List of air stations of the Royal Navy

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

This is a list of Naval Air Stations of the Royal Navy. Naval Air Stations are land bases of the Fleet Air Arm, the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft.

Current Naval Air Stations

Currently RNAS means "Royal Naval Air Station" and, in common with the Royal Air Force, is always followed by a geographical place in which the air station is located. (Historically RNAS is the "Royal Naval Air Service")

• RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) - Culdrose, Helston, Cornwall, England
  • RNAS Predannack (satellite airfield) - Mullion, Cornwall
• RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron) - Yeovilton, Somerset, England
  • RNAS Merryfield (satellite airfield) - Ilton, Somerset

Former Naval Air Stations

RNAS	HMS	RAF	RN Years active	Current county	Country	Notes
Abbotsinch	Sanderling	Abbotsinch	1939-1963	Renfrewshire	Scotland	Now Glasgow Airport
n/a	n/a	Aldergrove	1939-40 1977-1982	Co. Antrim	Northern Ireland	Naval units as lodgers on an RAF Base. Now Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove
Angle	Goldcrest	Angle	1943	Pembrokeshire	Wales
Anthorn	Nuthatch	Anthorn	1944-58	Cumbria	England	Now Anthorn Radio Station
Arbroath	Condor	n/a	1940-1971	Angus	Scotland	Now RM Condor
Archerfield	Nabreekie	n/a	1945-46	Queensland	Australia	MONAB VII
Ayr	Wagtail	Heathfield Ayr	1944-46	South Ayrshire	Scotland
Ballyhalbert	Corncrake	Ballyhalbert	1945	Co. Down	Northern Ireland
Ballykelly	Sealion	Ballykelly	1945-1971	Co. Londonderry	Northern Ireland	Lodger facilities only until 1962. Now Shackleton Barracks
Bankstown	Nabberley	n/a	1944-1946	New South Wales	Australia	MONAB II. Now Bankstown Airport
Beccles	Hornbill II	Beccles	-1945	Suffolk	England	Lodger facilities only.
n/a	n/a	Benbecula		Western Isles	Scotland	Lodger facilities only. Now RRH Benbecula
n/a	n/a	Benson		Oxfordshire	England	Lodger facilities only. Now RAF Benson
n/a	n/a	Bircham Newton		Norfolk	England	Lodger facilities only.
Boaz Island	Malabar	n/a	?	Sandys Parish	Bermuda
n/a	n/a	Boscombe Down		Wiltshire	England	Now MoD Boscombe Down
Bramcote	Gamecock	Bramcote	1946-58	Warwickshire	England	Now Gamecock Barracks
n/a	n/a	Bratton	1943-44	Shropshire	England	Provided training facilities for RNAS Hinstock during 1943/44
Brawdy	Goldcrest Goldcrest II	Brawdy	1946-1971	Pembrokeshire	Wales	Now Cawdor Barracks
Bungay	Europa II	Bungay Flixton	1945-46	Suffolk	England
Burscough	Ringtail	n/a	1943-46	Lancashire	England
n/a	n/a	Bush Barn No. 44 SLG	1944-5	Oxfordshire	England
Calshot	n/a	Calshot	1913-22	Hampshire	England
Campbeltown	Landrail Landrail II	n/a	1940-45	Argyll & Bute	Scotland	Located 1 mile SE of RAF Machrihanish, grass landing ground north of the B843.
Capel	n/a	Folkestone	1915-19	Kent	England
Cattewater	n/a	Cattewater Mount Batten	1917-18	Devon	England
Charlton Horethorne	Heron II	Charlton Horethorne	1943-45	Somerset	England
China Bay	Bambara	n/a		Trincomalee	Sri Lanka	Now China Bay Airport
Chingford	n/a	Chingford	1915-19	Greater London	England	Now William Girling Reservoir
n/a	Raven	Christchurch	?-1945	Dorset	England	Lodger facilities with a Naval Air Section and the Naval Air Radio Installation Unit.
n/a (Station in Reserve)	n/a	Cluntoe	1947-mid 1950s	Co. Tyrone	Northern Ireland	Used occasionally.
Coimbatore Sulur	Garuda Vairi	n/a	1942-46	Cochin	India	Now Sulur Air Force Station
Colombo Racecourse	Bherunda	Colombo Racecourse	1943-45	Colombo	Sri Lanka	Now Colombo Racecourse
Cowdray Park	n/a	n/a	1941-45	West Sussex	England	Private airfield requisitioned for the storage of obsolescent naval aircraft.
Crail	Bruce Jackdaw	Crail	1940-1961	Fife	Scotland
RNAS Training Establishment, Cranwell	Daedalus (Thunderbolt)	Cranwell	1916-1918	Lincolnshire	England	Now Royal Air Force College
Culham	Hornbill	n/a	1944-1953	Oxfordshire	England	Now Culham Science Centre
Culmhead	n/a	Culmhead Churchstanton		Somerset	England	Lodger facilities only. Now Culmhead Business Centre
Dale	Goldcrest	Dale	1943-48	Pembrokeshire	Wales
n/a	n/a	Defford		Worcestershire	England	RN Air Section attached to Telecommunications Flying Unit RAF.
Dekheila	Grebe	n/a	1940-46		Egypt
Diego Suarez	n/a	n/a	1940-46		Madagascar
n/a	Seaborn	n/a	1940-46		Canada	Lodger facilities only. Now CFB Shearwater
n/a	n/a	Detling	1940-41	Kent	England	Lodger facilities only.
n/a	n/a	Docking	1942-44	Norfolk	England	Lodger facilities only.
Donibristle	Merlin	Donibristle	1939-1959	Fife	Scotland
Dounreay	Tern II		1944-54	Highland	Scotland	Never commissioned.
Drem	Nighthawk	Drem	1945-46	East Lothian	Scotland	Lodger facilities until 1945.
Dundee	Condor II	Dundee	1941-44	Dundee City	Scotland
n/a	n/a	Dundonald	1944	South Ayrshire	Scotland	Lodger facilities only.
Dunino	Jackdaw II	Dunino	1942-46	Fife	Scotland
n/a	n/a	Duxford	1941-43	Cambridgeshire	England	Lodger facilities only.
East Haven	Peewit		1943-46	Angus	Scotland
Eastchurch	n/a	Eastchurch	1910-1918	Kent	England	Now HM Prison Standford Hill
n/a	Raven	Eastleigh Southampton	1935-39, 1939-1947	Hampshire	England	Now Southampton Airport
Eglinton	Gannet	Eglinton	1943-1959 1960-63	Co. Londonderry	Northern Ireland	Now City of Derry Airport
Evanton	Fieldfare	Evanton Novar	1944-48	Highland	Scotland
Fearn	Owl	Fearn	1942-46	Highland	Scotland
Ford	Peregrine	Ford Ford Junction	1939-1958	West Sussex	England	Now HM Prison Ford
n/a	n/a	Fraserburgh		Aberdeenshire	Scotland	Lodger facilities only.
Gan	Haitian	Gan	1941-57	Addu Atoll	Maldives	Now Gan International Airport
Gosport	Siskin	Gosport	1940-56	Hampshire	Scotland
Grimsetter	Robin	Grimsetter	1943-45	Orkney	Scotland	Now Kirkwall Airport
Haldon	Heron II	Haldon	1941-43	Devon	England
Halifax	Canada Saker		?	Nova Scotia	Canada
Halesworth	Sparrowhawk	Halesworth	1945-46	Suffolk	England	Lodger facilities until 1945
Hastings	Spurwing	Hastings	1943-44		Sierra Leone	Lodger facilities until 1943
Hatston	Sparrowhawk Tern II		1939-1945	Orkney	Scotland
Heath Row	n/a	Heathrow	1944-45	Greater London	England	Lodger facilities for a flight of 781 Naval Air Squadron only. Now Heathrow airport
Henstridge	Dipper	n/a	1943-46 1946-1954	Somerset	England	Henstridge Airfield
Hinstock	Godwit	Ollerton	1943-47	Shropshire	England
Hornsea Mere	n/a	Atwick	?-1918	East Yorkshire	England
Inskip	Nightjar	n/a	1943-46	Lancashire	England
n/a	n/a	Helier	1940	Jersey	Channel Islands
n/a	Nabstock	n/a	1945-46	Queensland	Australia	MONAB VI
Jervis Bay	Nabswick	n/a	1945-46	New South Wales	Australia	MONAB V
Kai Tak	Nabcatcher Flycatcher	Kai Tak	1947-?	Kowloon Bay	Hong Kong	MONAB VIII
Katukurunda	Ukussa	Katukurunda		Katukurunda	Sri Lanka.[1]	Now Katukurunda Airport
Kete	Harrier	n/a	1945-1961	Pembrokeshire	Wales
Kilindini	Kipanga	n/a	1942-44	Mombasa	Kenya
Kirkistown	Corncrake II	Kirkistown	1945-46	Co. Down	Northern Ireland	Lodger facilities only during WWII. Satellite airfield from July 1945.
Komenda	Wara	Takoradi	Oct-Dec 1943		Ghana	Now Takoradi Airport
n/a	n/a	Langham	1942-44	Norfolk	England	Lodger facilities only.
Lawrenny Ferry	Daedalus II	n/a	1942-43	Pembrokeshire	Wales
Lee-on-Solent	Ariel Daedalus III	Lee-on-Solent	1939-1995	Hampshire	England
n/a	n/a	Leuchars	?-1938 1972-78	Fife	Scotland	Lodger facilities only. Now Leuchars Station
Lewiston	Saker	n/a	1943-5	Maine	United States	Now Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport
Limavady	n/a	Limavady	1944 1945-?	Co. Londonderry	Northern Ireland	Lodger facilities during 1944. Naval charge from 1945.
Long Kesh	n/a	Long Kesh	1944-45	Co. Antrim	Northern Ireland	Lodger facilities only.
Lossiemouth	Fulmar	Lossiemouth	1946-1979	Moray	Scotland	Now RAF Lossiemouth.
Luce Bay	n/a	West Freugh	1940-43	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland	Lodger facilities only. Now MoD West Freugh
Ludham	Flycatcher	Ludham	1944-?	Norfolk	England
Lympne	Buzzard Daedalus II	Lympne	1939-1940	Kent	England
Machrihanish	Landrail	Machrihanish	1941-46 1951-52	Argyll & Bute	Scotland	Now MoD Machrihanish & Campbeltown Airport
Mackinnon Road	Tana Kipanga II	n/a	1942-44	Taita-Taveta	Kenya	Now Mackinnon Road Airport
Macmerry	n/a	Macmerry	1945-46	East Lothian	Scotland
Manston		Manston	1933-35 WW2 1974	Kent	England	Used by FAA squadron between 1933 and 1935. Lodger facilities during WW2 and used by 845 Naval Air Squadron briefly during early 1974. Now Manston Airport
Maydown	Shrike Gannet II	Maydown	1943-45	Co. Londonderry	Northern Ireland
Middle Wallop	Flycatcher	Middle Wallop	1945-46	Hampshire	England	Now AAC Middle Wallop
Milltown	Fulmar II	Milltown	1946-1972	Moray	Scotland
Minnerya	n/a	Minnerya	1942-46		Sri Lanka	Lodger facilities only. Now Hingurakgoda Airport
Narborough	n/a	Narborough	Aug 1916-1916	Norfolk	England	Now RAF Marham
n/a	n/a	North Coates	1940-41	Lincolnshire	England
Nowra	Nabbington Nabswick	n/a	Jan-Nov 1945 1945-1946	New South Wales	Australia	MONAB I MONAB V. Now HMAS Albatross (air station)
Nutts Corner	Pintail	Nutts Corner	1945-46	Co. Antrim	Northern Ireland
Palisadoes	Malabar III Buzzard	n/a	1941-43	Kingston	Jamaica	Now Norman Manley International Airport
n/a	n/a	Pembroke Dock	1940-41	Pembrokeshire	Wales	Lodger facilities only.
Peplow	Godwit II	Peplow	1945-49	Shropshire	England
n/a	n/a	Perranporth	1944	Cornwall	England	Lodger facilities only.
n/a	n/a	Peterhead	1942-44	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	Lodger facilities only.
Piarco	Malabar II Goshawk	n/a	1940-46		Trinidad	Now Piarco International Airport
n/a	Kipanga	Port Reitz	?	Mombasa	Kenya	Lodger facilities only.
Ponam	Nabaron	n/a	Apr-Nov 1945	Admiralty Islands	Papua New Guinea	MONAB IV
Portland	Osprey	Portland	1959-1999	Dorset	England
Prestwick	Gannet	Prestwick	1971-2016	Ayrshire	Scotland
Puttalam	Rajaliya	n/a	1942-45	Puttalam District	Sri Lanka
Quonset Point	Asbury	n/a	1942-1943	Rhode Island	United States	Now Quonset Point Air National Guard Station
Rattray Head Rattray Crimond	Merganser		Oct 1944- Sept 1946	Aberdeenshire	Scotland
Roborough	Drake II	Roborough	1939-1942 Postwar	Devon	England
Ronaldsway	Urley	Ronaldsway	1944-46		Isle of Man
Sandbanks	Daedalus	n/a	1940-43	Dorset	England
Schofields	Nabthorpe Nabstock	n/a	Feb-Nov 1945 Nov 1945- ?	New South Wales	Australia	MONAB III MONAB VI. Now Schofields Defence Depot, up for sale.
n/a	n/a	St Davids	1947-1961	Pembrokeshire	Wales
n/a	n/a	St Mawgan Trebelzue	1954-56	Cornwall	England	Used by 744 Naval Air Squadron
St Merryn	Curlew Vulure		1940-1956	Cornwall	England
Sembawang	Simbang Nabrock	Sembawang			Singapore	MONAB IX
Sigiriya	n/a	Sigiriya			Sri Lanka	Lodger facilities only. Now Sigiriya Airport
Skaebrae	Tern II	Skaebrae	1940-?	Orkney	Scotland	Lodger facilities only initially.
n/a	n/a	Skitten	1940-41	Caithness	Scotland	Lodger facilities only.
Speke	n/a	Speke	1942-45	Merseyside	England	Lodger facilities only initially, housed a RN Air Section. Now Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Stornoway	Mentor II	Stornoway	1940-41 1943-44	Outer Hebrides	Scotland	Seaplane base initially then handed to the RAF and lodger facilities were available.
Stretton	Blackcap	n/a	1942-1958	Cheshire	England
Sullom Voe	n/a	Sullom Voe	1940-41	Shetland	Scotland	Lodger unit on an RAF base.
n/a	n/a	Sumburgh	1941-42	Shetland	Scotland	Lodger facilities only. Now Sumburgh Airport
Sydenham	Gadwall Gannet III	Sydenham	1943-1973	Co. Antrim	Northern Ireland	Also known as RNAS Belfast. Now George Best Belfast City Airport
n/a	n/a	Tain	1942-44	Ross and Cromarty	Scotland	Lodger facilities only.
Tambaram	Valluru	Tambaram	1944-45	Madras	India	Now Tambaram Air Force Station
Tanga	Kilele	n/a	1942-44		Tanzania	Now Tanga Airport
n/a	Falcon	Hal Far	1929-50 1952-67		Malta
n/a	Goldfinch	Ta Kali			Malta	Lodger facilities only
Tangmere	n/a	Tangmere	1942-50	West Sussex	England	Lodger facilities only initially, the Naval Air Fighting Development Unit was present at some point.
Thorney Island	n/a	Thorney Island	1940-48	West Sussex	England	Lodger facilities only initially, used by the Naval Air Sea Warfare Development Unit at some point. Now Baker Barracks
Tresco	n/a	Tresco	1917-19	Isles of Scilly, Cornwall	England
n/a	n/a	Turnhouse	1942-44	City of Edinburgh	Scotland	Lodger facilities only. Now Edinburgh Airport
Twatt	Tern	Twatt	1941-1957	Orkney	Scotland
Voi	Tana Kipanga II	n/a	1944		Kenya	Never commissioned
Walmer	n/a	Walmer	1917-1918	Kent	England	Hawkshill Freedown (open land)
Wingfield	Malagas	n/a	1942-46	Western Cape	South Africa	Now SAS Wingfield
Woodvale	Ringtail II	Woodvale	1942-45 1945-46	Merseyside	England	Lodger facilities only initially, satellite airfield postwar.
Worthy Down	Kestrel HMS Ariel	Worthy Down	1938-39 1939-1950 1952-1960	Hampshire	England	Lodger facilities only pre WWII. Now Worthy Down Barracks
Zeals	Hummingbird	Zeals	1945-46	Wiltshire	England

Former Naval Air Stations by ship name (HMS xxx)

HMS means Her Majesty's Ship (or His Majesty's Ship if before February 1952).

Some smaller and some very early Naval Air Stations in the list above were not commissioned as HM Ships. Those below were commissioned and, therefore, have a ship's name. Royal Navy shore bases and naval air stations have traditionally been named in the same manner as seagoing ships.

Officers were appointed to HMS xxx rather than to RNAS xxx and, similarly, ratings' Service Certificates will show only the name of the ship when drafted to a Naval Air Station. Thus, this list may help when researching family history records.

HMS	Nearest Town	County	Country	Current use
HMS Ariel	South Wonston	Hampshire	England
HMS Ariel	Lee-on-the-Solent	Hampshire	England
HMS Blackcap	Stretton	Cheshire	England
HMS Buzzard	Lympne	Kent	England	Industrial estate
HMS Buzzard	Palisadoes	Kingston	Jamaica
HMS Condor	Arbroath	Angus	Scotland	RM Condor
HMS Corncrake	Ballyhalbert	Co. Down	Northern Ireland	Housing
HMS Curlew	St Merryn	Cornwall	England	Farmland
HMS Daedalus II	Lympne	Kent	England	Industrial Estate
HMS Daedalus II	Sandbanks	Dorset	England
HMS Daedalus II	Lawrenny Ferry	Pembrokeshire	Wales
HMS Daedalus III	Lee-on-the-Solent	Hampshire	England	Lee-on-Solent Airfield
HMS Europa II	Bungay	Suffolk	England
HMS Falcon	Ħal Far		Malta	Industrial Estate
HMS Fieldfare	Evanton	Ross and Cromarty	Scotland	Industrial Estate
HMS Flycatcher	Ludham	Norfolk	England	Farmland
HMS Flycatcher	Middle Wallop	Hampshire	England	AAC Middle Wallop
HMS Flycatcher	Kai Tak	Kowloon Bay	England	Kai Tak Development
HMS Fulmar	Lossiemouth	Morayshire	Scotland	RAF Lossiemouth
HMS Gadwall	Sydenham	Belfast	Northern Ireland	George Best Belfast City Airport
HMS Gamecock	Bramcote	Warwickshire	England	Gamecock Barracks
HMS Gannet	Eglinton	Co. Londonderry	Northern Ireland	City of Derry Airport
HMS Gannet	Prestwick	South Ayrshire	Scotland	HMS Gannet
HMS Gannet II	Maydown	Co. Londonderry	Northern Ireland	Industry
HMS Gannet III	Belfast	Co. Antrim	Northern Ireland	George Best Belfast City Airport
HMS Godwit	Ollerton	Shropshire	England
HMS Goldcrest	Angle	Pembrokeshire	Wales	Cawdor Barracks
HMS Goldfinch	Ta' Qali		Malta	Park
HMS Grebe	Alexandria		Egypt
HMS Heron II	Charlton Horethorne	Somerset	England	Farmland
HMS Heron II	Haldon Hills	Devon	England
HMS Hornbill	Culham, Abingdon	Oxfordshire	England	Fusion research facility
HMS Hornbill II	Beccles	Suffolk	England	Various
HMS Hummingbird	Zeals	Wiltshire	England	Farmland
HMS Icarus	Scapa Flow	Orkney	Scotland	?
HMS Jackdaw II	Kingsbarns	Fife	Scotland
HMS Kipanga	Kilindini	Mombasa County	Kenya
HMS Kipanga II	Mackinnon Road	Taita-Taveta County	Kenya
HMS Kipanga II	Moi International Airport	Mombasa County	Kenya	Moi International Airport
HMS Kestrel	South Wonston	Hampshire	England	Worthy Down Barracks
HMS Landrail	Machrihanish	Argyllshire	Scotland	Campbeltown Airport
HMS Malabar	Boaz Island	Sandys Parish	Bermuda	Housing
HMS Merganser	Rattray	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	Long range radio station
HMS Mentor II	Stornoway	Outer Hebrides	Scotland	Stornoway Airport
HMS Merlin	Donibristle	Fife	Scotland	Dalgety Bay
HMS Nabaron	Ponam Island		Papua New Guinea
HMS Nabberley	Bankstown		Australia	Bankstown Airport
HMS Nabbington	Nowra		Australia	HMAS Albatross
HMS Nabcatcher	Kowloon Bay	Kowloon Peninsula	Hong Kong
HMS Nabhurst	Middle Wallop	Hampshire	England
HMS Nabreekie	Pinkenba	Brisbane	Australia
HMS Nabrock	Sembawang		Singapore
HMS Nabstock	Maryborough	Queensland	Australia
HMS Nabswick	Jervis Bay	New South Wales	Australia
HMS Nabthorpe	Schofields	New South Wales	Australia	RAAF Station Schofields
HMS Nighthawk	Drem	East Lothian	Scotland	RAF Drem Museum
HMS Nightjar	Inskip	Lancashire	England
HMS Nuthatch	Anthorn	Cumbria	England	Anthorn Radio Station
HMS Osprey	Portland	Dorset	England	Coastguard base
HMS Owl	Fearn	Ross and Cromarty	Scotland
HMS Peewit	East Haven	Angus	Scotland
HMS Peregrine	Ford	West Sussex	England
HMS Pintail	Crumlin	Co. Antrim	Northern Ireland
HMS Raven	Eastleigh	Hampshire	England	Southampton International Airport
HMS Ringtail	Burscough/Ormskirk	Lancashire	England
HMS Robin	Kirkwall	Orkney	Scotland	Kirkwall Airport
HMS Sanderling	Abbotsinch	Renfrewshire	Scotland	Glasgow Airport
HMS Seaborn	Halifax	Nova Scotia	Canada	CFB Shearwater
HMS Sealion	Ballykelly	Co. Londonderry	Northern Ireland	Shackleton Barracks
HMS Shrike	Maydown	Co. Londonderry	Northern Ireland	Industry
HMS Simbang	Sembawang		Singapore	Sembawang Air Base
HMS Siskin	Gosport	Hampshire	England	HMS Sultan
HMS Sparrowhawk	Kirkwall	Orkney	Scotland	Industrial Estate
HMS Spurwing	Hastings	Western Area	Sierra Leone
HMS Tern	Twatt	Orkney	Scotland
HMS Ukussa	Kalutara	Western Province	Sri Lanka	Katukurunda Airport
HMS Urley	Ronaldsway		Isle of Man	Isle of Man Airport
HMS Vulture	St Merryn	Cornwall	England	Farmland
HMS Vulture II	Treligga	Cornwall	England
HMS Wagtail	Heathfield	South Ayrshire	Scotland	Glasgow Prestwick Airport

See also

• Mobile Naval Air Base
• List of airports in the United Kingdom
• List of Royal Air Force stations
• List of Royal Navy shore establishments
• Royal Navy Dockyard
• Seaplane bases in the United Kingdom
• Aircraft Handler
• List of airfields of the Army Air Corps
• Lists of military installations
• List of British Army installations

References

1. Fleet Air Arm Officers' Association, FAAOA

"FAA Bases home page". Retrieved 21 Mar 2016.