RAF Peterhead

RAF Peterhead
Longside, Aberdeenshire in Scotland
RAF Peterhead on a target dossier of the German Luftwaffe, 1943
Site information
Type	Sector Station
Code	PH
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Fighter Command
Location
Coordinates
Site history
Built
In use	July 1941 – August 1945
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	46 metres (151 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 10/28 1,200 metres (3,937 ft) Tarmac 04/22 1,300 metres (4,265 ft) Tarmac 16/34 1,100 metres (3,609 ft) Tarmac

Royal Air Force Peterhead or more simply RAF Peterhead is a former Royal Air Force sector station located 2.4 miles (3.9 km) east of Longside, Aberdeenshire and 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

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 bomber, killing one person and injuring three others. Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire 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.

Other units

• Satellite of No. 2 Flying Instructors School RAF (1943)
• No. 14 Fighter Command Servicing Unit
• No. 15 Armament Practice Camp RAF between 18 October 1943 and 21 February 1945
• 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, 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.

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

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations

References

Bibliography

• Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
• Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. Template:ISBN.
• Lake, A (1999). Flying units of the RAF. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
• Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.
• Sturtivant, Ray; Hamlin, John (2007). Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912. Tonbridge, UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 978-0851-3036-59.

External links

• Derelict Places – RAF Peterhead