Wick
WICK: Civil regional airport
NOTES: On the 8th May 1933 Highland Airways made their first flight via WICK to KIRKWALL on the ORKNEY ISLES. But, it is safe to assume they used the same site as that which later became the well known location listed below?
*WICK: Civil regional airport, military in WW2 (Also known as CAITHNESS?)
Note: The first picture was obtained from Google Earth © The second was kindly sent by Mike Charlton.
Military users: WW2: RAF Coastal Command 18 (GR) Group
42 & 86 Sqdns (Bristol Beauforts)
48 Sqdn (Lockheed Hudsons)
50 & 61 Sqdns* (Handley Page Hampdens)
279 (ASR) Sqdn (Lockheed Hudsons, later Vickers Warwicks)
407 (RCAF) Sqdn (Vickers Wellingtons)
489 (RNZAF) Sqdn (Bristol Blenheims & Handley Page Hampdens)
519 Sqdn (Lockheed Hudsons later Vickers-Supermarine Spitfires)
608 (North Riding) Sqdn (Lockheed Hudsons)
612 Sqdn (Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys)
1406 (Met) Flight (Bristol Blenheims)
1408 (Met) Flight (Lockheed Hudsons)
Prior to the 'Battle of Britain' period it appears 43 Squadron arrived here flying Hawker Hurricanes
'A' Flight PRU (Photo Reconnaissance Unit)
(PR Spitfires and later PR Mosquitos) Moved to LEUCHARS in the autumn of 1941
RAF Fighter Command 13 Group
*Battle of Britain RAF Sector Station (10th July 1940) 13 Group
3 Sqdn (Hawker Hurricanes) Still based here 1st September 1940
43 Sqdn (Hurricanes)
316 (Polish) Sqdn (North American Mustangs)
605 Sqdn (Hurricanes)
Operated by:
1965: Ministry of Aviation
1975: Department of Trade & Industry
1980s to 2000: Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd
British airline users: Pre 1940: Highland Airways, Scottish Airways
During WW2: Allied Airways
Post 1945: Allied Airways, BEA
Flying club/school: Post 1945: Far North Aviation
Location: NE of and adjacent to A99, Inm N of Wick
Period of operation: 1935 to present day. Military from 1939 to 1945/6, civil from then on
Note: These maps are reproduced with the kind permission of Pooleys Flight Equipment Ltd. Copyright Robert Pooley 2014.
Runways: Initially ‘all over’ grass field (?)
WW2: 08/26 1052x46 hard 14/32 1436x46 hard
01/19 1015x46 hard
1959: 08/26 1078x46 hard 14/32 1829x46 hard
01/19 1052x46 hard
1965: 09/27 1078x46 hard 14/32 1829x46 hard
1990: 08/26 1036x46 hard 13/31 1609x46 hard
2000: 08/26 1036x46 hard 13/31 1825x46 hard
NOTES: Was this the venue when, on the 16th May 1934, Sir Alan Cobham’s Tour displayed in/near Wick?
FOREVER MOVING SQUADRONS
I have bashed on many times in this Guide about the obsession the RAF has had for constantly moving squadrons around, especially in WW2, and remain convinced these exercises were quite often deliberately counter-productive to the war effort? But why, and who exactly were the people behind it? What were the objectives and politics?
For example, between 1939 and 1942 when 605 Squadron were flying Hawker Hurricanes, (and Gladiators too at this stage), they were based initially at, CASTLE BROMWICH (WEST MIDLANDS). They were then moved on to TANGMERE (SUSSEX) before moving to Scotland, hardly their native territory. First DREM, (LOTHIAN), LEUCHARS (FIFE) and then here. They were then transferred to back south to MARTLESHAM HEATH (SUFFOLK), HAWKINGE (KENT), CROYDON (SURREY), TERNHILL (SHROPSHIRE), then finally back to relatively familiar territory at BAGINTON and HONILY (WARWICKSHIRE).
On the other hand I can well see a reason for sending 61 Squadron up here as a ‘detachment’ with their obsolete Hampdens, (at that time of course), to assist Coastal Command. I have listed a few detachments to prove the point regarding the variety of aircraft which might have been seen at various airfields. However, it seems this opinion is too simplistic. For example, when 50 Sqdn were sent here in November 1939, with their Hampdens from WADDINGTON (LINCOLNSHIRE), the Hampden was then a front line bomber. Is this an example of a classic case of idiots being in charge?
As we now know so many senior officers in RAF were, to quite an alarming extent in the first stages of WW2, utterly incompetent fools. It appears that studies in recent times have evaluated many of these senior officers as being in the ‘Moron’ classification if subjected to a modern IQ test. They had their own agenda and no bloody upstart such as Hitler and his Nazi regime, and their inconvenient war, was going to interfere with their plans to keep squadrons endlessly moving about the UK. A strategy, if you can call it a ‘strategy’ which obviously diminishes a squadron's effectiveness in a war scenario. Which is perhaps, the explanation behind the circumstances for which, having trained 50 Squadron to attack Germany from Lincolnshire – they then sent them to WICK!
Or – is it that simple? What if some senior RAF officers were actually very sympathetic to the Nazi regime and decided to assist? This sort of thing would then make sense of course. And don’t forget our Royal family was essentially German, they changed their name to Windsor in WW2, so it is pretty obvious that a part of the British ‘establishment’ had strong and long-held ties with Germany, with probably some going back a very long way indeed - possibly centuries.
AN OVERVIEW DURING WW2
As Patrick Bishops explains in his book Wings: “Much of the work of both the FAA and Coastal Command was carried out unseen and unsung. Coastal Command’s motto was ‘Constant Endeavour’ and that summed up its fate, carrying out endless, unglamorous duties, the crucial importance of which would only be noticed if they ceased to be performed. They flew from the first to the last day of war, conducting over 240,000 operations of all varities. They attacked German seaborne supply lines, in the Mediterranean, the Bay of Biscay and Scandinavian waters.”
It might not be remembered today that RAF Coastal Command had at least two outstations during WW2, one in Iceland and the other Gibraltar. The remit for the FAA (Fleet Air Arm) was of course on a much larger scale. Even so as Patrick Bishop points out, especially regarding RAF Coastal Command: “They flew endless photo-reconnaissance and meteorological missions. And they roamed the seas hunting U-boats, destroying 212 of them. It was all lonely and dangerous work, and costly in machines, and men. Coastal Command lost more than 2,000 aircraft and nearly 6,000 aircrew in the course of the war.” The work of Coastal Command during WW2 was recognised, at least by those serving in it, as being the ‘Cinderella Service’ and, I’m sorry to say, this still appears the case today.
In the first two to three years of WW2 Coastal Command squadrons were often equipped, certainly for land-based aircraft, with bomber types that RAF Bomber Command had no further use for. Such as Bristol Blenheims, Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys, Handley Page Hampdens and, to some extent Vickers Wellingtons. Plus of course, incredible as it might seem today, many Coastal Command squadrons in the early days operated the Avro Anson, (a great classic aircraft in itself), but hardly something you’d want to go to war in. Even the American Lockheed Hudson, on paper far superior to the Anson, didn’t rate much better. Both a ‘sitting duck’ if attacked by superior Luftwaffe aircraft/crews.
A NOTE FOR 1944
In late 1944 Coastal Command had 3062 men and 544 WAAFs on station which, if this record is correct, is a very substantial amount of people for a RAF base. What were they looking for and/or guarding way up here? Were they still looking for U-boats? Or downed crews from trans-Atlantic ferry flights? Or both?
271 SQUADRON
Possibly usually overlooked is the claim that 271 Squadron of Transport Command operated two DH91 Albatross types, (ex-Imperial Airays), on a courier service to Reykjavik in Iceland from 1940 to 1942.
POST WW2
As mentioned elsewhere I have invariably been perplexed by the sheer amount of contradictory information around, even regarding such a relatively major site as WICK. For example one source maintained WICK remained a military aerodrome until 1978 whereas another stated it was disused in 1985! In 1959 BEA were operating scheduled flights connecting WICK with Edinburgh (TURNHOUSE), Glasgow (RENFREW), Inverness (DALCROSS), Orkney (KIRKWALL) and Shetland (SUMBURGH).
Also in 1959 it was mentioned that WICK is often used by Royal Flights as the Queen Mother’s ‘holiday’ residence, Castle of Mey, is nearby. And it appears that WICK was also used in connection with the atomic power station at Dounreay. It does seem rather odd I think, considering how secret atomic establishments were during this period, that the military DOUNREAY aerodrome wasn’t used? It appears this only happened in the 1970s. I really should look into this, as it might just be that WICK was used for a period until DOUNREAY was ready?)
In 1977 the only GA type based here was it seems the Druine Turbulent G-APTZ
A flight guide published in 2000 has an interesting warning regarding a ‘deer warning’ particularly during the perod from dawn and dusk. Pilots were requested to report the location of any animals on the aerodrome to ATC. This might seem amusing or fanciful but animals, (let alone birds), can provide a very real hazard at certain times.
rona rees
This comment was written on: 2018-06-14 21:57:30hi - was interested to read this - I lived in the controllers house Wick aerodrome as my dad was the air traffic controller there from 1960 - 1965 - I remember a child's paradise as we practically had free run of the place
Brian Jordan
This comment was written on: 2018-07-23 15:41:02612 squadron also based at Wick flying Whitleys.
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