RAF Dallachy![]() | |||||||||
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Elgin, Moray in Scotland | |||||||||
![]() Dallachy Airfield in 1987 | |||||||||
Site information | |||||||||
Type | Royal Air Force satellite station [1] | ||||||||
Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||
Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||
Controlled by | RAF Coastal Command * No. 18 Group RAF [1] | ||||||||
Location | |||||||||
Coordinates | 57°39′14″N3°04′05″W / 57.654°N 3.068°W | ||||||||
Site history | |||||||||
Built | 1942 | ||||||||
In use | 1943-1945 | ||||||||
Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||
Airfield information | |||||||||
Elevation | 76 metres (249 ft) [1] AMSL | ||||||||
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Royal Air Force Dallachy or more simply RAF Dallachy, is a former Royal Air Force satellite station situated east of Elgin, Moray, Scotland.
During the Second World War it was a fighter station, used by 18 Group RAF Coastal Command. [2]
Opened in March 1943, it was originally used as a training station by No. 14 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF, using Airspeed Oxfords. [3] In September 1943, it was reorganised for operational use by several squadrons, including No. 144 Squadron RAF, [4] No. 404 Squadron RCAF [5] and No. 455 Squadron RAAF. [6] [3] [7] Towards the end of 1944, it was reorganised again with No. 489 Squadron RNZAF, flying Bristol Beaufighters [8] on shipping strikes, and No. 524 Squadron RAF with radar-equipped Vickers Wellingtons.
The airfield was closed in June 1945, becoming a Territorial Army training centre until 1958. [3]
Unit | Aircraft | Variant | From | To | To | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 144 Squadron RAF | Bristol Beaufighter | X | 23 October 1944 | 25 May 1945 | Disbanded | [4] |
No. 281 Squadron RAF | Vickers Warwick | I | 27 February 1944 | 7 February 1945 | RAF Mullaghmore | As a detachment. [9] |
No. 404 Squadron RCAF | Bristol Beaufighter de Havilland Mosquito | X VI | 22 October 1944 | 3 April 1945 | RAF Banff | [5] |
No. 455 Squadron RAAF | Bristol Beaufighter | X | 20 October 1944 | 25 May 1945 | Disbanded | [6] |
No. 489 Squadron RNZAF | Bristol Beaufighter | X | 24 October 1944 | 16 June 1945 | RAF Banff | [8] |
No. 618 Squadron RAF | de Havilland Mosquito | IV | September 1944 | September 1944 | Australia | [10] |
No. 14 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit | Airspeed Oxford | May 1943 | September 1944 | n/a | As Relief Landing Ground [11] | |
No. 21 Air Crew Holding Unit | N/A | [12] | ||||
No. 1542 (Beam Approach Training) Flight RAF | Airspeed Oxford | July 1943 | August 1944 | Disbanded | [13] |
The site is largely intact. However, most of the former airfield is now used by a waste recycling company. The control tower is in a ruinous state and no other buildings exist. Dallachy Aeromodellers, a radio control model flying club, use a section.
A memorial now stands in the nearby village of Bogmoor to remember the air crews and soldiers who lost their lives in the Second World War.