RNAS Inskip (HMS Nightjar)

RNAS Inskip, also known HMS Nightjar, was a Fleet Air Arm airfield near the village of Inskip, Lancashire, England. It saw considerable aircrew training activity towards the end of the Second World War. In the 1960s and 70s it was a Royal Navy transmitting station known as HMS Inskip. It is now a military high frequency radio transmitting station known as MOD Inskip.

RNAS Inskip (HMS Nightjar)
Inskip, Lancashire in England
RNAS Inskip is located in Lancashire
RNAS Inskip
RNAS Inskip
Shown within Lancashire
RNAS Inskip is located in the Borough of Wyre
RNAS Inskip
RNAS Inskip
Shown on border of Wyre Borough
RNAS Inskip is located in the Borough of Fylde
RNAS Inskip
RNAS Inskip
Shown on border of Fylde Borough
Coordinates53°49′27″N 2°49′56″W
Site information
OwnerAdmiralty
OperatorRoyal Navy
Controlled byFleet Air Arm
Site history
Built1942 (1942)
In use1943-1946 (1946)
Airfield information
Elevation46 ft (14 m) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
05/23 3,000 ft (910 m) Concrete
09/27 3,600 ft (1,100 m) Concrete
14/32 3,900 ft (1,200 m) Concrete
18/36 3,000 ft (910 m) Concrete

History

On 4 June 1942 the Admiralty acquired 600 acres (240 ha) of farmland between Preston and Blackpool from Lord Derby. It planned to build an airfield, to be called RNAS Elswick, for the training of anti-submarine and two-seat strike crews. The location was chosen because of the relatively quiet airspace in the north-west of England and the proximity of coastal ranges in the Morecambe Bay area.[1] Construction of the runways started immediately, and it was commissioned on 15 May 1943,[2] but with a name change to that of another nearby village, as RNAS Inskip, naming the establishment HMS Nightjar.[3]

Four 100 ft (30 m) wide runways were built,[upper-alpha 1] along with accommodation for 145 aircraft consisting of 32 Mainhill hangars each 60 ft (18 m) wide by 70 ft (21 m) long and two maintenance hangars 110 ft (34 m) wide by 185 ft (56 m) long. These were grouped into six clusters around the airfield, and a 40 ft (12 m) perimeter taxiway linked them all.[5]

Several local buildings were requisitioned for use as headquarters and hospitals, and accommodation was built at two off-site locations within walking distance for a total of 235 officers and 1,379 other ranks.[6]

No.747 Squadron was the first flying unit to arrive, on 9 June 1943,[7] and No. 1 NOTU {Naval Operational Training Unit), of which 766 Squadron had been a part,[8] was the last to operate there, closing down on 26 January 1946.[9]

The airfield operated for just 30 months, but hosted 17 units operating 13 different aircraft types, and employing over 1,600 people. It had a great effect on the local economy and that of the local towns of Preston and especially Blackpool.[9]

There had been one open day, held on 20 October 1945, to celebrate the end of the war. Many aircraft types were displayed, including one from the Americans based at nearby Warton Aerodrome.[9]

Units

The Fairey Swordfish was the most-used aircraft at RNAS Inskip

The following major units were based at RNAS Inskip:

Subsequent use

The airfield closed for flying in February 1946,[2] and was decommissioned on 2 July that year,[9] but the Navy kept it as a transport pool and storage depot.[3] The RAF used the runways for driver training, and some hangars were used by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd for secure storage until 1994.[9]

The runways were demolished in 1974 and the concrete from them was used in the construction of the nearby M55 motorway. The hangars were demolished in the 1980s and 90s, and the Navy finally left the site on 8 March 1995.[27] Most of the taxiways, along with the original control tower, survive as evidence of the airfield's existence, and an entrance to part of the site, now a small industrial park, is named Nightjar Way.

Sea Cadet Training Centre (SCTC) Inskip, a national training centre for the Sea Cadet Corps, was situated on the site until its closure on 31 January 2010.[28]

In January 2012 the former SCTC reopened as the Inskip Cadet Centre and became the home of Cumbria & Lancashire Wing, Air Training Corps.[29] The Wing headquarters offices are situated in the old control tower.

Transmitter station

On 12 January 1959 the site opened as RN Wireless Station, Inskip. Around 90 radio masts and aerials were erected, including four masts of 600 feet (180 m) height, which remain notable features into the 2020s, illuminated by red warning lights and visible from a great distance. An accommodation block was built as an extension to the control tower. The site was commissioned in 1966 as HMS Inskip.[9]

In the 1980s there were Marconi 50 kW transmitters operating in the Very Low Frequency (VLF) band, transmitting Morse code to ships close to the United Kingdom.

Stanley Farm (on the left) and the radio masts at DCSA Inskip, with the Bowland Fells in the background

For long distance work, the shortwave bands were used, again transmitting Morse to ships mostly based on Marconi transmitters, typically 10 kW or less. The same information would be transmitted on different frequencies and it was the ship's responsibility to find the correct frequency to monitor. This was because of the different propagation characteristics of the various frequencies used.

The site is home to a high frequency transmitter station which prior to 2003 was operated by the Royal Navy. From 1998 to 2007 it was part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Defence High Frequency Communications Service (DHFCS), itself part of the Defence Communication Services Agency (DCSA) and was known as DCSA Inskip. The DCSA was disestablished in 2007, and the station is now operated by Babcock International Group on behalf of the MoD.[30] According to the sign on the gate it is now known as MOD Inskip.

Footnotes

  1. RAF standard runways were 150 ft (46 m) wide, but the Navy standard was narrower to simulate take-off and landing on aircraft carriers. Also, the RAF standard was just three runways, but the Navy standard was four to reduce crosswind severity, as carriers would sail into wind during flying operations, minimising crosswinds.[4]

References

  1. Ferguson 2004, p. 143.
  2. "R.N.A.S. Inskip (H.M.S. Nightjar)". Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939-present day. Royal Navy Research Archive. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  3. Smith 1990, p. 104.
  4. Ferguson 2004, p. 76.
  5. Ferguson 2004, p. 144.
  6. Ferguson 2004, pp. 144–145.
  7. Ferguson 2004, p. 145.
  8. "766 Naval Air Squadron". Wings-Aviation. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  9. Ferguson 2004, p. 161.
  10. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 56.
  11. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 60.
  12. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 68.
  13. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 78.
  14. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 79.
  15. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 80.
  16. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 83.
  17. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 110.
  18. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 166.
  19. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 171.
  20. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 186.
  21. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 193.
  22. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 218.
  23. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 231.
  24. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 253.
  25. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 340.
  26. Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 341.
  27. Ferguson 2004, p. 162.
  28. "DCSA Inskip". Wikimapia. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  29. "ATC Wing Details: Cumbria & Lancashire Wing, Air Cadets". Air Cadets Squadron Finder. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  30. "Defence High Frequency Communications Service". Doc Box. Babcock International Group. 2018. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 29 August 2023.

Bibliography

  • Ferguson, Aldon P. (2004). Lancashire Airfields in the Second World War. Newbury, UK: Countryside Books. ISBN 1-85306-873-X.
  • Smith, David J. (1990). Action Stations 3: Military Airfelds of Wales and the North-West (2nd ed.). Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-375-5.
  • Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
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