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| HMS Fieldfare RNAS Evanton RAF Evanton   | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evanton,Ross and Cromarty, in Scotland | |||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station Royal Naval Air Station | ||||||||
| Owner | Admiralty Air Ministry | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Navy 1944-48 Royal Air Force | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Fleet Air Arm RAF Bomber Command RAF Coastal Command | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
  HMS Fieldfare Shown within Ross and Cromarty | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 57°39′58″N004°18′27″W / 57.66611°N 4.30750°W /57.66611; -4.30750 | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1922 (1922) | ||||||||
| In use | 1922-1950 (1950) | ||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 5 metres (16 ft)AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
HMS Fieldfare also known as R.A.F. Landing Ground Novar, thenRNAS Evanton and later asRAF Evanton, is a disused airfield inRoss and Cromarty,Scotland. It lies on the shore of theCromarty Firth near the village ofEvanton. In the 1934 edition of the loose-leaf publication 'The Air Pilot' (3rd edition) published by The Air Ministry the field is designated as 'R.A.F. Landing Ground (Seasonal) Novar'. The name Novar was later changed to Evanton.
An airfield was established on the site in 1922 to support theRoyal Navy'sHome Fleet, which had one of its main bases nearby atInvergordon. (Before arriving in port, aircraft carriers must fly off their aircraft to a land base: it is difficult or impossible for fixed wing aircraft to operate from a carrier while the ship is at anchor.) Originally, the navy used a site atDelny, nearInvergordon, but it could not be enlarged for larger planes. At first, the airfield was known as the Novar base, after theNovar estate which owned the land. At the time naval aviation was in the hands of "The Fleet Air Arm of the RAF" and HMS Fieldfare was serviced fromRAF Leuchars.
The dimensions of the'landing area' (1934 'The Air Pilot') were given as N–S 600 yards, NE–SW 700 yards, E–W 700 yards, SE–NW 500 yards. It was 20 ft (6 metres) asl, and grass covered. Six nearby radio masts were dismantled during the period Oct-April. Cattle were grazed on the landing area from approximately 15 June – 25 August.[1]
In 1937 it was decided to expand the aerodrome and it became a flight and bombing training school. By the start of theSecond World War the Home Fleet had moved toScapa Flow in theOrkney Islands to be out of range ofGerman Bombers.
OnEmpire Day 1939 78 RAF stations were opened to the public. RAF Evanton was the farthest north and attracted a mile long queue of cars and 9,000 visitors.
The airfield was shared by the RAF, to whom it was known as RAF Evanton. During the War it was used principally as a training base, particularly for the training of air gunners. By 1943 it was being used for Coastal Command maintenance and it later became storage yard with up to 250 aircraft. TheCromarty Firth was used as a seaplane base during the War and the RAF maintained a presence inAlness until at least the 1980s.
RAF Evanton was used for secret flights in the 1950s.[2]
Today the site is a large industrial estate with many of the hangars and buildings still in use today, parts of the X-shaped runways can still be seen.
The site is split by the A9 trunk road and an oil pipeline companyTechnipFMC has built a largeSpoolbase and pier incorporating part of the runways as pipe storage racks.
Some of the personnel housing is still in use since being sold by the MoD.
