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RAF Heathfield
RNAS Ayr (HMS *Wagtail*)
~~USAAF Station 570~~
RAF Heathfield; RNAS Ayr (HMS Wagtail); USAAF Station 570
Prestwick, South Ayrshire in Scotland
	RAF Heathfield Shown within South Ayrshire RAF Heathfield RAF Heathfield (the United Kingdom)
Coordinates	55°29′10″N 004°35′56″W / 55.48611°N 4.59889°W
Type	Royal Air Force station; Parent Station
Code	AR
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force; Royal Navy; United States Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Fighter Command 1941-44; * No. 13 Group RAF; Fleet Air Arm 1944-46
Site history
Built	1940
In use	April 1941-1946
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	15 metres (49 ft) AMSL
Runways
01/19	1,261 metres (4,137 ft) Tarmac/Asphalt
06/24	1,463 metres (4,800 ft) Tarmac/Asphalt
13/31	1,097 metres (3,599 ft) Tarmac/Asphalt

Royal Air Force Heathfield, or more commonly 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. It opened in April 1941 as an airbase for day and night fighter squadrons. In September 1944 it transferred to Fleet Air Arm control and commissioned as HMS Wagtail. The Royal Navy paid off the airbase in March 1946 and it was reduced to care and maintenance. The United States Air Force used it for storage between 1951 and 1957.

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:

Units

No. 8 Gliding School RAF (May 1944 – June 1945)^[3]
Detachment from No. 13 Group Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight (1941)^[4]
No. 22 (RCAF) (Fighter) Wing (January – February 1944)^[5]
Detachment from No. 58 Operational Training Unit RAF (October 1942)^[6]
No. 143 (RCAF) Airfield (January – March 1944)^[7]
415th Night Fighter Squadron, with the USAAF regarding the location as USAAF Station 570^[2]
No. 1490 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight (April – October 1943)^[8] then No. 14 Armament Practice Camp (October 1943 – September 1944)^[9]
No. 1497 (Target Towing) Flight (June – July 1943)^[10]

Royal Navy

HMS Wagtail (1944-1946)

The airbase was transferred on loan to the Admiralty, from No. 13 Group RAF, on 6 September 1944. The Royal Navy took over with Commander(A) H.L. McCullock as CO. Known as Royal Naval Air Station Ayr (RNAS Ayr), it was commissioned shortly afterwards, on 20 October, as HMS Wagtail.^[11] One runway was redesigned and used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to practice aircraft carrier landings.

HMS Wagtail was 'paid off' by the Royal Navy on 10 March 1946 and it was reduced to Care & Maintenance Status, administered by RNAS Abbotsinch.^[11]

Commanding officers

List of commanding officers of HMS Wagtail with date of appointment:

Commander(A) H.L. McCullock, RN, from 6 September 1944

Units based at HMS Wagtail

List of units associated with HMS Wagtail, in support of disembarked fighter squadrons and a Fleet Requirements Unit:^[11]

Function

Support for disembarked fighter squadrons
Bombardment Spotting School
No.3 Barracuda Servicing Unit
Flag Officer Carrier Training Squadron.
Accommodation for two RAF Squadrons.

Squadrons at HMS Wagtail

A list of Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm aviation squadrons that were either stationed at or deployed to HMS Wagtail:

United States Air Force

The site was used by the United States Air Force (USAF) between 1951 and 1957 for aircraft storage use. From then on the USAF decided to solely use the adjacent Prestwick.^[2]

Current use

The site is now a mixture of housing, farmland and a golf club.^[2]

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b Falconer 2012, p. 38.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av ^aw ^ax ^ay ^az ^ba ^bb ^bc ^bd ^be ^bf ^bg ^bh ^bi ^bj ^bk ^bl ^bm ^bn ^bo ^bp ^bq ^br ^bs "Ayr II (Heathfield)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 163.
^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 179.
^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 314.
^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 242.
^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 54.
^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 136.
^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 74.
^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 137.
^ ^a ^b ^c "R.N.A.S. Ayr". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 338.
^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 339.
^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 352.
^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 353.
^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 355.
^ ^a ^b Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 357.
^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 359.

Bibliography

Berry, P (2005) Prestwick Airport and Scottish Aviation
Falconer, J (1998). RAF Fighter Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2175-9.
Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.
"RAF Ayr". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. 15 July 2023.
"Ayr (HMS Wagtail)". Fleet Air Arm Archive. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008.