Lossiemouth military
LOSSIEMOUTH: Military RAF aerodrome later Royal Naval Air Station (1948 HMS FULMAR) Later allowing limited civil use at times
Military users: WW2: RAF Training Command 15 FTS
RAF Bomber Command 2 Group 91 Group
20 OTU (Armstrong-Whitworth Whitleys & Vickers Wellingtons)
15 Sqdn (Short Stirlings)
82 & 105 Sqdns (Bristol Blenheims)
Post WW2: 1950s: (Hawker Sea Hawks)
'V' Bomber dispersal airfield
1950s: 736 & 803 Sqdns (Vickers-Supermarine Scimitars)
1960s: 736, 800, 803 & 809 Sqdns (Blackburn Buccaneers)
764 NAS – Air Warfare Instructors Course ( Hawker Hunters)
1975: (Buccaneers, Fairey Gannet AEW.3s & Hunting Sea Prince)
ASR Sqdn: Westland Whirlwind HAR.10s
1980s: 8 Sqdn (Avro Shackletons)
12 Sqdn (Blackburn Buccaneers later Panavia Tornados)
208 Sqdn (Buccaneers/Hunters)
226 OCU (SEPCAT Jaguars) 237 OCU (Buccaneers/Hunters) 202 Sqdn (Sea Kings)
1990s: RAF Strike Command TWCU National Tornado OCU
12, 15(R), 16(R), 202 (SAR) and 617 Squadrons (All flying Tornados?)
1998 snapshot. RAF Strike/Attack
12 Sqdn 13 x Panavia Tornado GR.1/1B
615 Sqdn 13 x Panavia Tornado GR.1B
RAF Search and Rescue
D Flight (202 Sqdn) 2 x Westland Sea King HAR 3
RAF Operational Conversion
15 (R) Sqdn (TWCU) 22 x Tornado GR 1
16 (R) Sqdn (JOCU) 10 x Jaguar GR 1A 8 x Jaguar T 2A
2005 snapshot.
12, 14 & 617 Sqdns (Panavia Tornado GR.4)
XV OCU (Reserve) Sqdn (Panavia Tornado GR.4)
D Flight (202 Sqdn) Westland Sea King HAR.3
Civil users: Post 1945: Alidair
Gliding: Fulmar Gliding Club
It appears that the Fulmer Gliding Club (operating here in 1957) and belonging with the Royal Naval Gliding and Soaring Association later merged with the Royal Air Force Gliding and Soaring Association and decamped to EASTERTON.
Location: W of B9135 & S of B9040, SW of Lossiemouth village & 4nm N of Elgin
Period of operation: 1939 to present day
Note: This map is reproduced with the kind permission of Pooleys Flight Equipment Ltd. Copyright Robery Pooley 2014.
Runways: WW2: 01/19 1280x46 hard 05/23 1829x46 hard
08/26 1372x46 hard
1990: 05/23 2738x45 hard 10/28 1836x45 hard
2000: 05/23 2771x46 hard 10/28 1882x46 hard
NOTES: FRIENDLY FIRE
As mentioned elsewhere the possibility of ‘Friendly Fire’ was an ever present danger for RAF aircrew. The Royal Navy appearing to claim the ‘right’ to shoot first and identify later. In his excellent book Bomber Crew John Sweetman gives an example. He quotes a recollection from a RCAF sergeant, H C ‘Nick’ Knilans, a pilot on Whitleys undertaking training here. Encountering icing in cloud he dived to warmer air. Emerging out of cloud at 2000ft, “…to be greeted by a concerted barrage from the naval escorts of a coastal convoy.”
Fortunately they missed, but hoping to hit an aircraft was mostly a vain hope for any anti-aircraft crew on both sides in WW2, until the Germans developed radar tracking. Before this it was more luck than judgement mostly, even when they rarely succeeded. The exception to this rule being when a massive amount of firepower was available (and especially if radar guided), such as around some major German cities in WW2. But, even then, the majority of RAF bombers got through.
A MAJOR BASE
LOSSIEMOUTH was a major RAF training base in WW2 with, in 1944, 3316 RAF personnel on station plus an unusually high number of 831 WAAFs. Does anybody now know why so many WAAFs were stationed here?
THE COLD WAR ERA
During this period LOSSIEMOUTH had visiting squadrons from other Air Forces and possibly still does? In around 1970 the German Navy MFG-2 visited with sixteen of their Lockheed F-104 Starfighters whilst the runway at their base at Eggebek was being resurfaced. Roland White in his excellent book Phoenix Squadron gives a graphic account of how the Starfighters couldn’t cut the mustard compared to the Buccaneer S.2 ending with: “….during that time a constant stream of buffeted, overstressed F-104s were stripped of their wingtip tanks and flown gingerly back to Germany for fatigue inspections.”
There is another story here. The F-104 Starfighters in both the German Navy and Air Force had an appalling fatality rate, possibly even matching that of the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Air Force in the early jet days. To call these fatal incidents “accidents” is a gross injustice to both those who died and their families in so many cases. The sad fact is that the aircraft were unfit for service and most aircrew members knew this. But, following on from WW2 and the “supposed” threat of attack from the Soviet Union which they were led to believe was a “very real” threat – largely discredited today of course – they still decided to fly these types.
In May 1965 No.24 Squadron of the South African Air Force was re-formed here with Buccaneers. Whilst these were being built the SAAF crews trained with 736 NAS.
SOME LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT WW2?
Surely without any doubt the sheer numerical supremacy of the Royal Air Force does tend to swamp the history of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and their quite considerable achievements. For example, it was the Fleet Air Arm who claimed the first aircraft shot down in WW2 when three Blackburn Skua’s of 803 Naval Air Squadron from HMS Ark Royal, operating in the North Sea, shot down a Dornier Do18 flying boat on the 26th September 1939. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had announced to the nation that the country was at war with Germany at 11.15 on the 3rd September. Most accounts describe the ‘Phoney War’ when nothing hostile had happened for months on end.
Pretty much the same sort of mostly forgotten circumstances applied at the very end of WW2. On the 13th August 1945 eight Seafire IIIs of 887 Naval Air Squadron took off from HMS Indefatigable to escort an air strike against targets near Tokyo. Attacked by Japanese Zero and Zeke fighters, and outnumbered, the Seafires claimed, (and were credited with), seven kills, three probables and four damaged, for the loss of one Seafire flown by Sub-Lieutenant Freddie Hockley who had led the flight. This is now recognised as being the last dogfight of WW2.
And, talking of naval aviation, perhaps it should also be bourne in mind that it was the Admiralty, in late 1910, who accepted the offer from the Royal Aero Club, then based at EASTCHURCH in KENT, to train four pilots. These were selected from some two hundred naval applicants.
During the many years spent in researching this Guide I soon realised that the general history of British aviation as normally presented, especially from ‘official’ sources and many ‘so-called experts’, only rarely coincides with the truth of the matter. And, can it ever be expected that “the truth of the matter” will ever be known in many cases? I doubt it. Hence my decision to call this small enterprise – simply a ‘Guide’. Fortunately for me there are of course many wonderful writers and historians around, and I constantly have them to thank for much of the content in this Guide.
ANOTHER CLAIM TO FAME
In 1965 a Blackburn Buccaneer S2 flew from Goose Bay in Canada to LOSSIEMOUTH without refuelling. This was the longest non-stop crossing over the Atlantic Ocean, (or any other ocean, and about 1950 miles), by a Fleet Air Arm aircraft. When the powers that be in the British government eventually realised that not having fixed wing aircraft based on aircraft carriers was a huge mistake, the V/STOL Harriers had only a fraction of the range of the older aircraft, as indeed did the ships carrying them.
The Falklands conflict really proved this. If we’d had a couple of carriers like the Ark Royal the outcome might well have saved hundreds of lives and serious injuries for British servicemen. But, as a more or less bankrupt nation, (still the case today of course), was there any alternative? It has to be borne in mind that the relative wealth of most individuals in the kind of economy we have in western Europe, does not correlate to the ‘apparent’ state of the economy provided by government sources and statistics.
ARGUABLY THE BEST?
It will always be a contentious subject of course, but when it came down to sheer effectiveness, or the ability to hit an enemy target if you prefer, the best aircrews of the Fleet Air Arm Buccaneer squadrons were quite astonishing, especially by the early 1970s. This was due to two main reasons it appears. Firstly the Blackburn Buccaneer S.2 was arguably the finest low level bomber the world has ever seen and it could fly both very low and very fast. The designers at Blackburn really did eventually get the design astonishingly effective and exceptionally capable.
Secondly, due to a quirk of fate brought about by British politicians deciding in the 1960s that the UK no longer needed aircraft carriers, (or any piloted attack or defence aircraft of any kind for that matter, either in the Navy or Royal Air Force), the aircrews weren’t being replaced and therefore those aircrews kept on to see the period out became highly experienced and most certainly had learnt a valuable trick or two.
For a most complete and gripping description of this period in military aviation history I would highly recommend reading Phoenix Squadron by Rowland White. Some chapters have never been bettered by the very best writers of thriller books when it comes to immersing the reader into the heart of the action.
ANOTHER ASPECT
Perhaps the most significant contribution LOSSIEMOUTH made to the Fleet Air Arm was the introduction in 1959 of the Air Warfare Instructors course conducted by 764 Squadron, (in the 1960s using Hawker Hunters). This was a very intensive programme deliberately designed to make only the very best survive and graduate. It is claimed that AWI trained Fleet Air Arm pilots, (who were posted on exchange to the ‘Top Gun’ facility at Mirimar in the USA made quite an impact).
The following is quoted from Rowland White: “Only the best were selected to go on the Royal Navy’s Air Warfare Instructors’ Course. And for most students it was the most demanding, most rewarding flying that they would ever enjoy. Ground theory at HMS Excellent, the Naval Gunnery School in Portsmouth, was followed by three months’ intensive flying with 764 NAS at Lossiemouth. Flying three, four and sometimes five sorties a day in the squadron’s Hunters, students would learn about every aspect of modern tactics and weaponry, from ACM (My note: Air Combat Manoeuvring) and developing spatial awareness leading divisional attacks of four aircraft, to delivering nuclear weapons. Sandwiched around the flying they were given lessons on how to brief and debrief a sortie, and taught about teaching.”
It appears that in its heyday, around the end of the 1960s, any foreign visiting squadron didn’t stand a chance of staying with the Fleet Air Arm Buccaneer crews when low flying, even when invited to fly alongside. But mostly they flew types determined by NATO top brass to satisfy US procurement demands which were utterly unsuitable. The American powers in the USA government and military were never much interested in the military effectiveness of NATO. For them it was mostly a chance to flog aircraft regardless of fitness for purpose.
The proof of this is plain enough to see when driving around and spotting the ‘gate guardians’ dotted around all over northern Europe. Today it would appear hard to design a strategy, if invited to do so, with a less appropriate choice of aircraft types to effectively counter an ‘All Out’ attack by the Soviet Forces. Defence being the least and last option of course and probably of little effect. Being able to make an effective attack is the only proven deterrent? And, as far I can make out in the European sphere of operations, apart from the UK only the French took this approach?
It might be worth mentioning, from sources involved in that conflict, that in the Libyan war the French ability to attack was often much superior to the RAF capabilities, especially when compared to RAF pilots flying the Typhoon. This wasn't the pilots fault I hasten to add, its just that the French aircraft had vastly superior technology.
1970s – THE JAGUAR ERA
In his book SEPECAT JAGUAR Peter Foster has this to say: “Jaguar arrived at RAF Lossiemouth on 30 May 1973 when the fourth production GR.1, XX111, was flown in from Warton. This was followed closely by three further single-seat examples before the arrival of the first twin-seater. This was XX137, the second production aircraft. At its height, the unit, at that time simply referred to as Jaguar OCU, had nearly fifty aircraft on strength.”
“The station itself was built during 1938 and 1939 and opened on 1 May 1939 with No.15 Flying Training School as the major unit. In April 1940, the station was handed over to Bomber Command and No.20 Operational Training Unit was formed together with No.46 Maintenance Unit. At the end of the Second World War, Lossiemouth became a satellite of RAF Milltown in Coastal Command, before becoming HMS Fulmar of the Royal Navy in 1946, the primary task being Fleet Air Arm operations. With the impending demise of aircraft carriers and the drawdown in Royal Navy fixed wing operations, the RAF returned on 28 September 1972 and the station steadily assumed greater status since then.”
“Aircraft types that have operated from here over the following three decades have included Gannet AEW.3, the final Royal Navy unit, Whirlwind HAR.10, Jaguar GR.1/3T.2/4, Shackleton AEW.2, Sea King HAR.3, Hunter T.7A/8C, Buccaneer S.2B and Tornado GR.1/4, employed in various roles including search and rescue, airborne early warning, operational conversion, tactical weapons training and maritime strike/attack. The Jaguar was to leave Lossiemouth on 21 July 2000 when the type was consolidated at RAF Coltishall.”
No.6 SQUADRON
Again from Peter Foster in his book SEPECAT Jaguar he gives a detailed account of this squadrons history, which seems to me worth extracting excerpts from, not least because: “No.6 Squadron has the longest continuous history of any RAF squadron. It is the only one of the original seven RFC squadrons never to have been disbanded or reduced to a cadre. The squadron has been on operational service longer than any other RAF squadron, and most of its time has been spent overseas, mainly in the Middle and Far East.” This ‘Guide’ is of course only concerned with flying sites within the United Kingdom, but, as pointed out elsewhere, the British have an astonishing history of operating flying sites around the world, not least after WW2 when, it seems pretty certain as the British Empire was still pretty much intact, the number of airfields under British command, especially by the RAF, has never been exceeded by any other country.
No.6 Squadron was formed at FARNBOROUGH (HAMPSHIRE) on the 31st January 1914, and, with WW1 being declared, they moved to northern France in September 1914 where they were mostly engaged in army co-operation, tactical reconnaissance, artillery observation, photography and trench mapping. In early 1915 they were flying ‘scouts’. “On 25 July 1915, one of the squadron pilots, Captain L.G. Hawker, flying a Bristol Scout, attacked three German aircraft in quick succession and shot the third down in flames. For this exploit Captain Hawker was awarded the Victoria Cross, the first to be awarded for air-to-air fighting.”
IN CLOSING
I was sent this by somebody who was a crew member on Nimrods, which for fairly obvious reasons, I shall refrain from naming. He tells us that they used to say: "The most beautiful sight in the world was a Nimrod - if you could see it - you weren't in the f*****g thing!" I suspect this comment reveals quite a lot about about the Nimrod.
George richmond
This comment was written on: 2018-11-16 12:04:06My father was a mechanic there during the war, his name was John W Richmond, he was mentioned in Dispatches by the King for his outstanding work. Are there any records i could look at to find if his name is mentioned. Thank You.
Reply from Dick Flute:
Hi George, I think my first suggestions would be, in no particular order, The Imperial War Museum, the Public Records Office at Kew and The RAF Museum at Hendon. No doubt these places can offer other alternatives. Best regards, Dick
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