List of air stations of the Royal Navy

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This is a list of naval air stations of the Royal Navy. Naval air stations are shore establishments of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the branch of the Royal Navy (RN) responsible for the operation of naval aircraft.

Historically, RNAS referred to the Royal Naval Air Service, which was the aviation branch of the Royal Navy. This merged in 1918 with the Royal Flying Corps, of the British Army, to form an independent service, the Royal Air Force (RAF). Currently the abbreviation RNAS stands for "Royal Naval Air Station", and in common with Royal Air Force station naming convention, is always followed by a geographical place in which the air station is located.

Between 1918 and 1939, the Royal Air Force had provided the Fleet Air Arm to the Royal Navy, and Royal Naval Air Stations were consequently operated by Royal Air force personnel.

On 24 May 1939, operation of the Fleet Air Arm was returned to full Admiralty control under the Inskip Award, with Royal Air Force personnel replaced by Royal Naval personnel, or transferring to the Royal Navy.

As Coastal Command remained part of the Royal Air Force, Royal Naval Air Stations, since 1939, have generally operated ship-borne types of aircraft when it has been necessary for them to be operated from land bases.

Current naval air stations

The current Fleet Air Arm front-line operations are centred on two main operating bases (MOBs), each with a nearby satellite airfield: (Bold denotes Royal Navy shore establishment, italics denotes other controlled airbase with Fleet Air Arm unit)

• RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) – Culdrose, Helston, Cornwall, England - (maritime Merlin operations, Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations)
  • RNAS Predannack (satellite airfield) – Mullion, Cornwall
• RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron) – Yeovilton, Somerset, England - (Wildcat Maritime Force (MWF), Commando Helicopter Force (CHF), Joint Helicopter Command, Wildcat Demo Team)
  • RNAS Merryfield (satellite airfield) – Ilton, Somerset

Other airbases

Fleet Air Arm front-line operations are supported by other airbases with activity at:

• HMS Gannet, which is a forward operating base of the Fleet Air Arm located at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, South Ayrshire in Scotland, used by detachments of Royal Navy Merlin HM2 helicopters which are deployed from RNAS Culdrose as and when required.^[1]
• RAF Marham - Norfolk, England, the F-35B Lightning II main operating base and a Royal Air Force station, but home to the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm 809 Naval Air Squadron, which is part of Air Combat Force, under No. 1 Group RAF.^[2]

Similarly, second-line operations are also conducted from both RNAS Culdrose, with 750 Naval Air Squadron providing training for Royal Navy Observers and Royal Air Force Weapon Systems Officers (WSOs),^[3] and RNAS Yeovilton home to 727 Naval Air Squadron with flight assessment and training,^[4] but operations are also supported by other airbases:

• Dedicated aircrew training for all three UK armed services sits with the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS).^[5]
  • RAF Barkston Heath - Lincolnshire, England, home to the Defence Elementary Flying Training School, which includes the Feet Air Arm’s 703 Naval Air Squadron as part of the UKMFTS, and which operates the Grob Prefect T1 in the elementary flying training role.^[6]
  • RAF Shawbury - Shropshire, England. Home of the tri-service No. 1 Flying Training School, which includes the Fleet Air Arm’s 705 Naval Air Squadron, flying the Airbus Juno HT1. Elements of the Central Flying School (Helicopter) Squadron train helicopter flying instructors, and the Defence College of Air and Space Operations trains air traffic controllers for both the RAF and RN.^[7]

Several former airbases are operated by defence contractor QinetiQ in the test and evaluation role, with these locations owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

• The former Royal Air Force station at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire is the main facility, and this has a Fleet Air Arm presence.
  • MOD Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, England - Test and evaluation airbase operated by QinetiQ on behalf of the MoD. The Fleet Air Arm's 744 Naval Air Squadron is part of the Air and Space Warfare Centre, but predominantly based out of MoD Boscombe Down, and forms part of the Air Test and Evaluation Centre (ATEC).^[8][9]

Map of stations within the UK

Map of the United Kingdom showing active naval air stations, including forward operating bases and satellite airfields, Ministry of Defence (MOD) airfields with a Royal Navy presence and Royal Air Force (RAF) stations with a Royal Navy presence.

HMS Gannet

HMS Seahawk

HMS Heron

Predannack Airfield

RNAS Merryfield

RAF Marham - 809 Naval Air Squadron

RAF Barkston Heath - 703 Naval Air Squadron

RAF Shawbury - 705 Naval Air Squadron

MoD Boscombe Down - 744 Naval Air Squadron

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Operational locations for the Fleet Air Arm within the United Kingdom. The colour of the location mark indicates the type of airbase or unit at each location (blue: Naval Air Station, orange: satellite airfield, yellow: Forward Operating Base, red: FAA Unit at RAF airbase, green: FAA Unit at MoD location)

Former naval air stations

When control of the Fleet Air Arm was transferred from the Royal Air Force, four of its existing airbases, in the United Kingdom, were also transferred to the Fleet Air Arm, these were: Donibristle, Lee-on-Solent, Ford, and Worthy Down. At that time when operating overseas, the Fleet Air Arm still needed to rely on lodger facilities at Royal Air Force stations abroad.

During the early period of the Second World War the Royal Navy worked to acquire its own airfields, both in the UK and near to strategic bases abroad. Some of these were purpose built and others were transferred over from the Royal Air Force.^[10]

These lists covers Fleet Air Arm establishments, located both on the British Isles and overseas. It includes Air Stations, Air Sections, Air Maintenance & Repair Yards, Lodger units at RAF bases, and training establishments. The bases are listed alphabetically, by geographical location.

Key to the types of establishments:

• BCAS - British Commonwealth Air Station
• MONAB - Mobile Naval Air Base
• RAF - Royal Air Force
• RAAF - Royal Australian Air Force
• RCAF - Royal Canadian Air Force
• RNAS - Royal Naval Air Station
• RNAY - Royal Naval Air Yard
• RNAMY - Royal Naval Aircraft Maintenance Yard
• RNARY - Royal Naval Aircraft Repair Yard
• RNADC - Royal Naval Aircraft Direction Centre
• RNAE - Royal Naval Air Establishment
• RNATE - Royal Naval Aircraft Training Establishment
• RNTE - Royal Naval Training Establishment
• SAAF - South African Air Force
• TAMY - Transportable Aircraft Maintenance Yard
• USAF - United States Air Force
• USNAS - United States Naval Air Station
• USNAF - United States Naval Air Facility

British Isles

This list is of former air stations of the Royal Navy within the British Isles, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland), and over six thousand smaller islands.^[11] The Channel Islands, off the north coast of France, are normally taken to be part of the British Isles.^[12] The list includes airbases wholly operated by the Admiralty and those where RN lodger units operated, sometimes under a RN Air Section.

Overseas

This list is of former air stations of the Royal Navy located outside of the British Isles. The list includes airbases wholly operated by the Admiralty and those where lodger facilities from the RAF were granted and operated under a RN Air Section.

RNAS	HMS	RAF	RN Years active	Current county	Country	Notes
Aboukir	Nile II	Aboukir	1935–42		Egypt	Lodger facilities for a RN Air Section on RAF Station
Addu Atoll	Haitian Maraga	Gan	1942-45		Maldives	Purpose built for the Admiralty. Now Gan International Airport
Andrakaka	Ironclad	Andrakaka	1942-43		Madagascar	Captured Vichy French airfield, RN Air Section
Archerfield	Nabsford Nabreekie	n/a	1945–46	Queensland	Australia	RNAMY Archerfield used for: TAMY I (Transportable Aircraft Maintenance Yard No. 1) MONAB VII
Argentia	Avalon III	n/a	1943–44	Newfoundland	Canada	Lodger facilities for RN Air Section at US Naval Air Station Argentia, now Naval Station Argentia
Bankstown	Nabberley	n/a	1944–46	New South Wales	Australia	MONAB II. Now Bankstown Airport
Bermuda	Malabar	n/a	1939-44	Sandys Parish	Bermuda	Operated from North Yard of Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda on Ireland Island until relocating to Boaz Island in 1940. Care-and-maintenance status by 1945. Disposed of with other Admiralty and War Office land in 1950s
Brunswick	Saker	n/a	1943-45	Maine	United States	U.S. Naval Air Station loaned to the Admiralty
Coimbatore	Garuda	n/a	1942–46	Cochin	British Indian Empire	Aircraft Repair Yard. Parent station to: RN Air Section Cochin, RN Air Station Sulur. Now Coimbatore International Airport
Colombo Racecourse	Bherunda	Colombo Racecourse	1943–45	Colombo	British Ceylon	Now Colombo Racecourse
Dartmouth	Seaborn	n/a	1940–46	Nova Scotia	Canada	Lodger facilities for an RN air section at an RCAF base only. Now CFB Shearwater
Dekheila	Grebe Nile II	LG-34/LG-235	1940–46		Egypt
Durban	Kongoni	n/a	1940-46	Durban	South Africa	R.N. Air Section Durban at S.A.A.F. Station, Stamford Hill
Fayid	Pheonix	Fayid	1941-46		Egypt	R.N. Aircraft Repair Yard. RAF station transferred to Admiralty control
Floyd Bennett Field	Saker	n/a	1942-		United States	Lodger facilities for an RN Air Section and disembarked squadrons from 1942.[14]
Hal Far	Falcon	Hal Far	1929–50 1952–67		Malta
Hastings	Spurwing	Hastings	1943–44		British Sierra Leone	Lodger facilities until 1943
Hiswa	Rapax	Hiswa			Aden Protectorate	Lodger facility for an RN Air Section on RAF station. Transferred to the Admiralty for development as Royal Naval Air Station
Jervis Bay	Nabswick	n/a	1945–46	New South Wales	Australia	MONAB V
Kai Tak	Nabcatcher Flycatcher	Kai Tak	1938–40 1945-78	Kowloon Bay	Hong Kong	MONAB VIII. Lodger facilities 1948 - 1978
Kaldadarnes	Baldur II	Kaldadarnes	1943		Iceland	Lodger facilities for an RN Air Section
Katukurunda	Ukussa	Katukurunda	1942-46	Katukurunda	British Ceylon.[15]	Transferred from the Royal Air Force in 1942 and returned in 1946. Now Katukurunda Airport
Kilindini	Kipanga	n/a	1942–44	Mombasa	Kenya
Komenda	Wara	Takoradi	Oct–Dec 1943		Gold Coast	Now Takoradi Airport
Lewiston	Saker	n/a	1943–45	Maine	United States	Now Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport
Mackinnon Road	Tana Kipanga II	n/a	1942–44	Taita-Taveta	Kenya	Now Mackinnon Road Airport
Maharagama	Monara	n/a	1943–46	Maharagama	British Ceylon	Royal Naval Air Ceylonese Training Establishment in Maharagama which was later taken over by the National Teachers' Training College.[16]
Maryborough	Nabstock	n/a	1945–46	Queensland	Australia	MONAB VI
Minnerya	n/a	Minnerya	1942–46		British Ceylon	Lodger facilities only. Now Hingurakgoda Airport
Nairobi	Korongo	n/a	1942-44	Nairobi	Kenya	R.N. Aircraft Repair Yard. Reserve aircraft storage
Norfolk	Saker	n/a			United States	Lodger facilities at a US Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field for FAA squadrons and an Air Section.[17]
Nowra	Nabbington Nabswick	n/a	Jan–Nov 1945 1945–1946	New South Wales	Australia	MONAB I MONAB V. Now HMAS Albatross (air station)
Palisadoes	Malabar III Buzzard	n/a	1941–43	Kingston	Jamaica	Now Norman Manley International Airport
Piarco	Malabar II Goshawk	n/a	1940–46		Trinidad and Tobago	Now Piarco International Airport
Ponam	Nabaron	n/a	Apr–Nov 1945	Admiralty Islands	Papua New Guinea	MONAB IV. Former United States Navy airstrip transferred to the RN on loan
Port Reitz	Kipanga	Port Reitz	1942-44	Mombasa	Kenya	Lodger facilities for an RN Air Section at an RAF station. Now Moi International Airport
Puttalam	Rajaliya	n/a	1942–45	Puttalam District	British Ceylon	Now SLAF Palavi (Sri Lanka Air Force Palavi).[18]
Quonset Point	Asbury	n/a	1942–43	Rhode Island	United States	Now Quonset Point Air National Guard Station
Ras el-Tin Point	Nile		Apr 1939– Jun 1946	Alexandria	Egypt
Schofields	Nabthorpe Nabstock	n/a	Feb–Nov 1945 Nov 1945–June 1946	New South Wales	Australia	MONAB III MONAB VI. Now HMAS Nirimba, up for sale.
Sembawang	Simbang Nabrock	Sembawang	1939-71		Singapore	MONAB IX. Now Sembawang Air Base
Sigiriya	n/a	Sigiriya			British Ceylon	Lodger facilities only. Now Sigiriya Airport
Squantum	Saker	n/a	1943-44	Norfolk County, Massachusetts	United States	US Naval Air Station Squantum loaned to the Admiralty.[19]
Sulur	Vairi	n/a	1944-46		British Indian Empire	Now Sulur Air Force Station
Tafaraouri	Cormorant II	n/a	1943-44		Algeria	Lodger facility for an RN Air Section on Twelfth Air Force fighter station. Later Lodger rights for one squadron.[20] Now Oran Tafraoui Airport
Takali	Goldfinch St Angelo	Ta Kali	1945–53		Malta	1943 RN Lodger unit, 1944 Transferred to RN on temporary loan in February, 1945 Full control transferred to Admiralty in April
Tambaram	Valluru	Tambaram	1944–45	Madras	British Indian Empire	Now Tambaram Air Force Station
Tanga	Kilele	n/a	1942–44		Tanganyika	Now Tanga Airport
Trincomalee	Bambara	China Bay	1940-50	Trincomalee	British Ceylon	Lodger facility for RN Air Section from August 1940. Station transferred to the Admiralty on 15 November 1944 and renamed RNAS Trincomalee. Now China Bay Airport
Vizagapatam	n/a	Vizagapatam	1944-45		British Indian Empire	Lodger facilities for an RN Fleet Requirements Unit. Now Visakhapatnam Airport
Voi	Tana Kipanga II	n/a	1944		Kenya	Never commissioned
Wingfield	Malagas	n/a	1942–46	Western Cape	South Africa	Now SAS Wingfield
Yarmouth	Canada Seaborn	n/a	1943-45	Nova Scotia	Canada	Lodger facilities for an RN air section at an RCAF base only. RCAF Station Yarmouth

Mobile Naval Air Base

The Mobile Operational Naval Air Base (MONAB) were designed to have all the capabilities of an air station or an aircraft carrier, to support the Fleet Air Arm, and that could be deployed anywhere around the world. There were eleven commissioned units, ten MONABs and one Transportable Aircraft Maintenance Yard (TAMY), ten of these saw active service for the British Pacific Fleet:^[21]

Former naval air stations by ship name (HMS xxx)

HMS means His Majesty's Ship (or Her Majesty's Ship).

Some smaller and some very early Naval Air Stations in the list above were not commissioned as HM Ship(s). Those below were commissioned and, therefore, have a ship's name. Royal Navy shore bases and naval air stations have traditionally been named in the same manner as seagoing ships.

Officers were appointed to HMS xxx rather than to RNAS xxx and, similarly, ratings' Service Certificates will show only the name of the ship when drafted to a Naval Air Station. Thus, this list may help when researching family history records.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Mobile Naval Air Base
• List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies
• List of Royal Air Force stations
• List of Royal Navy shore establishments
• Royal Navy Dockyard
• Seaplane bases in the United Kingdom
• Aircraft Handler
• List of airfields of the Army Air Corps
• Lists of military installations
• List of British Army installations

References

"FAA Bases home page". Retrieved 21 March 2016.