Kinghorn Lifeboat Station

Kinghorn Lifeboat Station
Kinghorn Lifeboat Station
Kinghorn, Scotland
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Address	30 St James Place
Town or city	Kinghorn, Burntisland, KY3 9SU
Country	Scotland
Coordinates	56°04′07.0″N3°10′26.2″W / 56.068611°N 3.173944°W / 56.068611; -3.173944
Opened	1965
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Kinghorn RNLI Lifeboat Station

Kinghorn Lifeboat Station is located at St James Place, Kinghorn, a town and seaside resort on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth, on the Fife peninsula, on the east coast of Scotland.

A lifeboat station was established at Kinghorn by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1965. ^[1]

The station currently operates a B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat, Tommy Niven (B-836), on station since 2009. ^[2]

History

Kinghorn Lifeboat station was established in 1965 by the RNLI, to help provide more cover in the Firth of Forth, as leisure craft became more prevalent in the area at that time. Initially a small shed structure made from Hardun wood ^[3] was built which housed a D-class lifeboat which operated in summer months only. The boat was launched by hand across Kinghorn beach. ^[4] The first launch of the boat in 1965 saw the crew deliver letters to residents of Inchkeith and Inchcolm to inform them of the station being built. ^[5]

In 1982 a new pre-cast boathouse was built to replace the previous wooden structure. ^[3] On 10 June 1985 the station received a new twin-engine C-class (Zodiac Grand Raid IV) with the registration mark (C-514). This boat was also accompanied with a sea-going tractor to assist launching. ^{[3] [4]}

In 1987 the station was altered in order to fit the launching trolley equipment inside the boathouse to aid fast launch times. ^[3]

In 1995 the station was upgraded significantly with a new two-storey building erected which had lifeboat crew quarters, as well as an operation centre and visitor shop. At the same time a launch ramp and concrete slipway was installed. On 29 June that year, an Atlantic 21-class lifeboat was brought into temporary service, soon being replaced with an Atlantic 75-class Frederick Robertson, with registration (B-720), on 12 December. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Current service

Atlantic 75 B-720 returning to Kinghorn Station in 2005

The Atlantic 85 lifeboat, Tommy Niven (B-836), was brought into service on 22 October 2009. The boat bears the name of a benefactor who left a bequest to the RNLI. ^[3]

In 2019 a balloon in the shape of the fictional superhero character Iron Man was mistaken for a person in the water off Kirkcaldy. The Kinghorn lifeboat was scrambled and spent an hour searching for the missing person. A local Subaru car dealership later admitted to accidentally allowing the balloon to blow away and made a donation to the station. ^[6]

The station holds an annual sponsored Loony Dook in January and an open day during the summer to raise funds for the running of the facility. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Kinghorn lifeboats

Op. No. [a]	Name	On Station [10]	Class	Comments
D-64	Unnamed	1965	D-class (Dunlop)
D-68	Unnamed	1965–1967	D-class (Dunlop)
D-65	Unnamed	1967	D-class (Dunlop)
D-123	Unnamed	1968–1976	D-class (RFD PB16)
D-245	Alick Mackay	1976–1985	D-class (Zodiac III)
C-514	Unnamed	1985–1995	C-class (Zodiac Grand Raid IV)
B-533	Unnamed	1995	B-class (Atlantic 21)
B-720	Frederick Robertson	1995–2009	B-class (Atlantic 75)
B-836	Tommy Niven	2009–	B-class (Atlantic 85)

Launch and recovery tractors

Op. No. [a]	Reg. No.	Type	On Station [10]	Comments
TW12	D508 RUJ	Talus MB-764 County	1987–1994
TW10	VEL 99X	Talus MB-764 County	1994–1998
TW06	VRU 611S	Talus MB-764 County	1998–2003
TW40	P472 CUJ	Talus MB-764 County	2003–2011
TW04	TEL 705R	Talus MB-764 County	2011–2012
TW03	RLJ 367R	Talus MB-764 County	2012–2014
TW04	TEL 705R	Talus MB-764 County	2014–2017
TW03	RLJ 367R	Talus MB-764 County	2017–2022
TW32	L161 LAW	Talus MB-764 County	2022–

1. Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• List of former RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

References

1. "Kinghorn's Station history". Kinghorn Lifeboat Station. RNLI. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
2. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 84.
3. "Station history | RNLI". rnli.org. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
4. "Kinghorn Lifeboat Station: Station History". www.kinghorn.org.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
5. "Kinghorn Lifeboat Station: First Lifeboat". www.kinghorn.org.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
6. Brown, Angie (15 August 2019). "Iron Man balloon sparks rescue alert". BBC News. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
7. "Loony dookers in Kinghorn raise £1,295 for the RNLI". www.fifetoday.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
8. "Kinghorn RNLI host annual open day this weekend". www.fifetoday.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
9. "Head to Kinghorn On New Year's Day for the Loony Dook!". www.fifetoday.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
10. Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 80–84, 87–90, 11.