Royal Air Force Prestwick or simply known as RAF Prestwick, 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 ...

station based at the NATS air traffic control centre, adjacent to

Glasgow Prestwick Airport Glasgow Prestwick Airport (), commonly referred to as Prestwick Airport, is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated northeast of the town of Prestwick, and southwest of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the less busy of the two ...

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire (; , ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,45 ...

, in south west

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 ...

. The unit was home to the Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre (Military) which provided an

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

service to military aircraft operating within its area of responsibility. Prestwick was also home to a Distress and Diversion (D&D) Cell which provided assistance to both military and civil aircraft in an emergency. RAF Prestwick was established during the Second World War for the reception of aircraft coming across the Atlantic from North America. The unit closed in December 2013 with operations transferring to the RAF unit at

London Area Control Centre The London Area Control Centre (LACC) is an air traffic control centre based at Swanwick near Fareham in Hampshire, southern England. It is operated by National Air Traffic Services (NATS), starting operations on 27 January 2002, and handles a ...

in Swanwick,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

History

Prestwick Airport was established on 17 February 1936 as a base for Scottish Aviation Limited.

Second World War

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 ...

, Prestwick was used an eastern terminus for the North Atlantic air ferry route, one of a series of routes over which military aircraft were ferried from the United States and Canada to Great Britain, to support the war in Europe. A large number of heavy bombers, fighter aircraft and aircraft carrying diplomatic and VIP passengers transited through the airfield.

RAF Ferry Command RAF Ferry Command was the secretive Royal Air Force command formed on 20 July 1941 to ferry urgently needed aircraft from their place of manufacture in the United States and Canada, to the front line operational units in Britain, Europe, North A ...

was formed on 20 July 1941 to take control of North Atlantic ferry flights but became part

RAF Transport Command RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 19 ...

on 25 March 1943, with the role becoming the responsibility of No. 45 (Atlantic Ferry) Group. Ferry flights were initially controlled by the Overseas Movement Control Centre, operating from a location in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. As the number of flights increased, Trans-Atlantic Air Control (TAC) was relocated in November 1941 to Redbrae House, a

mock Tudor Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

home located near Prestwick Airport. A large United States military presence was established at Prestwick to support the ferry flights from North America. In late 1944, a Flying Control Centre was established in Redbrae House, providing an area control service for the region. The centre was operated by a combination of British, Canadian and American military personnel until the end of the Second World War in 1945. After the war, responsibility for TAC came under the control of RAF Transport Command after the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) presence dramatically reduced. The centre at Redbrae House, previously operated by an international alliance of military personnel, was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Oceanic Area Control Centre was created.

Post war

In November 1947, the RAF regional control centre was re-designated Scottish Traffic Control Centre (Military) (ScATCC(Mil)) to control military aircraft flying within the airspace above Scotland. Around the same time, a civilian air traffic control service began to meet the demand from the expanding civil aviation market. The unit was staffed by RAF Air Traffic Control Officers and Air Traffic Control Assistants. Both military and civilian aircraft were controlled by RAF controllers who provided a variety of air traffic services predominantly outside

controlled airspace Controlled airspace is airspace of defined dimensions within which air traffic control (ATC) services are provided. The level of control varies with different airspace class, classes of airspace. Controlled airspace usually imposes higher weat ...

or within

airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as outer space which is t ...

designated as Military Training Areas. A Distress and Diversion (D&D) cell was co-located with ScATCC (Mil), tasked with assisting aircraft in distress and/or encountering emergency situations. In April 1977, the D&D cell and the Air Defence Notification Centre (North) (ADNC) moved into new premises at Atlantic House, followed by ScATCC (Mil) on 2 November 1978. ADNC (North) closed on 31 March 1997, with approximately 65 RAF staff remaining at Prestwick. The

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

of the

was awarded to RAF Prestwick on 17 July 2009. In November of that year, the unit moved to the new NATS Prestwick Centre, built adjacent to Atlantic House, which accommodates the NATS civilian controllers providing oceanic and Scottish area control services. The Prestwick Distress & Diversion Cell closed in December 2012 when D&D operations moved to RAF Swanwick in

Role and operations

Prior to its closure, RAF Prestwick's mission statement was "To contribute effectively to the delivery of airpower by assisting with the protection of the integrity of the UK’s airspace and being at the forefront of excellence in the provision of the air traffic control, airspace management and support services." The main responsibilities of RAF Prestwick was to provide air traffic control (ATC) services to military aircraft carrying out the following activities. * Flying between 25,000 ft and 66,000 ft * Crossing the national airways system * On transit flights operating below 25,000 ft outside controlled airspace * On operations (such as

air-to-air refuelling Aerial refueling ( en-us), or aerial refuelling (en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to anot ...

) The Distress and Diversion (D&D) Cell was one of two D&D Cells (the other RAF (U) Swanwick) established to provide assistance to both military and civil aircraft experiencing an emergency. The cell maintained a continuous listening watch on both guard frequencies, 121.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

for civilian aircraft and 243.0 MHz for military aircraft and was responsible for co-ordinating responses within UK airspace north of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and contacting the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre (ARCC), which at the time was based at

RAF Kinloss Royal Air Force Kinloss, or more simply RAF Kinloss, is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland, UK. The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a traini ...

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' ...

. The unit at RAF Prestwick was parented by

RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northe ...

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 ...

Units

The following units were based at RAF Prestwick at some point: * No. 1 Civil Air Navigation School RAF (August 1938 - November 1939) became No. 1 Air Observers Navigation School RAF (November 1939 - July 1941) * 'D' Flight of

No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (1 (C)OTU), was a training unit of the Royal Air Force, within No. 17 Group RAF, which was part of RAF Coastal Command. The unit was established during April 1940 by the redesignating of an existin ...

(August - November 1940) * 'D' Flight of No. 2 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (November 1940 - July 1941) * No. 2 Supplementary School of Wireless Telegraphy RAF (September 1939 - October 1940) * No. 3 Radio School RAF (December 1940 - August 1942) became

No. 3 Radio Direction Finding School RAF This is a list of military communications ('Signals') units and formations of the Royal Air Force. In the Royal Air Force sense, wings, groups, and commands can be considered formations. A formation is defined by the US Department of Defense as " ...

(August - December 1942) * No. 4 Ferry Pilots Pool ATA (September 1940 - January 1942) & (August 1942 - October 1945) * No. 4A Ferry Pilots Pool ATA (January - August 1942) * No. 4B Ferry Pilots Pool ATA (January - August 1942) * Detachment of No. 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (March - June 1941) * Detachment of No. 7 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF (January - May 1941) * No. 10 Air Observers Navigation School RAF (November - December 1939) disbanded into No. 1 Air Observers Navigation School RAF * No. 12 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School RAF (February 1936 - September 1939) became No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School RAF (September 1939 - March 1941) * No. 1425 (Communication) Flight RAF (October 1941 - April 1942) *

No. 1527 (Beam Approach Training) Flight RAF This is a List of Beam Approach beacon system Units of the Royal Air Force. The first system to guide RAF aircraft safely down onto a runway was called the Standard Blind Approach (SBA) system and was trialled in the late 1930s. It was also bein ...

(October 1941 - September 1945) became

No. 1527 (Radio Aids Training) Flight RAF This is a List of Beam Approach beacon system Units of the Royal Air Force. The first system to guide RAF aircraft safely down onto a runway was called the Standard Blind Approach (SBA) system and was trialled in the late 1930s. It was also bein ...

(September 1945 - February 1946) *

No. 1680 (Western Isles Communications) Flight RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, (also represented as Nº, No̱, No., or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, the ...

(March - April 1944) became

No. 1680 (Transport) Flight RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, (also represented as Nº, No̱, No., or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, the ...

(April 1944 - February 1946) ;Squadrons USAF 67th Air Rescue Squadron, later 67th Special Operations Squadron 7 November 1953-18 March 1960 and 18 June 1961-1966

Heritage

The station badge showed a

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

, (symbolising strength and valour), holding a shepherd's crook, (symbolising watchfulness), within a

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

, (symbolising a place of refuge, strength and safety). The station

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

, ''Faire Agus Gliocas'', is

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

for "Watchfulness and Wisdom".

Closure

The Minister for the Armed Forces announced on 31 March 2013 that RAF Prestwick would close by the end of 2013. Due to technological advances, there was no longer a requirement for two military area radar control centres in the United Kingdom.The unit subsequently closed on 6 December 2013, when the

RAF Ensign The Royal Air Force Ensign is the official flag that is used to represent the Royal Air Force. The ensign has a field of air force blue, with the United Kingdom's flag in the canton and the Royal Air Force's roundel in the middle of the fly ...

was lowered for the final time, representing the end of a 77-year association between Ayrshire and the RAF. Prestwick's operations and thirty personnel were transferred to the RAF unit based in the NATS London Air Traffic Control Centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, forming a single military area radar unit. A small number of RAF personnel remained at Prestwick until January 2014 to complete the transfer.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

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NATS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prestwick, RAF Royal Air Force stations in Ayrshire 1936 establishments in Scotland Airports established in 1936 Military air traffic control Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Royal Air Force stations in Scotland Air traffic control centers Air traffic control in Europe