List of air stations of the Royal Navy
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This is a list of naval air stations of the Royal Navy. Naval air stations are land bases of the
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...
, the branch of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
responsible for the operation of naval aircraft.


Current naval air stations

Currently RNAS means "Royal Naval Air Station" and, in common with the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, is always followed by a geographical place in which the air station is located. Historically, RNAS referred to the
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
, the aviation branch of the Royal Navy which merged in 1918 with the
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
to form the independent Royal Air Force. Between 1918 and 1939, the Royal Air Force had provided the
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...
to the Royal Navy, and Royal Naval Air Stations were consequently operated by Royal Air force personnel. In 1939, operation of the Fleet Air Arm was transferred to the Royal Navy, with Royal Air Force personnel replaced by Royal Naval personnel, or transferring to the Royal Navy. As the
Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
remained part of the Royal Air Force, Royal Naval Air Stations, since 1939, have generally operated ship-borne types of aircraft when it has been necessary for them to be operated from shore. *
RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, and is one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe. Its main role is ser ...
Culdrose Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, and is one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe. Its main role is serv ...
,
Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map shee ...
,
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
** RNAS Predannack (satellite airfield) –
Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...
, Cornwall *
RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron) Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, or RNAS Yeovilton, (HMS ''Heron'') is an airfield of the Royal Navy and British Army, sited a few miles north of Yeovil, Somerset. It is one of two active Fleet Air Arm bases (the other being RNAS Culdrose) ...
Yeovilton Yeovilton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Yeovilton and District, in Somerset, England, east of Ilchester and north of Yeovil, in South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 1,226 in the 2011 census, est ...
,
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
** RNAS Merryfield (satellite airfield) –
Ilton Ilton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south-east of Taunton, and north of Ilminster in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 854. The parish includes the hamlets of Ilford and Cad Green wi ...
, Somerset


Former naval air stations


Former naval air stations by ship name (HMS xxx)

HMS means
Her Majesty's Ship His (or Her) Majesty's Ship, abbreviated HMS and H.M.S., is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies. Derived terms such as HMAS and equivalents in other languages such as SMS are used. United Kingdom With regard to the s ...
(or
His Majesty's Ship His (or Her) Majesty's Ship, abbreviated HMS and H.M.S., is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies. Derived terms such as HMAS and equivalents in other languages such as SMS are used. United Kingdom With regard to the s ...
if before February 1952). Some smaller and some very early Naval Air Stations in the list above were not commissioned as HM Ship(s). Those below were commissioned and, therefore, have a ship's name.
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
shore bases and naval air stations have traditionally been named in the same manner as seagoing ships.
Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
s were appointed to HMS xxx rather than to RNAS xxx and, similarly,
rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...
s' Service Certificates will show only the name of the ship when drafted to a Naval Air Station. Thus, this list may help when researching family history records.


See also

* Mobile Naval Air Base *
List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies This list of airports in the United Kingdom is a partial list of public active aerodromes (airports and airfields) in the UK and the British Crown Dependencies. Most private airfields are not listed. For a list ranked by volume of traffic, see ...
*
List of Royal Air Force stations The Royal Air Force (RAF) operates several stations throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training air bases, support, administrative and training stations with no flying activity, unmanned airfields used fo ...
*
List of Royal Navy shore establishments This is a list of shore establishments (or ''stone frigates'') of the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Reserve. Current Royal Navy shore establishments Naval bases * (HMNB Devonport, Devonport, Devon) * (HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth) * (HMNB Cly ...
*
Royal Navy Dockyard Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial ...
*
Seaplane bases in the United Kingdom This article lists both active and historic seaplane bases in the United Kingdom, many of which were either used for, or planned to be used for, the defence of the UK. A seaplane base may be anything from a stretch of water where seaplanes were ...
* Aircraft Handler *
List of airfields of the Army Air Corps This is a list of airfields of the military aviation division of the British Army, the Army Air Corps, from 1 September 1957. Current airfields *Wattisham Airfield – the biggest centralised operational Army airfield in the UK, formerly RAF W ...
*
Lists of military installations This list of military installations consists of a collection of military related lists worldwide: *List of Australian military bases **List of Royal Australian Air Force installations ** List of Royal Australian Navy bases *List of Brazilian milit ...
*
List of British Army installations This is a list of British Army Installations in the United Kingdom and overseas. British overseas bases are concentrated in Cyprus, Brunei, Kenya, the South Atlantic and Germany. Overseas installations Belize British Overseas Territories Berm ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Air stations of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
Royal Navy Air stations Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...