RAF Heathfield

RAF Heathfield
RNAS Ayr (HMS Wagtail)
USAAF Station 570
Near Prestwick, South Ayrshire in Scotland
RAF Heathfield
Shown within South Ayrshire
Coordinates 55°29′10″N 004°35′56″W / 55.48611°N 4.59889°W / 55.48611; -4.59889Coordinates: 55°29′10″N 004°35′56″W / 55.48611°N 4.59889°W / 55.48611; -4.59889
Type Royal Air Force station
Site information
Owner Air Ministry
Operator Royal Air Force
Royal Navy
United States Air Force
Site history
Built 1940 (1940)
In use 1941-1957 (1957)
Airfield information
Elevation 14 metres (46 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
00/00  Concrete
00/00  Concrete
00/00  Concrete

RAF Heathfield, sometimes known as RAF Ayr/Heathfield due to its proximity to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which was also used by military flights, is a former Royal Air Force station.

Like many other wartime airfields, its runways were of the triangular layout.

History

Royal Air Force use

The following units were posted here at some point:

Royal Navy use

On 6 September 1944 Heathfield was handed over to the Royal Navy and was designated as HMS Wagtail. One runway was redesigned and used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to practice aircraft carrier landings.

The following units were posted here at some point:

The site was used by the United States Air Force between 1951 and 1957 for storage.[1]

Current use

The site is now a mixture of housing, farmland and a golf club.[1]

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.