Kirkwall
KIRKWALL: Military WW2 aerodrome (RN GRIMSETTER & HMS ROBIN) before reverting to civil regional airport
Note: Still known simply as GRIMSETTER in the 1950s, possibly longer.
This picture (2016) was obtained from Google Earth ©
A MIKE CHARLTON GALLERY
Note: These pictures were taken by and kindly sent by Mike Charlton. As can be seen, the Loganair logo does appear on this Saab, and it is in fact operated by Loganair. However, joint services are becoming more and more common, and the dominant colour scheme quite often hides the identity of the actual owner/operator.
These two pictures from postcards were also kindly sent by Mike Charlton who has an amazing collection. See, www.aviationpostcard.co.uk
Operated by: 1948: Ministry of Civil Aviation
1965: Ministry of Aviation
1975: Department of Trade & Industry
1980s to 2000: Highland & Island Airports Ltd
Military users: WW2: Originally a RAF Fighter Station.
Later RN Disembarked Squadrons
British airline users:
During WW2: Allied Airways
Post 1945: Air Cargo Distributors, Allied Airways, BEA, British Airways (Regional), Flybe, Loganair
Note: This picture was kindly sent to me in June 2020 by Mr Michael T Holder. Note the BEA Dakota.
Air ambulance: Post 1945: Loganair
Flying Club: Orkney Popular Flying Club
Note: In the 1957 The Aeroplane directory, the Orkney Popular Flying Group were listed as operating one DH82A Tiger Moth.
Location: N of A960, 2.5nm SE of Kirkwall, S of Iganess Bay
Period of operation: Military from 1940 to 1948 Then civil to -
Note: These maps are reproduced with the kind permission of Pooleys Flight Equipment Ltd. Copyright Robert Pooley 2014.
Runways: Originally ‘all over’ grass airfield? (If on this site of course)
WW2: 07/25 1198x46 hard 10/28 1138x46 hard 15/33 887x46 hard
1959: 07/25 1183x46 hard 10/28 1138x46 hard 15/33 879x46 hard
1965: 07/25 1183x46 hard 10/28 1138x46 hard 15/33 879x46 hard
1990: 07/25 1183x46 hard 10/28 1432x46 hard 15/33 680x46 hard
2000: 06/24 1183x46 hard 09/27 1432x46 hard 15/33 680x16 hard
HIGHLAND AIRWAYS
Capt Edmund E Fresson started Highland Airways based at INVERNESS, (LONGMANS FIELD), and operated an ‘airline service’ to the Orkneys starting on the 8th May 1933 with, initially, the DH.60 Moth G-AAWO offering services from INVERNESS via WICK. Or so some claim. Other records state the first service was with the GAL ST.4 Monospar G-ACEW. This aircraft seems more likely to have operated the service as G-ACEW was registered to Highland Airways on the 2nd March 1933.
But did he use exactly this site? The simple answer is no - the site used was WIDEFORD which was about 1nm to the west. (See seperate entry)
As Iain Hutchinson describes in his book Air Ambulance how, “Freeson quickly branched out to establish links with several of the northern isles of Orkney. The people of North Ronaldsay enthusiastically embraced this idea and quickly got together to ensure that Fresson would not be impeded through lack of a suitable landing site. The people of Westray, Sanday and Stronsay were soon dismantling walls to provide adequate landing runs so they might benefit from Highland Airways services.”
WHY?
I might as well pick on this WW2 aerodrome to ask a question. Whereas the RAF in WW2 apparently tried to generally standardise their aerodrome runway configurations in terms of length and width it is obvious the Royal Navy, (or the Fleet Air Arm), seemed to deliberately select different runway lengths, and often widths too.
RN GRIMSETTER being a good example of having runways in WW2 conforming to standard RAF runway widths but having non-standard runway lengths. Was this practise a deliberate policy to keep their pilots in trim especially for landing on aircraft carriers? Or was it simply that the Fleet Air Arm didn’t operate bomber types?
BEA
In 1959 it appears only BEA served this airport connecting it to Aberdeen (DYCE), Edinburgh (TURNHOUSE), Glasgow (RENFREW), Inverness (DALCROSS) and the Shetland Isles (SUMBURGH).
THE LAST BRITISH AIRWAYS HIGHLANDS DIVISION SERVICE
Many years ago the bean-counters at the BA head-quarters at HEATHROW were horrified to discover they had a Highlands Division. Worse still it actually made a profit and had a tremendous espirit de corps. Obviously this is no way to run an airline so there was only one possible solution - shut it down ASAP. The picture is a local press item taken of the very last Highlands Division service (flown by an ATP) from KIRKWALL, but I have yet to discover the date.
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