RAF Heathfield

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Former Royal Air Force station in South Ayrshire, Scotland

title: "RAF Heathfield" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-of-world-war-ii-in-the-united-kingdom", "royal-air-force-stations-in-ayrshire", "buildings-and-structures-in-south-ayrshire", "defunct-airports-in-scotland", "military-airbases-established-in-1941", "military-airbases-closed-in-1957"] description: "Former Royal Air Force station in South Ayrshire, Scotland" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Heathfield" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former Royal Air Force station in South Ayrshire, Scotland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]

FieldValue
nameRAF Heathfield
RNAS Ayr (HMS Wagtail)
USAAF Station 570
ensign[[File:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
locationPrestwick, South Ayrshire
countryScotland
coordinates
typeRoyal Air Force stationParent Station
pushpin_mapScotland South Ayrshire#UK
pushpin_labelRAF Heathfield
pushpin_map_captionShown within South Ayrshire
ownershipAir Ministry
operatorRoyal Air Force
Royal Navy
United States Air Force
controlledbyRAF Fighter Command 1941-44* No. 13 Group RAFFleet Air Arm 1944-46
codeAR
built
usedApril 1941-
battlesEuropean theatre of World War II
past_commanders
elevation15 m
r1-number01/19
r1-length1261 m
r1-surfaceTarmac/Asphalt
r2-number06/24
r2-length1463 m
r2-surfaceTarmac/Asphalt
r3-number13/31
r3-length1097 m
r3-surfaceTarmac/Asphalt
::

| name = RAF Heathfield RNAS Ayr (HMS Wagtail) USAAF Station 570 | ensign= [[File:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg|90px]] [[File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|90px]] | native_name = | partof = | location = Prestwick, South Ayrshire | nearest_town = | country = Scotland | image = | caption = | coordinates = | type = Royal Air Force stationParent Station | pushpin_map = Scotland South Ayrshire#UK | pushpin_label = RAF Heathfield | pushpin_map_caption = Shown within South Ayrshire | ownership = Air Ministry | operator = Royal Air Force Royal Navy United States Air Force | controlledby = RAF Fighter Command 1941-44* No. 13 Group RAFFleet Air Arm 1944-46 | site_area = | code = AR | built = | builder = | used = April 1941- | height = | materials = | condition = | fate = | battles = European theatre of World War II | events = | past_commanders= | garrison = | occupants = | open_to_public = | website = | IATA = | ICAO = | LID = | GPS = | WMO = | elevation = 15 m | r1-number = 01/19 | r1-length = 1261 m | r1-surface = Tarmac/Asphalt | r2-number = 06/24 | r2-length = 1463 m | r2-surface = Tarmac/Asphalt | r3-number = 13/31 | r3-length = 1097 m | r3-surface = 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:

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'''''. 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.

Commanding officers

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

Units based at HMS ''Wagtail''

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

; 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.

Current use

The site is now a mixture of housing, farmland and a golf club.

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Berry, P (2005) Prestwick Airport and Scottish Aviation

References

  1. "Ayr II (Heathfield)". [[Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust]].
  2. "R.N.A.S. Ayr". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

royal-air-force-stations-of-world-war-ii-in-the-united-kingdomroyal-air-force-stations-in-ayrshirebuildings-and-structures-in-south-ayrshiredefunct-airports-in-scotlandmilitary-airbases-established-in-1941military-airbases-closed-in-1957