Royal Air Force Tealing or more simply RAF Tealing 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 Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

located at

Tealing Tealing (Scottish Gaelic: Tèalainn) is a village in Angus, Scotland, Angus in eastern Scotland, nestled at the foot of the Sidlaw Hills. It is just north of the city of Dundee and south of Forfar. With a population of just over 700 people livi ...

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

, Scotland.

Overview

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 ...

, the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

built an aerodrome at

and in March 1942 No. 56 Operational Training Unit (OTU) was relocated to RAF Tealing from

RAF Sutton Bridge Royal Air Force Sutton Bridge or more simply RAF Sutton Bridge is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the sou ...

in south

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

,Airfield Focus 65: Sutton Bridge, Alastair Goodrum, 1997, p. 31, equipped with

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 ...

Miles Master The Miles M.9 Master was a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer designed and built by aviation company Miles Aircraft, Miles Aircraft Ltd. It was inducted in large numbers into both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) durin ...

and

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British Army cooperation aircraft, army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operat ...

aircraft. The number of pilots training at the unit varied from about 35 to 40 in 1942, reaching a peak of 150 in 1943. It was at the aerodrome that Tealing's most famous visitor arrived. On 20 May 1942, a strange four engined aircraft appeared in the circuit at Tealing, piloted by

Endel Puusepp Endel Karlovich Puusepp (; 1 May 1909 – 18 June 1996) was a Soviet bomber pilot of Estonian origin who completed over 30 nighttime strategic bombing campaigns during World War II. He was a recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union award for fly ...

. It was one of the first Russian TB7s to visit Britain and it brought

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (; – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician, diplomat, and revolutionary who was a leading figure in the government of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s, as one of Joseph Stalin's closest allies. ...

, Soviet Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the

State Committee of Defence The State Defense Committee () was an extraordinary organ of state power in the Soviet Union during the German-Soviet War, also called the Great Patriotic War, with complete state power in the country. General scope The Soviets set up the GKO ...

, on a military mission to meet with

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

Chequers Chequers ( ) is the English country house, country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is near the village of Ellesborough in England, halfway betwee ...

. RAF Tealing was probably chosen to attract as little attention as possible and for security reasons, as there was a local news blackout at the time. Molotov was given the choice of two aircraft in which to continue his journey to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The aircraft he did not selectas was later revealed by Sir Archibald Hope, Senior Controller of

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

in Scotland in 1942crashed in the

Vale of York The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England. The Vale of York is a broad area of flat land in northe ...

, killing various members of Molotov's staff and senior RAF personnel. Molotov arrived safely in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for the signing of the Anglo-Soviet Treaty on 26 May 1942.

Timeline

* March 1942: Site opened. * March 1942 to July 1944: No. 56 OTU moved here from

with

s and

s. Training for all types of fighter, ground and anti-shipping exercises. * October 1943: Renamed 1 Combat Training Wing and then 1 Tactical Exercise Unit. * February 1944:

s replaced with

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 ...

s. * August 1944 to June 1945: No. 9 (P) AFU, Flying Training Command with

s then Harvards.

Operational units and aircraft

Other units/wings

No. 56 Operational Training Unit (27 March 1942 – 5 October 1943)

Formed at

from No. 6 OTU on 1 November 1940 within No. 81 Group to train fighter pilots for

, using

s. In March 1942 it moved to RAF Tealing and in April 1943 it passed to the control of No. 9 Group. It disbanded on 5 October 1943. It was then redesignated No. 1 Combat Training Wing (changed to No. 1 Tactical Exercise Unit at a later date). In the event of a German invasion the OTU's 'E' and 'F' Flights would have become No. 556 Squadron to operate within the Peterhead Sector. The unit was reformed on 15 December 1944, at Milfield in No. 12 Group, equipped with both

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor aircraft, interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems we ...

and

Hawker Tempest The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to a ...

V's until disbanding on 14 February 1946.

No. 1 Combat Training Wing (5 October 1943 – 1 January 1944)

See No. 56 Operational Training Unit.

No. 1 Tactical Exercise Unit (1 January - 31 July 1944)

See No. 56 Operational Training Unit.

No. 9 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit (12 September 1944 – 21 June 1945)

Satellite Landing Ground for No. 9 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit ((P)AFU) based at RAF Errol.

HQ, No. 70 (Signal) Wing (25 August 1945 – 31 May 1946)

Satellite to

RAF Inverness Royal Air Force Inverness or more simply RAF Inverness is a former Royal Air Force station located by the Moray Firth in Highland, Scotland. It was also known as RAF Longman and previously Longman Airfield. History Longman Airfield was built ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tealing Royal Air Force stations in Scotland Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom History of Angus, Scotland Buildings and structures in Angus, Scotland