Royal Air Force Wigtown, or more simply RAF Wigtown, 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) an ...

station within the Dumfries and Galloway region of southwest

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It was built on the Machars peninsula near the village of

Wigtown Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. ...

and lies east of Stranraer and south of

Newton Stewart Newton Stewart ( Gd: ''Baile Ùr nan Stiùbhartach'') is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to the west of the river, and ...

. The airfield is bordered on its northern side by the

River Bladnoch The Bladnoch is a river in Wigtownshire in the Machars of Galloway in southwest Scotland. One of the earliest descriptions of it is given by Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw and Sir David Dunbar in an appendix to Andrew Symson's work "A Large Descrip ...

The Station was operational between 1941 and 1945, and from 1947 to 1948. During its use as a training station RAF Wigtown was home to No. 1 Air Observers School which in turn evolved into No. 1 Advanced Flying Unit (Observer),

RAF Training Command Training Command was the Royal Air Force's command responsible for flying and ground training from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1968 to 1977. Training Command was formed from RAF Inland Area on 1 May 1936 and absorbed into RAF Support Command on 13 ...

, as well as providing a short-term home for several operational squadrons. RAF Wigtown came under the operational control of No. 29 Group, RAF.

History

RAF Wigtown opened in 1941 and was originally used as a relief landing ground for

RAF West Freugh RAF West Freugh is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wigtownshire, south east of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It has always been an armaments training school, either for handling or deployment of ordnance. The site is ...

. A detachment from 114 Squadron (114 Sqn) equipped with

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

(Mk1s) operated from the Station from July until September 1941. At the time of its opening RAF Wigtown consisted of grass runways, however flooding of the land soon caused these to become unusable, and two concrete runways were installed during 1942. Anson C

No. 1 Air Observers School

The Station hosted the No. 1 Air Observers School which was in operation from 13 September 1941 until 1 February 1942, when it was replaced by No. 1 (Observers) Advanced Flying Unit which operated until 12 November 1945. The training units were equipped with

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCA ...

s which were used in conjunction with a tracked target range near the coast to the southeast.

Operational Squadrons

For short periods RAF Wigtown played host to several operational squadrons. Sister squadrons 174 and 175 Squadrons were based on the Station having converted from the

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 b ...

to the

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 ...

whilst they worked up to operational efficiency.

114 Squadron

The first tenants of the Station were the

I of 114 Sqn, from July until September 1941.

174 Squadron

Following their re-equipping with the

, 174 Sqn was based at RAF Wigtown from July until October 1943. Hawker Typhoon Mk IB loaded with rocket projectiles and fuel tanks

175 Squadron

Having also re-equipped with the Hawker Typhoon, 175 Sqn was based alongside its sister squadron (174 Sqn) at Wigtown from July until October 1943.

182 Squadron

A third Hawker Typhoon squadron, 182 Squadron, also saw residency at RAF Wigtown. Their tenure was most brief, lasting from 18 to 22 September 1943.

No. 3206 Servicing Commando

A specialist front line group of aircraft engineers, No. 3206 Servicing Commando, was also based on the Station for a brief period from 18 to 26 September 1943.

Care and Maintenance

Operations at the airfield ceased in November 1945, with the Station being given over to

RAF Maintenance Command RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973. History ...

. Placed on care and maintenance the station became home to No. 14 Maintenance Unit from 1 July 1946, with 14 MU remaining at the station until May 1948. Lancaster VR-A

Bomber Command Trials Unit

Flying operations resumed at RAF Wigtown in June 1947 with the arrival of the Trials Unit of RAF Bomber Command on the Station. Equipped with Avro Lancasters, the unit operated from the Station until May 1948.

Closure

Following a rationalisation within the RAF the decision was taken to close RAF Wigtown. The Station closed in May 1948, and was given over to civilian use.

Units

During the course of the operation of the station, the following units were at sometime based at RAF Wigtown: 07/41 to 09/41, 114 Sqn with

s 09/41 to 02/42, No. 1 Air Observers School with

s 02/42 to 11/45, No. 1 (Observers) Advanced Flying Unit with Avro Anson 07/43 to 10/43, 174 Squadron with

s 07/43 to 10/43, 175 Squadron with Hawker Typhoons 09/43 to 09/43, 182 Squadron with Hawker Typhoons 09/43 to 09/43, No. 3206 Servicing Commando 07/46 to 03/48, 14 Maintenance Unit 06/47 to 03/48, Bomber Command Trials Unit with Avro Lancasters

Current use

Despite considerable deterioration the airfield remains intact; with the original control tower still standing and nearly all the perimeter and access roads remaining. Within the locality the airfield is often referred to as Baldoon Airfield. Furthermore, the concrete bases of many of the hangars and other buildings can still be seen on the ground. In the 1980s the airfield was being operated by the Baldoon Flying Group. Today much of the land has reverted to agricultural use, with the site becoming popular for locals to conduct leisure activities – such as walking or cycling. The airfield is also the venue for light industrial activity, with a saw mill occupying part of the site.

References

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Buildings and structures in Dumfries and Galloway