RNAS Hatston, also called HMS ''Sparrowhawk'', was a Royal Naval Air Station, one mile to the north west of Kirkwall on the island of

Mainland, Orkney The Mainland, also known as Hrossey and Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of ...

, Scotland. It was located near the strategically vital naval base of

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay a ...

, which for most of the twentieth century formed the main base of the ships of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the Firs ...

History

Hatston's main period of activity came 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 opposi ...

, when it was host to a number of different types of aircraft 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 ...

, including Fairey Swordfish, Blackburn Rocs, Grumman Martlet IV and Grumman Avengers. Two squadrons of Blackburn Skuas flew from Hatston on 10 April 1940, on a mission to sink the German cruiser ''Königsberg'', in which they were successful. After the end of the war, the airfield became the island's main airport, until 1948. By then British European Airways was operating Douglas Dakotas which were deemed too large to use the runways safely. They moved operations to a larger airfield, RAF Grimsetter, outside Kirkwall. RNAS Hatston remained in use from 1953 until 1957, when it was the home of the Orkney Flying Club, but was finally closed and turned into an industrial estate.

Units

The following units were here at some point: * 700 NAS, 701 NAS, 712 NAS, 746 NAS, 771 NAS *

800 NAS 800 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron formed on 3 April 1933 by amalgamating No's 402 and 404 (Fleet Fighter) Flights. History 1930s The squadron was first equipped with nine single-seat Hawker Nimrod fighter ...

801 NAS 801 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy formed in 1933 which fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Falklands War. Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force The squadron was formed on 3 April 1933 as part ...

, 802 NAS, 803 NAS, 804 NAS, 806 NAS, 807 NAS, 809 NAS, * 810 NAS, 811 NAS, 812 NAS, 813 NAS,

814 NAS 814 Naval Air Squadron or 814 NAS, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, is a squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. It is currently equipped with the AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 anti-submarine warfare helicopter and is based at Royal Naval Air Stati ...

, 816 NAS, 817 NAS, 818 NAS, 819 NAS, *

820 NAS 820 Naval Air Squadron is a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron flying the AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 in an Anti-Submarine role from RNAS Culdrose. The Squadron was formed at RNAS Gosport on 3 April 1933 with the transferral of the ...

, 821 NAS, 822 NAS, 823 NAS, 824 NAS, 825 NAS, 826 NAS, 827 NAS,

828 NAS 828 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in September 1940 as a torpedo spotter reconnaissance squadron. It operated in a number of the theatres of the Second World War, carrying out a number of attacks ...

, 829 NAS, * 830 NAS, 831 NAS, 832 NAS, 833 NAS, 835 NAS, 836M Flight, 837 NAS, 837D Flight, * 840 NAS, 841 NAS, 842 NAS, 845 NAS, 846 NAS, 848 NAS, 852 NAS, 853 NAS, 856 NAS, * 860 NAS, 878 NAS, 880 NAS, 881 NAS, 882 NAS, 883 NAS, 884 NAS, 885 NAS, 887 NAS, 888 NAS, * 890 NAS, 891 NAS, 893 NAS, 894 NAS, 896 NAS, 898 NAS, 899 NAS, * 1770 NAS, 1771 NAS, * 1820 NAS, 1840 NAS, 1841 NAS, 1842 NAS, *

No. 254 Squadron RAF No. 254 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was the designation of a number of units formed throughout the 20th century. History World War One No. 254 Squadron first formed in 1918 as a coastal reconnaissance squadron operating from Prawle Point. ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

History of RNAS Hatston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatston Royal Naval Air Stations in Scotland Buildings and structures in Orkney Aviation in Scotland Royal Navy bases in Scotland Kirkwall