RAF Tinwald Downs
Encyclopedia
RAF Tinwald Downs was a former Royal Air Force
station located near Tinwald
, Scotland
. The airfield opened on 17 June 1940 and was sold in 1960 to a private firm.
The disused airfield is now used as the Dumfries Aviation Museum.
, Dorset
. No 10 BAGS trained bomb-aimers and gunners in Handley Page Harrows and Fairey Battle
s before further training within Operational Training Units.
The airfield consited of a grass runway and due to the demands of operational training the runway was upgraded to hard surfaces. Whilst this work was being undertaken No 10 BAGS utilised the satellite landing ground at RAF Winterseugh, Annan
.
Due to the numbers of aircraft 18MU was forced to disperse the aircraft to satellite landing grounds as RAF Low Eldrig near Stranraer
, RAF Lennoxlove near Haddington
, and RAF Wath Head in Cumbria
and also RAF Hornby Hall, Cumbria
. No 11 Sub-Ferry Flight was posted to the airfield between April and July 1940.
No 10 BAGS was re-designated No 10 Air Observer School (No 10AOS) in September 1940 and began training navigators in [Armstrong Whitworth Whitley]] and Blackburn Botha
aircraft. In April 1940 No 10 AOS was renamed No 10 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit (No 10 (O) AOS) and was re-equipped with the Avro Anson
.
Over 400 courses had been conducted during World War II
at RAF Tinwald Downs. No 10(Observer) Advanced Flying Unit was again renamed No 10 Air Navigation School (No 10 ANS) in August 1945 and was disbanded in September 1945. No 18 MU closed in 1957 having prepared and dispatched almost 5,000 aircraft to units and after the war became an airpark for aircraft before being scrapped.
The airfield was a training station for national service recruits to the Royal Air Force Regiment between 1947 and 1957. The airfield was then placed under care and maintenance until the site was sold to a private company in 1960. It now houses the Dumfries Aviation Museum.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station located near Tinwald
Tinwald, Scotland
Tinwald is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, lying a little north of Locharbriggs outside Dumfries.Tinwald was the birthplace of William Paterson, who helped to found the Bank of England....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The airfield opened on 17 June 1940 and was sold in 1960 to a private firm.
The disused airfield is now used as the Dumfries Aviation Museum.
History
No 18 Maintenance Unit (No 18 MU) was alloted to No 41 Group and became the lodger unit on 17 June 1940. No aircraft were flown in until the end of June when the obstructions placed on the airfield to prevent enemy aircraft from landing where removed due to invasion fears. No 18 MU was reverted to a tenant unit on 13 July 1940 and No 10 Bombing and Gunnery School (No 10 B&GS) of No 25 Group (Training Command) relocated from RAF WarmwellRAF Warmwell
RAF Warmwell was a Royal Air Force station near Warmwell in Dorset, England from 1937 to 1946, located about 5 miles east-southeast of Dorchester; 100 miles southwest of London....
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. No 10 BAGS trained bomb-aimers and gunners in Handley Page Harrows and Fairey Battle
Fairey Battle
The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force. The Battle was powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed...
s before further training within Operational Training Units.
The airfield consited of a grass runway and due to the demands of operational training the runway was upgraded to hard surfaces. Whilst this work was being undertaken No 10 BAGS utilised the satellite landing ground at RAF Winterseugh, Annan
Annan
-People:* Kofi Annan, , former Secretary-General of the United Nations * Kojo Annan, , Kofi Annan's son* Noel Annan, Baron Annan, was a member of the House of Lords and British academic...
.
Due to the numbers of aircraft 18MU was forced to disperse the aircraft to satellite landing grounds as RAF Low Eldrig near Stranraer
Stranraer
Stranraer is a town in the southwest of Scotland. It lies in the west of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...
, RAF Lennoxlove near Haddington
Haddington, East Lothian
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...
, and RAF Wath Head in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
and also RAF Hornby Hall, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. No 11 Sub-Ferry Flight was posted to the airfield between April and July 1940.
No 10 BAGS was re-designated No 10 Air Observer School (No 10AOS) in September 1940 and began training navigators in [Armstrong Whitworth Whitley]] and Blackburn Botha
Blackburn Botha
-See also:-External links:*...
aircraft. In April 1940 No 10 AOS was renamed No 10 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit (No 10 (O) AOS) and was re-equipped with the Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
.
Over 400 courses had been conducted during World War II
World 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...
at RAF Tinwald Downs. No 10(Observer) Advanced Flying Unit was again renamed No 10 Air Navigation School (No 10 ANS) in August 1945 and was disbanded in September 1945. No 18 MU closed in 1957 having prepared and dispatched almost 5,000 aircraft to units and after the war became an airpark for aircraft before being scrapped.
The airfield was a training station for national service recruits to the Royal Air Force Regiment between 1947 and 1957. The airfield was then placed under care and maintenance until the site was sold to a private company in 1960. It now houses the Dumfries Aviation Museum.