Royal Air Force Dallachy or more simply RAF Dallachy, is a former
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
satellite station situated east of
Elgin,
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' ...
,
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 ...
.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
it was a fighter station, used by
18 Group RAF Coastal Command.
History
Opened in March 1943, it was originally used as a training station by
No. 14 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF, using
Airspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd, Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombin ...
s.
In September 1943, it was reorganised for operational use by several squadrons, including
No. 144 Squadron RAF,
and
No. 455 Squadron RAAF.
Towards the end of 1944, it was reorganised again with
No. 489 Squadron RNZAF, flying
Bristol Beaufighters
on shipping strikes, and
No. 524 Squadron RAF with radar-equipped
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...
s.
The airfield was closed in June 1945, becoming a
Territorial Army training centre until 1958.
[
]
Units
A memorial now stands in the nearby village of Bogmoor to remember the air crews and soldiers who lost their lives in the Second World War.
Current use
The site is largely intact. However, most of the former airfield is now used by a waste recycling company. The control tower is in a ruinous state and no other buildings exist. Dallachy Aeromodellers, a radio control model flying club, use a section.
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallachy
Royal Air Force stations in Scotland
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
Defunct airports in Scotland
Airports established in 1943
Buildings and structures in Moray