Benbecula Airport ( gd, Port-adhair Bheinn na Faoghla) is located on the island of

Benbecula Benbecula (; gd, Beinn nam Fadhla or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a ...

in the Outer Hebrides, off the West Coast of

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 is a small rural

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

owned and maintained by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.

History

Early years

An airfield has existed on Benbecula since 1936 when

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 ...

began operating to what was known as Balivanich Airfield, located on the north west corner of the island.

Second World War

Between 1941 and 1942, 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 ...

, the airfield became RAF Benbecula, when it came under the control of the Royal Air Force's No. 15 (T) Group,

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 ...

. During this period it was home to aircraft carrying out patrols in the Atlantic, protecting shipping convoys from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

U-Boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...

. Such missions were carried out by the

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and p ...

and latterly the Boeing Fortress and

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

. At its peak, RAF Benbecula had several thousand troops stationed at the station and at several other sites around the islands. The following units were based at the airfield at some point: * No. 36 Squadron RAF * No. 179 Squadron RAF * No. 206 Squadron RAF * No. 220 Squadron RAF * No. 279 Squadron RAF *

No. 280 Squadron RAF No. 280 Squadron was a Royal Air Force air-sea rescue squadron during the second world war. History No. 280 Squadron was formed at RAF Thorney Island, England on 10 December 1941 as an air-sea rescue squadron. The squadron was equipped with the ...

* No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron * No. 455 Squadron RAAF * 814 Naval Air Squadron * 819 Naval Air Squadron * 838 Naval Air Squadron * 842 Naval Air Squadron * No. 2841 Squadron RAF Regiment

Post-War

The airfield later became the control centre for the nearby Hebrides Rocket Range. After the Second World War, the airfield became Benbecula Airport.

Airlines and destinations

The airport provides scheduled services to the Scottish mainland and other Hebridean islands. In so doing it provides vital transport connections for the islands of Benbecula,

North Uist North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and ...

and

South Uist South Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Deas, ; sco, Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the ...

, which are interlinked by causeway but are over two hours from the mainland by sea. The airport is also used by emergency air ambulance flights and by flights supporting the nearby missile test range.

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

In popular culture

* The airport is also significant to the modern history of

Scottish Gaelic literature Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literature composed in the Scottish Gaelic language and in the Gàidhealtachd communities where it is and has been spoken. Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, along with Iri ...

as, during the

, iconic

war poet A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...

Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna (Red Donald of Coruna; 9 July 1887 – 13 August 1967), legally Donald MacDonald or Dòmhnall MacDhòmhnaill, was a Scottish Gaelic Bard, North Uist stonemason, and veteran of the First World War. Literary historian Rona ...

served in the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

, about which he composed the song ''Òran a' Home Guard'' ("The Song of the Home Guard"), which pokes fun at an exercise in which a platoon from

was ordered to simulate retaking Benbecula Airport from the invading Germans.''Domhnall Ruadh Choruna'', Edited by Fred Macauley (1995), pages 102–105.

References

Bibliography

External links

Official website
Airports in Scotland Highlands and Islands Airports Transport in the Outer Hebrides Airports established in 1942 1942 establishments in Scotland Benbecula {{WesternIsles-geo-stub pl:BEB