Leuchars Station
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Leuchars Station is a
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
installation located in
Leuchars Leuchars (pronounced or ; "rushes") is a town and parish near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by Nati ...
,
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
, on the east coast of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, near to the historic town of
St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
. Formerly RAF Leuchars, it was the second most northerly air defence station in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(the most northerly being RAF Lossiemouth). The station ceased to be an RAF station in April 2015 when control of the site was transferred to the Army.


History


RAF Leuchars

The Royal Air Force station at Leuchars opened on 16 March 1920, although its association with the military can be traced back to 1911 when military balloons were operated at the site. During its history the site was used as a RNAS fleet fighter station and later as a RAF Coastal Command airfield. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northern UK airspace. The station also hosted an annual International Airshow.


Transfer to the Army

On 18 July 2011, Defence Secretary
Liam Fox Sir Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
announced that RAF Leuchars would close as part of the
Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 was announced by the formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010. The previous major review of UK defence strategy was ...
, with the station being transferred to
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
control in 2015 and the
Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
aircraft based at Leuchars moving to RAF Lossiemouth in
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
. In preparation for the closure, RAF Leuchars Mountain Rescue Team disbanded in November 2013 whilst No. 58 Squadron of the
RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by Royal Warrant in 1942, the Corps carries-out security tasks relating to the protection of assets and personnel dedicated ...
and No. 6 Force Protection Wing disbanded on 10 May 2014. No. 6 Squadron was the first Typhoon unit to depart Leuchars, heading for its new home at Lossiemouth in June 2014. No. 1 Squadron followed on 8 September 2014, at which point responsibility for
Quick Reaction Alert Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) is state of Combat readiness, readiness and ''modus operandi'' of Anti-aircraft warfare, air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces. The United States usually refers to Quick Reaction Alert as 'Ai ...
(North) was transferred from Leuchars to Lossiemouth. Control of Leuchars was transferred to the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
on 31 March 2015, when it was renamed Leuchars Station. The term 'station' was used as the size of the installation is smaller than a garrison but larger than a barracks and to reflect the range of army and RAF occupants. The
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a light Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest survivi ...
gradually relocated from Germany in the spring and summer of 2015 along with 2 Close Support Battalion of the
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...
and 110 Provost Company, Royal Military Police. The transition from RAF to Army control was considered to have gone smoothly by Fife Council in terms of its impact on the local community. In February 2018, local
councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
s suggested that the name of the installation be changed as it could be confused with Leuchars Railway Station. RAF Typhoon FGR4 aircraft and the Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) North capability operated from Leuchars between 10 August and the week commencing 16 October 2020 whilst the intersection of RAF Lossiemouth's two runways was resurfaced.


Role and operations

In December 2018, there were approximately 750 members of the UK regular armed forces, 30 members of the full time reserve service personnel and 100 civil servants based at Leuchars.


British Army

The primary Army unit based at Leuchars is the
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a light Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest survivi ...
. It is a cavalry regiment which specialises in the reconnaissance role. It is equipped with the Jackal 2 armoured fighting vehicle and the Coyote tactical support vehicle. Other army units included 2 Close Support Battalion of the
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...
(REME) and 110 Provost Company of the Royal Military Police.


Royal Air Force

The station continues to be home to several RAF units, including No. 612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron RAuxAF, the East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron incorporating No. 12 Air Experience Flight, and the headquarters of Scotland and Northern Ireland Region and Central Scotland Wing of the
Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...
. The airfield is maintained by the RAF as a diversion airfield for military aircraft.


Based units

The following notable units are based at Leuchars Station.


British Army

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
( 8 Engineer Brigade, 12 (Force Support) Engineer Group) * 71 Engineer Regiment ( Army Reserve) ** Regimental Headquarters **124 Field Squadron (Air Support) *** 2 Troop
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...
( 102 Logistics Brigade) * 2 Close Support Battalion ** Battalion Headquarters ** 7 Close Support Company ** 11 Close Support Company ** Echelon Company
Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...
( 51 Infantry Brigade) *
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a light Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest survivi ...
Adjutant General's Corps The Adjutant General's Corps is a corps in the British Army responsible for many of its general administrative services, named for the Adjutant-General to the Forces (now the Commander Home Command). As of 2002, the AGC had a staff of 7,000 peop ...
( 1 Military Police Brigade, 1st Regiment, Royal Military Police) * 110 Provost Company


Royal Air Force

* RAF Airfield Operations No. 22 Group (Training) RAF * East of Scotland Universities Air SquadronGrob Tutor T1 * No. 12 Air Experience Flight – Grob Tutor T1 * Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) ** Scotland & Northern Ireland Region Headquarters ** Central Scotland Wing Headquarters ** Regional Activity Centre ** No. 2345 Squadron No. 38 Group (Air Combat Service Support) RAF * Tactical Medical Wing ** No. 612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron (Royal Auxiliary Air Force)


Future


Airfield use

In late October 2020, it was confirmed by the
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
that they were looking into increasing both civilian and military usage of the airfield at Leuchars with the re-installation of F34 fuel facilities, however there would be no aircraft based permanently.


See also

* Armed forces in Scotland *
Military history of Scotland Historically, Scotland has a long British military history, military tradition that predates the Acts of Union 1707, Act of Union with England in 1707. Its soldiers today form part of the armed forces of the United Kingdom, more usually referre ...
*
List of British Army installations A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...
*
List of Royal Air Force stations This list of Royal Air Force stations is an overview of all current stations of the Royal Air Force (RAF) throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training airbases, support, administrative and training station ...


References


External links


Leuchars Station (RAF website)UK Military Aeronautical Information Publication – Leuchars (EGQL)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leuchars Buildings and structures in Fife Installations of the British Army 1916 establishments in Scotland