dormant until the Second World War.
The Royal Navy commissioned the airfield on 1 October 1940 as HMS Jackdaw for use as a Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance base, using aircraft such as Fairey Albacores and Fairey Swordfish. A large number of units visited Crail for varying lengths of time including brief stays from aircraft carriers and longer durations for training.
Crail’s location gave quick accessibility to the sea ranges in the Firth of Forth and Navy ships with which to train, making the airfield ideal as a base for torpedo training.
The majority of flying units left the airfield around the end of the war. No 780 Squadron carried out instrument training until HMS Jackdaw closed in early 1947.
HMS Jackdaw then became HMS Bruce and was used as a training facility for boys from the age of 15. This school however only lasted for two years. The airfield was used by The Black Watch at various times in the 1950s and St Andrews University Air Squadron also operated de Havilland Canada Chipmunks from Crail until 1958.
Between 1956 and 1960 the Joint Services School of Linguists (JSSL) was based at the site, teaching Russian and to a lesser degree Polish and Czech to selected conscripts undergoing National Service. The school closed with the ending of conscription in 1960. (The school was founded 1951 to provide interpreters, intelligence and signals intelligence officers due to the Cold War, and the Korean War which had started the previous year.)
RAF/RNAS Dunino / HMS Jackdaw II
The station started life in 1941 as RAF Dunino, with No. 309 (Polish) Army Co-operation Squadron flying Westland Lysanders then North American Mustangs’s during 1942. The squadron moved to RAF Findo Gask near Perth in 1942. However the Mustangs struggled with the waterlogged landing area at Findo and the Squadron moved to Kirknewton in March 1943.
Dunino transferred in 1942 to the Royal Navy as HMS Jackdaw II, primarily for Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance use. Fairey Barracudas and Swordfish carried out this role from the airfield. Air-Sea Rescue Supermarine Walrus aircraft were also based here.
From mid-1944 the primary use of this airfield was aircraft storage. The airfield closed in 1946 but the site was retained by the Navy until 1957.
RAF Pitreavie Castle – maritime air-sea command and control
Built in the early 17th century, Pitreavie Castle was sold to the Air Ministry in 1938.
An underground bunker was constructed and during the Second World War, it had responsibility for more than twenty squadrons and controlled aircraft predominately involved in anti-shipping and anti-submarine warfare in the seas around Scotland.
After the Second World War, Pitreavie Castle’s role continued to be maritime coordination.
In 1963, following a review of Royal Navy and RAF headquarters sites, the bunker was rearranged and enlarged.
Pitreavie became the second most important naval headquarters in the UK (after Fleet Headquarters at Northwood) while remaining a joint Royal Navy/RAF operation,
Pitreavie had command and control of Royal Navy warships and auxiliary vessels (apart from submarines) and RAF maritime patrol aircraft such as the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod MR2 in the seas around Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England.
The station was often used as the base for coordinating Joint Maritime Course exercises. Had war broken out with the Soviet Union, the station would have taken command and control of NATO vessels and marine patrol aircraft in its allocated areas.
Pitreavie could also, if required, take over the functions of Northwood Headquarters, including co ordination of submarines, and after 1970, control of the UK’s strategic nuclear deterrent, Polaris.
The Search and Rescue (SAR) cell was also based at Pitreavie, controlling Royal Navy and RAF aircraft taking part in rescues across the UK.
RAF Pitreavie Castle closed on 31 January 1996. The castle and some buildings were converted to residential use. Other buildings were demolished and the bunker sealed up, with all surface elements removed.