Royal Air Force Peterhead or more simply RAF Peterhead 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 ...

sector station located east of Longside,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

and west of

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

, Aberdeenshire,

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 ...

History

The airfield was built in 1941 and disbanded in 1945. During this period there were up to 2,000 RAF personnel based there, including around 250 WAAFs. A large number of RAF squadrons from a variety of nations used RAF Peterhead's five accommodation camps. In November 1941 the station was hit by two bombs from a

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

bomber, killing one person and injuring three others.

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

and North American Mustang aircraft flew from Longside airfield to provide protection for eastern convoys. During the 1990s, the airfield site was inspected and aerial photographs were taken as part of an assessment for a proposed pipeline running between St Fergus and Peterhead Power Station. These reports and photographs showed that pillboxes and many buildings still survived, although most of the land had by then returned to agricultural use. The control tower had been demolished. In November 2004, further investigation was undertaken. The report compared photographs from 1946, which showed the airfield and all its ancillary buildings, with photographs taken in June 1969. By then the hangars had been removed but many other buildings and pillboxes still survived.

Squadrons

Other units

* Satellite of No. 2 Flying Instructors School RAF (1943) * No. 14 Fighter Command Servicing Unit * No. 1479 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF (May 1942 - December 1943) * No. 1491 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight RAF (October 1943) * No. 2792 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2803 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2848 Squadron RAF Regiment

Current use

The north-eastern section of the airfield has been taken over by Bond Helicopters and Bristows as a refuelling point for helicopters servicing North Sea oil platforms, roughly a 45-minute flight. In 2003, after funds were successfully raised by the local branch of the Longside

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. ...

, a cairn monument was erected in memory of those who had served at RAF Peterhead, Longside airfield. At the time of the unveiling ceremony of the monument on 14 September 2003, there was a flypast from a Douglas Dakota of the

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force Flight (military unit), flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster heavy bomber and two fighters, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurr ...

. More recently a stretch of the runway is used for flying radio controlled model aircraft.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Derelict Places – RAF Peterhead
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterhead Royal Air Force stations in Scotland Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom RAF Transport in Peterhead Airports established in 1941 1941 establishments in Scotland