RAF Tealing
Encyclopedia
Overview
During the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Ministry of Defence built an aerodrome at Tealing
Tealing
Tealing is a village in Angus in eastern Scotland, nestled at the foot of the Sidlaw Hills. It is just north of the city of Dundee and south of Forfar. With a population of just over 500, scattered across of fertile farming land, it has several large working farms mixed in with lots of...
and No.56 Officer Training Unit opened in March 1942, equipped with Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
, Miles Master
Miles Master
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Amos, Peter and Don Lambert Brown. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0....
& Westland Lysander
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
aircraft. The number of pilots training at the unit varied from about 35 to 40 in 1942, reaching a peak of 150 on 1943.
It was at the aerodrome that Tealing
Tealing
Tealing is a village in Angus in eastern Scotland, nestled at the foot of the Sidlaw Hills. It is just north of the city of Dundee and south of Forfar. With a population of just over 500, scattered across of fertile farming land, it has several large working farms mixed in with lots of...
's most famous visitor arrived. On 20 May 1942, a strange four engined aircraft appeared in the circuit at Tealing, piloted by Endel Puusepp
Endel Puusepp
Endel Puusepp or Endel Pusep was a Soviet Estonian World War II pilot who successfully completed over 30 night-time long-range bombing missions against Nazi Germany. He was a recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union award for flying a high-ranking Soviet delegation over the front line from...
. It was one of the first Russian TB7s
Petlyakov Pe-8
The Petlyakov Pe-8 was a Soviet heavy bomber designed before World War II, and the only four-engine bomber the USSR built during the war. Produced in limited numbers, it was used to bomb Berlin in August 1941. It was also used for so-called "morale raids" designed to raise the spirit of the Soviet...
to visit Britain and it brought Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
, Russian Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the State Committee of Defence, on a military mission to meet with Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
at Chequers
Chequers
Chequers, or Chequers Court, is a country house near Ellesborough, to the south of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England, at the foot of the Chiltern Hills...
. RAF Tealing was probably chosen to attract as little attention as possible and, for security reasons, as there was a local news blackout at the time.
Molotov was given the choice of two aircraft in which to continue his journey to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The aircraft he did not select, as was later revealed by Sir Archibald Hope
Hope Baronets
There have been four Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Hope, three in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. one creation is extant, one dormant and two extinct....
, Senior Controller of Fighter Command in Scotland in 1942, crashed in the Vale of York
Vale of York
The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the north-east of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north-south transport corridor for northern England....
, killing various members of Molotov's staff and senior RAF personnel. Molotov arrived safely in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for the signing of the Anglo-Soviet Treaty
Anglo-Soviet Treaty of 1942
The Twenty-Year Mutual Assistance Agreement Between the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Anglo-Soviet Treaty established military and political alliance between the USSR and the British Empire during World War II, and for 20 years after it...
on 26 May 1942.
Timeline
- March 1942: Site Opened.
- March 1942 to July 1944: No. 56 OTU moved here from Sutton Bridge with Hawker HurricaneHawker HurricaneThe Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s, Westland LysanderWestland LysanderThe Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
s and Miles MasterMiles Master-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Amos, Peter and Don Lambert Brown. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0....
s. Training for all types of fighter, ground & anti-shipping exercises. - October 1943: Renamed 1 Combat Training Wing and then 1 Tactical Exercise Unit.
- February 1944: Hawker Hurricanes replaced with Supermarine Spitfires.
- August 1944 - June 1945: No. 9 (P) AFU, Flying Training Command with Miles MasterMiles Master-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Amos, Peter and Don Lambert Brown. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0....
s then HarvardsNorth American T-6 TexanThe North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
.
Operational units and aircraft
| Unit | From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 63 Squadron RAF No. 63 Squadron RAF -In World War I:No. 63 Squadron was formed on 31 August 1916 at Stirling, Scotland as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. The squadron was intended to operate as a day-bomber unit over the Western Front in France, and was therefore equipped with de Havilland DH4 aircraft; however at the last... |
1 May 1939 | Sep 1939 | Hawker Hart Hawker Hart The Hawker Hart was a British two-seater biplane light bomber of the Royal Air Force , which had a prominent role during the RAF's inter-war period. The Hart was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and built by Hawker Aircraft... De Havilland Tiger Moth De Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft... |
? ? |
| No. 527 Squadron RAF No. 527 Squadron RAF No. 527 Squadron RAF was a radar calibration unit of the Royal Air Force between 1943 and 1958.-Formation:No. 527 Squadron was formed from various calibration flights at RAF Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire on 15 June 1943 for radar calibration duties with Bristol Blenheims and Hawker Hurricanes... |
28 Apr 1944 | 8 Nov 1945 | Supermarine Spitfire Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s... |
Mk. Vb |
No. 56 Operational Training Unit (27 Mar 1942 - 5 Oct 1943)
Formed at RAF Sutton BridgeRAF Sutton Bridge
RAF Sutton Bridge is a former RAF airfield found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the south of the current A17, and east of the River Nene, next to Walpole in Norfolk.-History:...
from No. 6 OTU on 1 November 1940 within No. 81 Group to train fighter pilots for RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
, using Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s. In March 1942 it moved to RAF Tealing and in April 1943 it passed to the control of No. 9 Group. It disbanded on 5 October 1943. It was then redesignated No. 1 Combat Training Wing (changed to No. 1 Tactical Exercise Unit at a later date).
In the event of a German invasion the OTU's 'E' and 'F' Flights would have become No. 556 Squadron to operate within the Peterhead Sector.
The unit was reformed on 15 December 1944, at Milfield in No. 12 Group, equipped with both Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...
and Hawker Tempest
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war....
V's until disbanding on 14 February 1946.
No. 9 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit (12 Sep 1944 - 21 Jun 1945)
Satellite Landing Ground for No. 9 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit (PAFU) based at RAF ErrolRAF Errol
RAF Errol is a World War II airfield near the village of Errol in Perth & Kinross, Scotland, on the north bank of the Firth of Tay approximately half way between Perth and Dundee. The airfield opened in January 1943. Errol housed a special 305th air training squadron for the Soviet crews receiving...
.