RM Condor | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NearArbroath,Angus in Scotland | |||||||
 The entrance to RM Condor | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Type | Royal Marines base | ||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||
| Operator |  Royal Navy | ||||||
| Controlled by |  Royal Marines | ||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||
| Website | RM Condor - Royal Navy | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
  RM Condor Shown within Angus Show map of Angus RM Condor RM Condor (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom | |||||||
| Coordinates | 56°34′56″N002°37′31″W / 56.58222°N 2.62528°W /56.58222; -2.62528 | ||||||
| Area | 201 hectares[1] | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1938 (1938) | ||||||
| In use | 1938 – 1971 (Fleet Air Arm) 1971 – present (Royal Marines) | ||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||
| Current commander | Lieutenant Colonel Innes Catton[2] | ||||||
| Garrison | UK Commando Force | ||||||
| Occupants | 45 Commando Group
| ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Elevation | 49 metres (161 ft)AMSL | ||||||
| |||||||
RM Condor is a largeRoyal Marines base located nearArbroath in EastAngus, Scotland. The base also houses 7 (Sphinx) Battery Royal Artillery, part of29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery.
The base was first constructed as anaval air station for theRoyal NavysFleet Air Arm in 1938, when it was known asRoyal Naval Air Station Arbroath (RNAS Arbroath; orHMSCondor). It was opened on 19 June 1940. From the outset it was a training base, primarily involved in thetraining ofnaval aviators. A purpose-built 'aircraft carrier' sized landing area was constructed on the airfield and it, along with another similar facility at nearby East Haven, Angus,HMSPeewit was used to train aircrew in deck landing operations. In October, 1940, the base was attacked byLuftwaffeHeinkel He 111 bombers, operating from Norway, which resulted in minor damage (then valued at £6,000) being sustained to some Squadron buildings. Throughout thewar years the base was additionally used as a rest area. Operational Squadrons from Royal Navyfleet andescortaircraft carriers would take it in turn to spend rest periods whilst their ships were undergoing maintenance at Scottish Naval ship repair facilities.[3]
Flying stopped in 1954 and the base became the home of the Royal Navy Aircraft Engineering Training School which had transferred fromHMSDaedalus atLee-on-Solent, Hampshire. It continued in this role until 1 April 1971 when the base became the home to45 CommandoRoyal Marines, a part of3 Commando Brigade.[4]
The base was thereafter known as RM Condor or Condor Barracks and remains an operational base to this day.[5]
A Better Defence Estate, published in November 2016, indicated that the Ministry of Defence would dispose of the airfield section of RM Condor by 2024.[6] In 2019, this decision was dropped, and the site will remain in use.[7]
The following units have been based here:[8]
Units based at RM Condor.[10]
The establishment is also home to the Royal Marines Cadets of Arbroath Division Royal MarinesVolunteer Cadet Corps.[11]
The redundant airfieldcontrol tower is a category Clisted building. The three storey building is one of two surviving examples of this particular type of control tower, which features an ambulance and crash tender garage. The tower, which was listed in May 2006, is noted byHistoric Environment Scotland as being important in terms of naval and Second World War history, as well as for its local significance.[12]
The Captain's House, formerly known as 'Woodlands', dates from the early 19th century. The two-storey and basementRegencymansion was listed as category B in June 1971.[13]
| Current |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former UK |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former overseas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
