RAF Mona
Bodffordd,Anglesey in Wales
Entrance to RAF Mona.
Site information
Type	Royal Air Force station *RAF Relief Landing Ground
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	No. 22 Group (Training)
Location
RAF Mona Shown within Anglesey Show map of Anglesey RAF Mona RAF Mona (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom
Coordinates	53°15′31″N004°22′25″W / 53.25861°N 4.37361°W /53.25861; -4.37361
Site history
Built	1915 (1915)
In use	1915-Present
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: EGOQ
Elevation	62 metres (203 ft)AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 04/22 1,579 metres (5,180 ft) Asphalt

Royal Air Force Mona, or more simplyRAF Mona, (ICAO:EGOQ) is aRoyal Air Force station nearBodffordd on the island ofAnglesey,Wales. It is primarily used as a relief landing ground forRAF Valley.

RAF Mona is also the home of Mona Flying Club who operate some evenings and most weekends.

This location was first used for aviation during theFirst World War when theRoyal Naval Air Service opened anairship base here namedRoyal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Anglesey (also known asRNAS Bodffordd,RNAS Gwalchmai andRNAS Llangefni).^[1][2]

RNAS Anglesey was commissioned on 26 September 1915, when it was operated by 14 Group RNAS, operating SS18, anSS class airship, which was later joined by airships SS22, SS24 and SS25. The station had in a largeairship hangar, 120 by 318 feet (37 m × 97 m) long, workshops, hydrogen gas production sheds and accommodation huts. The airships, which could drop bombs, escorted ships and patrolled for enemy submarines in the central section of theIrish Sea betweenBardsey Island, Dublin, theIsle of Man andMorecambe Bay. This area includes the approaches to thePort of Liverpool, then one of the busiest ports in the world.^[1][3]

In June 1917 threeSSP class airships, SSP1, SSP5 and SSP6, replaced two of the original SS class airships, the other two old airships continued in use. The airships were later replaced by eightSSZ class airships, which had greater speed, endurance and bomb load.^[1][2]

The airships communicated by radio with a relay station atLlaneilian on the north coast of Anglesey, whose operators contacted the airship station by telephone.^[2]

In November 1917 an unsuccessful attempt was made to baseAirco DH.4 light bomber biplanes at RNAS Anglesey. From August to November 1918, eightAirco DH.6 biplanes ofNo. 255 Squadron RAF were based at RNAS Anglesey, but the poorly-drained land caused difficulty, and the aircraft were transferred to the newly openedBangor Aerodrome on the mainland.^[3]

In July 1918 a mooring-out site was established in the grounds ofMalahide Castle, 9 miles (14 km) north of Dublin. There were plans to base airships at Malahide from 1919, but the plans were abandoned at the end of the war.^[3]

Experimental work conducted at RNAS Anglesey during the First World War included the use ofhydrophones suspended under airships to detect submarines, the use ofphosphorus to createsmoke screens at sea, and the use of hydrogen from the airship envelope to fuel the engine.^[4][5]

At the end of the First World War, MajorThomas Elmhirst, the commanding officer of the station, celebrated thearmistice by successfully piloting an SSZ airship under theMenai Suspension Bridge.^[3] The act did not harm Elmhirst's career, and he later became Air Marshal Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst, a senior commander of the RAF.

In 1920 the site was bought byAnglesey County Council. The aircraft shed was demolished and some of the buildings were used as anisolation hospital.^[1][2]

In 1941 the site was requisitioned for use as an airfield, and the hospital was transferred toLlangefni.^[2] In 1942 threetee hangars and seventeenblister hangars were constructed, and concrete runways were laid in 1943. At this time the base was controlled byRAF Flying Training Command. The RAF base was initially namedRAF Heneglwys (a nearby hamlet) but was soon renamed RAF Mona (Latin for Anglesey).^[6]

The base was intended to be used by No. 6 Air Gunnery School (AGS), but this unit was not established and RAF Mona was instead used by 3 AGS, which transferred fromRAF Castle Kennedy in south-west Scotland in December 1942. 3 AGS was initially equipped with 48Blackburn Botha torpedo bombers, 6Fairey Battle light bombers and 8Miles Martinet target tug aircraft. These were subsequently replaced byAvro Anson multi-role aircraft. in October 1943, 3 AGS returned to RAF Castle Kennedy.^[6]

In spring 1943 RAF Mona was used by No. 5 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit to train Turkish officers, usingMiles Master aircraft. From November 1943 until June 1945, No. 8 (Observers) Advanced Flying Unit were based at RAF Mona, equipped withAvro Ansons. At the end of the Second World War, 1,378 officers and men of the RAF and 408 officers and women of theWAAF were based at RAF Mona. The airfield was placed on care and maintenance at the end of the war.^[6]

RAF Mona reopened in 1951 as a relief landing ground for RAF Valley, then used by No. 202 Advanced Flying School operatingde Havilland Vampire jet fighters.^[6] RAF Mona still has this role.

Today, Mona is used for circuit practice byBAE Systems Hawk T.2's from RAF Valley along with a civilian flying club and 2474 (Cefni) SquadronAir Training Corps.

The following units were based at RAF Mona:^[7]

• No. 3 Air Gunners School RAF (December 1942 - November 1943)^[8]
• Satellite ofNo. 4 Flying Training School RAF (August 1960 - )^[9]
• Detachment of No. 5 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF (February - March 1943)^[10]
• Relief Landing Ground forNo. 7 Flying Training School RAF (June 1954 - August 1960)^[9]
• No. 8 (Observers) Advanced Flying Unit RAF (November 1943 - June 1945)^[10]
• No. 63 Gliding School RAF (June - December 1946)^[11]
• Relief Landing Ground forNo. 202 Advanced Flying School RAF (July 1951 - June 1954)^[12]
• No. 255 Squadron RAF
• No. 521 (Special Duty) Flight (June - August 1918)^[13]
• No. 522 (Special Duty) Flight (June - August 1918)^[13]
• No. 577 Squadron RAF
• Detachment ofNo. 1606 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF (January - February 1943 & February 1944)^[14]

A Hawk aircraft crashed at RAF Mona in 2007. The pilot ejected safely and made a full recovery.^[15]

A Hawk aircraft overshot the runway on 13 September 2013. The aircraft was practising forced landings when it hit a goose while on the runway and ended up in the arresting safety net. Both instructor and pupil were unhurt.^[16]

In June 2016 a man was convicted of endangering aircraft by shining a powerful torch at pilots undertaking night-time fast jet training at RAF Mona.^[17]

• List of Royal Air Force stations
• List of air stations of the Royal Navy

• McLelland, Tim (2010).Action Stations Revisited: The Complete History of Britain's Military Airfields. Vol. 5: Wales and the Midlands. Manchester, UK: Crecy Pub.ISBN 978-0-85979-111-3.
• Sturtivant, R.; Hamlin, J. (2007).Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912. UK: Air-Britain (Historians).ISBN 978-0851-3036-59.

• Mona Flying Club
• UK Military Aeronautical Information Publication – Mona (EGOQ)

• Buildings and structures in Anglesey
• Royal Air Force stations in Wales
• Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom
• Royal Naval Air Stations in Wales
• Military airbases established in 1942

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2023
• Use British English from May 2013
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• CS1: long volume value