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RAF Sullom Voe

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Coordinates: 60°28′00″N 001°16′30″W / 60.46667°N 1.27500°W / 60.46667; -1.27500
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RAF Sullom Voe
Sullom Voe, Shetland Isles in Scotland
RAF Sullom Voe is located in Shetland
RAF Sullom Voe
RAF Sullom Voe
Shown within Shetland
RAF Sullom Voe is located in the United Kingdom
RAF Sullom Voe
RAF Sullom Voe
RAF Sullom Voe (the United Kingdom)
Coordinates60°28′00″N 001°16′30″W / 60.46667°N 1.27500°W / 60.46667; -1.27500
TypeSatellite Station
Site information
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
Controlled byRAF Coastal Command
Site history
Built1938 (1938)
In use1938-1952 (1952)
Battles/warsEuropean theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation1 metre (3 ft 3 in)[1] AMSL
OtherAligned with RAF Scatsta

Royal Air Force Sullom Voe or more simply RAF Sullom Voe is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of Brae, in the Shetland Isles of Scotland. It was a Flying boat base and was closely associated with the adjacent airfield of RAF Scatsta.[2]

History

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Beginnings

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The building of this flying boat station started well before the Second World War during 1938 and it became home to various Coastal Command squadrons that patrolled the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic for enemy ships and U-boats.

In the early days accommodation was provided by the Clyde-built SS Manella,[3] a ship built in 1921, requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1939, renamed HMS Manella and sent to Sullom Voe as a supply ship to provide temporary accommodation prior to suitable accommodation being built on-shore at nearby Graven.

201 Squadron was posted there just 25 days before the declaration of war on 3 September 1939. 240 Squadron was posted there a month later on 4 November 1939 then Sullom Voe became the first location in the British Isles to be bombed on Monday 13 November 1939 when four bombs landed in a field. No damage was formally reported apart from the death of a rabbit![4]

The complex was added to when a nearby airfield was built during 1940 and named RAF Scatsta.

Units

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Squadron Aircraft Posted from Posted to From → To Notes
190 Consolidated Catalina IB & IV 17 February 1943 1 January 1944 Formed → Disbanded Formed from the nucleus of disbanded 210 Squadron and subsequently reformed back to 210 Sqn again.[5]
201 Saro London I & II
Short Sunderland I & II		 9 August 1939
26 May 1940		 6 November 1939
9 October 1941		 RAF Calshot → RAF Invergordon
RAF Invergordon → RAF Lough Erne		 Squadron moves twice to Sullom Voe.[6]
204 Short Sunderland I 2 April 1940 5 April 1941 RAF Mount Batten → RAF Reykjavik [7]
210 Short Sunderland I 24 November 1939
13 July 1940		 21 May 1940
4 October 1942		 RAF Invergordon → RAF Pembroke Dock
RAF Oban → RAF Pembroke Dock		 Detachment from RAF Invergordon then from RAF Oban.[8]
240 Saro London II 4 November 1939
27 March 1940		 12 February 1940
27 May 1940		 RAF Invergordon → RAF Invergordon
RAF Invergordon → RAF Pembroke Dock		 Squadron moves twice to Sullom Voe.[9]
330 Short Sunderland II, III and V 12 July 1943 14 June 1945 RAF Oban → Stavangar Airport, Sola, Norway Squadron disbanded 21 Nov 1945 and transferred to Norwegian control.[10]
333 Consolidated Catalina I & IV 5 May 1943 June 1945 RAF Woodhaven → Fornebu (Oslo, Norway) On detachment before being disbanded 21 November 1945 and transferred to Norwegian control.[10]
413 RCAF Consolidated Catalina I & IV 1 October 1941 4 March 1942 RAF Stranraer → En route to Sri Lanka [11]
461 RAAF [12]
701 Naval Air Squadron [12]

The following units were also here at some point:[12]

During the War

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In 1944 one of 210 Sqn's pilots, Flying Officer John Cruickshank, carried out a successful attack off Narvik on a German U-boat, sinking the U-361, which by this time possessed heavy anti-aircraft guns. Despite severe injuries from those guns, he managed to fly his aircraft home and circled until daybreak before he was able to land it safely saving his crew, an achievement for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.[13]

Post War

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RAF Sullom Voe and RAF Scatsta was rendered non-operational in June 1945 after all wartime operations by Coastal Command ended.

In 1975 the Sullom Voe Terminal was built in the land and surroundings formerly part of the airbase and it's sister airport RAF Scatsta.[14]

Major portions of the airfield still remain. Some have been repurposed; such as taxiways being used as car parking.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Falconer 2012, p. 184.
  2. ^ Falconer 2012, p. 185.
  3. ^ "S.S. Manela". Clydesite Scotland. Archived from the original on 1 October 2004. Retrieved 3 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Sullom Voe". Shetland Museum. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  5. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 69.
  6. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 70.
  7. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 71.
  8. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 72.
  9. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 78.
  10. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 89.
  11. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 92.
  12. ^ a b c "Sullom Voe (Garths Voe)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  13. ^ Seymour and Balderson 1999, p. 100.
  14. ^ "Sullom Voe Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland". www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
  • Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
  • Seymour, Mike and Bill Balderson. To The Ends of the Earth: 210 Squadron's Catalina Years, 1941–1945. Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, UK: Paterchurch Publications, 1999. ISBN 1-870745-08-6.
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