Royal Air Force Inverness or RAF Inverness was a

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 ...

station located by the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It was also known as RAF Longman and previously Longman Airfield.

History

Longman Airfield was built in 1933 by the local council as a civilian airport for Highland Airways to link

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

and

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

to Inverness and its major rail links. The airfield was converted to a

base at the

Outbreak of World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but didn't officially become an RAF base until 1941. The airfield was identified by German reconnaissance units which incorrectly noted it as a seaplane base, which probably saved Inverness from any major bombing by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

. During the war,

Scottish Airways Scottish Airways was an airline serving most of Scotland, especially the Highlands and Islands. It was active from 1937 until 1947, when it was merged into British European Airways. History Foundation The company was established on 12 August 1 ...

, the successor to Highland Airways, continued to use the airfield for intensive civilian operations supporting the Orkney and Shetland Isles. Under the command of No. 13 (Fighter) Group, it hosted No. 70 (Signals) Wing Calibration Flight between 17 February 1941 and 25 August 1945.RAFWeb.org
''(Retrieved 30 September 2009)''

Operational Squadrons & Aircraft

Other units

* No. 14 Group Target Towing Flight RAF (October - November 1941) became

No. 1491 (Target Towing) Flight RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

(December 1941) * No. 1 (Coastal) Engine Control Demonstration Unit RAF (October - November 1943) * No. 1 Radio Servicing Section Calibration Flight RAF (November 1940 - February 1941) became No. 70 Wing Calibration Flight RAF (February 1941 - June 1943) * No. 13 Group Communication Flight RAF (July 1943 - December 1945) * No. 14 Group Communication Flight RAF (July 1940 - July 1943) * Detachment of No. 1479 (Anti-Aircraft Cooperation) Flight RAF (August & November 1943) RAF Longman

Following the war it was converted to general use under the title ''Longman Airfield'' until

Inverness Airport Inverness Airport ( gd, Port-adhair Inbhir Nis) is an international airport situated at Dalcross, north-east of the city of Inverness, Scotland. It is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL). The airport is the main gateway fo ...

Dalcross Dalcross, in the original Gaelic, Dealgan Cros, later shortened to Dealgros, is a location in the Highland (council area), Highland region of Scotland. It is on the Moray Firth about 10 km (6 miles) east-north-east of Inverness and contains In ...

became the primary hub in 1947, due to Longman being regarded as too small for safe operations. Prior to its closure, it was served by

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...

, and its fleet of captured ex-Luftwaffe

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...

. It is believed that for some time

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

's personal Ju 52 (registration D-2600) was stored at Longman after the war.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inverness Royal Air Force stations in Scotland Military airbases established in 1940