Royal Air Force Tealing or more simply RAF Tealing is a former

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 at

Tealing Tealing (Scottish Gaelic: Tèalainn) is a village in Angus in eastern Scotland, nestled at the foot of the Sidlaw Hills. It is just north of the city of Dundee and south of Forfar. With a population of just over 500, scattered across of fertil ...

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

, Scotland

Overview

During the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

built an aerodrome at

and in March 1942 No. 56 Operational Training Unit (OTU) was relocated to RAF Tealing from

RAF Sutton Bridge Royal Air Force Sutton Bridge or more simply RAF Sutton Bridge is a former Royal Air Force station found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the south of the current A17, and east of the Ri ...

in south

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

,Airfield Focus 65: Sutton Bridge, Alastair Goodrum, 1997, p. 31, equipped with

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

Miles Master The Miles M.9 Master was a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer designed and built by aviation company Miles Aircraft Ltd. It was inducted in large numbers into both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) during the Second Wor ...

and

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

aircraft. The number of pilots training at the unit varied from about 35 to 40 in 1942, reaching a peak of 150 in 1943. It was at the aerodrome that Tealing's most famous visitor arrived. On 20 May 1942, a strange four engined aircraft appeared in the circuit at Tealing, piloted by

Endel Puusepp Endel Puusepp (russian: Эндель Карлович Пусэп; 1 May 1909 – 18 June 1996) was a Soviet bomber pilot of Estonian origin, who completed over 30 nighttime strategic bombing campaigns during World War II. He was a recipient of th ...

. It was one of the first Russian TB7s to visit Britain and it brought

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. ; (;. 9 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._25_February.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 25 February">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dat ...

Soviet Foreign Minister The Ministry of External Relations (MER) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (russian: Министерство иностранных дел СССР) was founded on 6 July 1923. It had three names during its existence: People's Co ...

and Deputy Chairman of the State Committee of Defence, on a military mission to meet with

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

Chequers Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Bucking ...

. RAF Tealing was probably chosen to attract as little attention as possible and for security reasons, as there was a local news blackout at the time. Molotov was given the choice of two aircraft in which to continue his journey to

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 ...

. The aircraft he did not selectas was later revealed by Sir Archibald Hope, Senior Controller of

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

in Scotland in 1942crashed in the

Vale of York The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England. The Vale of York is often supposed to stretch from the R ...

, killing various members of Molotov's staff and senior RAF personnel. Molotov arrived safely in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

for the signing of the Anglo-Soviet Treaty on 26 May 1942.

Timeline

* March 1942: Site opened. * March 1942 to July 1944: No. 56 OTU moved here from

with

s and

s. Training for all types of fighter, ground and anti-shipping exercises. * October 1943: Renamed 1 Combat Training Wing and then 1 Tactical Exercise Unit. * February 1944:

s replaced with

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s. * August 1944 to June 1945: No. 9 (P) AFU, Flying Training Command with

s then Harvards.

Operational units and aircraft

Other units/wings

No. 56 Operational Training Unit (27 March 1942 – 5 October 1943)

Formed at

from No. 6 OTU on 1 November 1940 within No. 81 Group to train fighter pilots for

, using

s. In March 1942 it moved to RAF Tealing and in April 1943 it passed to the control of No. 9 Group. It disbanded on 5 October 1943. It was then redesignated No. 1 Combat Training Wing (changed to No. 1 Tactical Exercise Unit at a later date). In the event of a German invasion the OTU's 'E' and 'F' Flights would have become No. 556 Squadron to operate within the Peterhead Sector. The unit was reformed on 15 December 1944, at Milfield in No. 12 Group, equipped with both

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and i ...

and

Hawker Tempest The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to ...

V's until disbanding on 14 February 1946.

No. 1 Combat Training Wing (5 October 1943 – 1 January 1944)

See No. 56 Operational Training Unit.

No. 1 Tactical Exercise Unit (1 January - 31 July 1944)

See No. 56 Operational Training Unit.

No. 9 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit (12 September 1944 – 21 June 1945)

Satellite Landing Ground for No. 9 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit ((P)AFU) based at

RAF Errol Royal Air Force Errol or more simply RAF Errol is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Errol in Perth & Kinross, Scotland, on the north bank of the Firth of Tay approximately halfway between Perth and Dundee. History ...

HQ, No. 70 (Signal) Wing (25 August 1945 – 31 May 1946)

Satellite to

RAF Inverness Royal Air Force Inverness or RAF Inverness was a Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station located by the Moray Firth in Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland. It was also known as RAF Longman and previously Longman Airfield. His ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tealing Royal Air Force stations in Scotland Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom History of Angus, Scotland Buildings and structures in Angus, Scotland