Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force station located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland.
Since the closure of RAF Leuchars in 2015, Lossiemouth is the only operational RAF station in Scotland. It is one of two main operating bases for the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 in the United Kingdom. It is home to four front-line fast jet units which operate the Typhoon: No. 1 Squadron, No. 2 Squadron, No. 6 Squadron and No. 9 Squadron. All four Squadrons contribute to the Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) North capability which provides continuous protection of UK airspace.
The station is also home to No. 120 Squadron and No. 201 Squadron, both flying the Boeing Poseidon MRA1 in the maritime patrol role. No. 8 Squadron will operate the RAF's new fleet of three Boeing Wedgetail AEW1 airborne early warning and control aircraft, with aircrew training expected to commence in 2025. No. 42 Squadron is the operational conversion unit for the Poseidon and Wedgetail. There are some non-flying units at RAF Lossiemouth, including No. 5 Force Protection Wing and a Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service team.
The airfield opened in 1939 and was operated by the RAF, predominantly as part of RAF Bomber Command, until 1946 when it transferred to the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and became known as RNAS Lossiemouth or HMS Fulmar. Lossiemouth was used as a training station by the FAA until it was handed back to the RAF in September 1972, after which it has largely operated as a fast-jet base.
History Construction (1938–1939) Construction started during the summer of 1938, when 220 hectares (540 acres) of agricultural land were acquired to accommodate the airfield. Five farms were requisitioned: Newlands, Coulardbank, Greens, Smithfield and Kinnedar. The land was cleared of vegetation and buildings, and by spring 1939, several wooden huts had been constructed. Group Captain P.E. Maitland was the first station commander and took up post in March 1939, with the station formally opening on 1 May 1939.
The first unit to take up residence at Lossiemouth was No. 15 Flying Training School (No. 15 FTS), initially equipped with thirteen Airspeed Oxfords and five Hawker Harts. Aircraft were stored in the open until the first hangars were completed in August 1939. That same month, tragedy struck when three crew members were killed during a mid-air collision between two Oxfords.
Second World War (1939–1945) At the outbreak of the Second World War, a detachment of Seaforth Highlanders was sent to Lossiemouth to guard the station, and anti-aircraft defences were installed. Flying activity increased, with No. 15 FTS receiving further aircraft, including Oxfords and Harts; the introduction of the North American Harvard; and eleven Fairey Battles delivered for storage. The first front-line aircraft to operate from Lossiemouth were a detachment of twelve Vickers Wellington medium bombers belonging to No. 99 Squadron. The squadron arrived in November 1939 to take part in attack missions targeting the German cruiser , which was operating between Iceland and the Shetland Isles. January 1940 saw detachments from No. 44 Squadron and No. 50 Squadron operating the Handley Page Hampden medium bomber arriving to take part in offensive patrols over the North Sea. However, the operation was short-lived due to adverse weather, with the aircraft departing in mid-February.
A detachment of No. 9 Squadron spent a short period operating Wellingtons during April 1940, before their replacement by No. 107 Squadron and No. 110 Squadron, both equipped with the Bristol Blenheim light bomber. The first loss to enemy action of an aircraft operating from Lossiemouth occurred during this period, when three Blenheims were shot down over Norway.
It became apparent that the frequent detachments of bomber aircraft were disrupting the training programme at Lossiemouth. Therefore, due to the strategic importance of the station as a base for bomber aircraft, it was decided to relocate No. 15 FTS to RAF Middle Wallop in Hampshire. On 27 April 1940, after the unit's departure, Lossiemouth transferred to No. 6 Group of RAF Bomber Command and No. 20 Operational Training Unit (No. 20 OTU) was established, initially operating Wellingtons and Avro Ansons.
No. 46 Maintenance Unit (No. 46 MU) was also formed in April 1940. The unit's role was to modify and fit out new aircraft before they were forwarded to front-line squadrons. A variety of aircraft were serviced, including Hawker Hurricanes, de Havilland Tiger Moths, Hawker Audaxes, and a de Havilland Hornet Moth. The unit primarily used six Robin and eight Super Robin hangars; however, due to a shortage of space, many aircraft were stored in fields outside the station. Lossiemouth's first satellite airfield, located at Bogs of Mayne to the south and known as RAF Elgin, opened in June 1940.
One officer and two aircrew were killed on 26 October 1940 when RAF Lossiemouth was attacked by the Luftwaffe for the first time. The attack by three Heinkel He 111 medium bombers destroyed two Blenheims and damage to two Miles Magisters, two Tiger Moths and a Hurricane. Three hangars were also damaged, the resultant holes from cannon fire still visible today. One of the Heinkels crashed on the airfield, having either been hit by ground fire or destroyed by its own bombs. All four of the crew are buried in a Lossiemouth churchyard. To protect the area from further attacks, Hurricanes of No. 232 Squadron were deployed to RAF Elgin.
Flying activity in early 1941 was limited due to the poor condition of the airfield; however, improved weather in the spring saw increased flying activity by No. 20 OTU and No. 46 MU, as well as from continued bomber detachments. Operational sorties were predominantly undertaken by Blenheims of No. 21 Squadron, No. 82 Squadron, No. 110 Squadron and No. 114 Squadron. By the winter of 1941, the airfield had become so muddy that the Wellingtons of No. 20 OTU were temporarily relocated to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. The increased activity by No. 46 MU resulted in two satellite landing grounds (SLG) being established to store aircraft off-site. These were at RAF Black Isle (No. 42 SLG), where Bristol Beaufighters were kept and RAF Leanach (No. 43 SLG) near Culloden, where Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires were stored.
Lossiemouth was used during 1942 as a base to launch several unsuccessful missions to sink the German battleship , which at the time was operating in Norwegian fjords. The first missions were undertaken in January 1942 by a detachment of thirteen Short Stirlings of No. 15 Squadron and No. 149 Squadron and thirteen Handley Page Halifaxes of No. 10 Squadron and No. 76 Squadron. Further attempts were made during April by Avro Lancasters of No. 44 Squadron and No. 97 Squadron and Halifaxes of No. 10 Squadron. Lancasters of No. 9 Squadron later joined the operation. 1942 also saw numerous accidents involving No. 20 OTU aircraft, many of which resulted in death and serious injuries. These accidents were attributed to a combination of fatigued aircraft, inexperienced crews and poor weather. Wellingtons of No. 20 OTU were also involved in strategic bombing raids on German cities throughout 1942, the training aircraft being required to help reach the target number of 1,000 bombers per raid.
The airfield's first surfaced runways, (06/24 ; 09/27 ; 01/19 ), were constructed by an engineering battalion of the US Army Air Force in late 1942 and helped to reduce interruptions to flying as a result of the grass strips being affected by poor weather. A new control tower was also constructed.
In September 1943, Wellingtons of No. 20 OTU's 'C' Flight moved to the second of the Lossiemouth satellite airfields, RAF Milltown, located to the south-east. By 1943, maintenance work by 46 MU concentrated on Bristol Beaufighters and Lancasters. The SLG at RAF Leanach had been replaced with a new site at Dornoch golf course, which became known as RAF Dornoch (No. 40 SLG).
No. 20 OTU received its official crest in 1943, with two examples cast in concrete being constructed at Lossiemouth and RAF Elgin. The crest at Lossiemouth no longer exists, and although little now remains of the airfield at Elgin, the concrete crest is a war memorial for those who served there.
Further operations against Tirpitz took place between September and November 1944. Operation Catechism finally resulted in the battleship being sunk near Tromsø on 12 November 1944. Thirty-eight Lancasters of No. 9 Squadron and No. 617 Squadron launched from Lossiemouth, Kinloss and Milltown and destroyed the vessel with Tallboy bombs. Nearly 50 years later, No. 617 Squadron transferred to Lossiemouth and was based there between 1993 and 2014. During that time, examples of the Tallboy, Grand Slam and Up Keep (bouncing bomb) were on display within the squadron site.
In July 1945, after the end of hostilities in Europe, No. 20 OTU was disbanded, and No. 46 MU continued to prepare aircraft for operations in the Far East. After the war ended, No. 46 MU began the enormous task of breaking up surplus aircraft for scrap. At one point, there were around 900 aircraft on the airfield awaiting disposal. On 28 July 1945, Lossiemouth was transferred to No. 17 Group of RAF Coastal Command, with the arrival of No. 111 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit from the Bahamas occurring shortly thereafter. By August 1945, the unit was operating forty-one Consolidated Liberators, ten Halifaxes and a North American Mitchell. The unit was disbanded in July 1946.
HMS Fulmar (1946–1972) Lossiemouth transferred from the Royal Air Force to the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) on 2 July 1946 and became known as Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Lossiemouth or HMS Fulmar. On the FAA taking control, No. 46 MU moved to RAF Elgin. Lossiemouth was used as a basic training station for FAA pilots who then moved on to RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) in Cornwall for instrument training. RAF Milltown also transferred to the FAA and became known as HMS Fulmar II. It operated as a Deck Landing Training School, where students carried out the last stage of training before landing on aircraft carrier in the Moray Firth. The first FAA squadron, No. 766 Naval Air Squadron, arrived at Lossiemouth in August 1946 and operated Supermarine Seafires and Fairey Fireflies until its departure to RNAS Culdrose in 1953. In the late 1940s, to replace poor quality war-era facilities, seven hundred new married living-quarters were constructed in the nearby towns of Lossiemouth and Elgin, with the first opening in September 1949. The practice of constructing living-quarters off-station differed from that of the RAF, which typically constructed such accommodation within the boundaries of their airfields. In 1952 and early 1953, Lossiemouth's runways were upgraded and extended to their present lengths; during that time aircraft temporarily operated from Milltown.
The Naval Air Fighter and Strike Training School transferred to the station in 1953 and over the next decade a wide range of aircraft types operated from Lossiemouth in the training role, including Supermarine Seafires, Fairey Fireflys, Hawker Sea Hawks, Hawker Sea Furys, Supermarine Scimitars, de Havilland Sea Venoms and Hawker Hunters. Four Gloster Meteors were used as target-towers. One of the first squadrons of the recently established Federal Germany Navy was formed at Lossiemouth in May 1958 under the NATO cooperative policy. No. 764 Naval Air Squadron was responsible for training German crews on twelve Sea Hawks, which operated in German Navy markings. A commissioning ceremony was attended by British and German naval and political figures. In 1958, it was announced that station facilities were to be upgraded for £3 million, including the refurbishment of living accommodation and the creation of the Fulmar Club social club. Princess Alexandra opened a new officers mess in July 1965.