RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture)
St Merryn, Cornwall in England
Three rocket-armed Fairey Swordfish of 774 Naval Air Squadron during a training flight in 1944
RNAS St Merryn is located in Cornwall
RNAS St Merryn
RNAS St Merryn
Shown within Cornwall
Coordinates50°30′15″N 004°58′40″W / 50.50417°N 4.97778°W / 50.50417; -4.97778
TypeRoyal Naval Air Station
Site information
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Navy
Controlled byFleet Air Arm
Site history
Built1937 (1937)
In use1937-1956 (1956)
Airfield information
Elevation84 metres (276 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
04/22 830 metres (2,723 ft) Concrete
09/27 860 metres (2,822 ft) Concrete
13/31 1,100 metres (3,609 ft) Concrete
18/36 845 metres (2,772 ft) Concrete

RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture) is a former Royal Naval Air Station of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The site is located 7.35 miles (11.83 km) northeast of Newquay, Cornwall and 11.8 miles (19.0 km) northwest of Bodmin, Cornwall, England.

History

RNAS St Merryn was constructed during World War 2 with the stone for the runway being quarried from nearby Stepper Point and brought by sea.[1]

There were air raids on St Merryn Airfield and the nearby RAF St Eval on 9 October 1940 resulting in some damage at both locations. Two days later on 11 October there was another air raid on St Merryn. There were no casualties but some damage was caused on the airfield and to nearby houses.[2]

Units

The following units were here at some point:[3]

Current use

The site is now used for farming and a small amount of aircraft flying.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Duxbury, Brenda; Williams, Michael (1987). The River Camel. St Teath: Bossiney Books. p. 101. ISBN 0-948158-26-3.
  2. ^ ""When Bombs Fell" - The air-raids on Cornwall during WW2 : Part 2 - 1940". WW2 People's war. BBC. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b "St. Merryn". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 15 April 2015.

Media related to RNAS St Merryn at Wikimedia Commons

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