Hatston
HATSTON: Military aerodrome (HMS SPARROWHAWK)
Note: The first picture (2016) was obtained from Google Earth ©. The map of the airfield was kindly provided by Mr Michael T Holder.
The extent of the WW2 airfield can still be clearly seen, plus some evidence of the runways.
Military users: WW2: RN Ist Line & disembarked facilities
800 & 803 Sqdns (Blackburn Skuas)
809 Sqdn (Fairey Fulmars)
Location: N & E of A965, NW of Kirkwall
Period of operation: Military: 1940 to 1945 Limited civil activity afterwards?
Runways: 01/19 713x16 hard 06/24 741x16 hard
12/30 722x46 hard 15/33 914x16 hard
NOTES: For quite a long time in doing the research I was convinced HATSTON must have been another name for the airport at KIRKWALL but slowly another picture emerged. Although very close by they were indeed, it now seems, two entirely separate aerodromes.
It now seems certain that immediately after WW2 HATSTON was the civil aerodrome for Kirkwall but when BEA introduced the DC-3 Pioneer in 1950 the runways were deemed too short and operations transferred to GRIMSETTER/KIRKWALL.
800 & 803 SQUADRONS
These two squadrons were only here for a short while before embarking on HMS Ark Royal for operations off Norway. Their first major dive-bombing raid was to bomb the German cruiser Königsberg in Bergen harbour. This raid, the first in WW2 for the Fleet Air Arm, on the 10 April 1940 was entirely successful and the cruiser was sunk with no losses to either squadron. However, it does appear as if they caught the Germans by surprise.
The next major raid, on the cruiser Scharnhorst in Trondheim was an entirely different affair with the Luftwaffe on hand to intercept the Skuas. Of the fifteen aircraft that took-off from Ark Royal only eight returned, and most of these were battle damaged, and the Scharnhorst was undamaged.
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