RAF Leuchars
Leuchars Station
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| Near Leuchars, Fife in Scotland | |||||||||
 EGQL
Shown within Fife
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| Coordinates | 56°22′23″N 002°52′07″W / 56.37306°N 2.86861°WCoordinates: 56°22′23″N 002°52′07″W / 56.37306°N 2.86861°W | ||||||||
| Type | Army Barracks | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator | British Army | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1916 | ||||||||
| In use | 1916-2015 as RAF Leuchars 2015-present as Leuchars Station |
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| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Current commander |
Lieutenant Colonel Ben Cattermole | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: ADX, ICAO: EGQL, WMO: 03171 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 12 metres (39 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
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Leuchars Station is a British Army installation located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, near to the university town of St Andrews.
Formerly RAF Leuchars (IATA: ADX, ICAO: EGQL), it was the second most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom (The most northerly being RAF Lossiemouth). The Station ceased to be an RAF Station at 1200 hrs on 31 March 2015 when control of the site was transferred to the Army.
Aviation at Leuchars dates back to 1911 with a balloon squadron of the Royal Engineers setting up a training camp in Tentsmuir Forest. They were soon joined in the skies by the 'string and sealing wax' aircraft of the embryonic Royal Flying Corps; such aircraft favoured the sands of St Andrews, where not the least of the attractions was the availability of fuel from local garages.
Like so many RAF stations, the airfield itself owes its existence to the stimulus of war, and work began on levelling the existing site on Reres Farm in 1916. From the beginning, Leuchars was intended as a training unit, being termed a 'Temporary Mobilisation Station' taking aircrew from initial flying training through to fleet co-operation work. Building was still underway when the Armistice was signed in 1918. Most was made of Leuchars' maritime location when it was designated a Naval Fleet Training School, eventually to undertake the training of 'naval spotting' crews who acted as eyes for the Royal Navy's capital ships.
The unit was formally named 'Royal Air Force Leuchars' on 16 March 1920, but nevertheless retained its strong naval links.
As the Navy embraced the value of aviation, the aircraft carrier was added to its inventory. Many of the flights dedicated to Leuchars were detached to such vessels for months at a time, with light and dark blue uniforms apparently mixing happily together. At St Andrews, the citizens were not unaware of the potential uses of aviation and attempts were made to use aircraft as a means of transport for golfing enthusiasts. More successful were the barn-storming displays of the flying circuses which were extremely popular in the town.
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Wikipedia