RAF West Freugh

RAF West Freugh is a Royal Air Force station located in Wigtownshire, five miles (8 km) south east of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

It is presently and has always been an armaments training school, either for handling or deployment of ordnance.

History

RAF West Freugh opened in 1937 as an armament training camp. During the Second World War, it expanded to include training facilities for observers, navigators, and bomb aimers; and served as a base for the Bombing Trials Unit. [ [http://www.mull-of-galloway.co.uk/history/modern_times.html Mull of Galloway, History, Myths & Legends ] ] The known history of units known at West Freugh is: [http://www.gcbooks.demon.co.uk/rafwrecks.htm]
*22 October, 1939 - 10 Service Flying Training School formed. Moved November
*4 November, 1939 - 4 Air Observer School formed
*11 January, 1940 - re-designated 4 Bombing & Gunnery School
*14 June, 1941 - 4 Air Observer School reformed
*11 June, 1943 - re-designated 4 Observer Advanced Flying Unit
*21 June, 1945 - 4 Observer Advanced Flying Unit disbanded
*April 1957 - RAF West Freugh incident
*2001 - Airfield closed, all RAF operations cease
*2001 - operations taken over by QinetiQ [http://www.banthebomb.org/militaryscotland/88.html Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament ] ]

West Freugh incident

In April 1957, while monitoring a test bombing exercise, radar units of the Ministry of Supply Bombing Trials Unit headquartered at RAF West Freugh observed the UK's most reported UFO incident.

Awaiting a test over Luce Bay from an aircraft RAE Farnborough, the civilian radar operators of the Ministry of Supply were told to turn their sets off due to a delay.

One unit at Balscalloch near Corsewall Point did not receive the signal. They observed a large and solid unidentified echo, an almost stationary object, located above the Irish Sea. It remained stationary for 10 minutes at an initial height of convert|50000|ft|m, 20 to convert|25|mi|km north of Stranraer; its height then increased to convert|70000|ft|m. The Balscalloch Unit contacted West Freugh air traffic control and informed the controller that there were now several moving targets. These were moving at speeds of thousands of miles an hour, and the echoes were like nothing the radar operator had ever seen before.

West Freugh observed the targets, as did the now switched-on Ardwell Unit (14 miles to their south), confirming the observation. After ten minutes, the position begun to move north-east at speeds gradually increasing up to convert|70|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on, and at a height of convert|54000|ft|m. A third radar station then confirmed the target, and noted that after the radar echo had traveled about convert|20|mi|km, it did an "impossible" sharp turn and proceeded in a south-easterly direction whilst increasing its speed. The third station then tracked four objects at convert|14000|ft|m altitude and 4000 yards line astern from each other, which was confirmed by Balscalloch. The radar operators noted the echoes were much larger than those of normal planes, size being nearer to that of a ship. [http://www.ufologie.net/htm/westfreugh57.htm ufo - UFOS at close sight: The West Freugh Incident, 1957 ] ]

RAF intelligence ordered radar stations throughout the UK to be on 24-hour alert. A few days later, civilian operators reported the incident to various newspapers including the Sunday Dispatch, which published the incident on 7 April, 1957. An Air Ministry spokesman declined to make a detailed statement until a full report had been studied by experts, while Wing Commander Walter Whitworth, RAF West Freugh Commanding Officer, made an Air Ministry approved statement: [ [http://www.project1947.com/shg/hennessey/freugh.htm SHG: J. J. A. Hennessey - "West Freugh UFO Sighting, 1957" ] ]

"I have been ordered by the Air Ministry to say nothing about the object. I am not allowed to reveal its position, course and speed. From the moment of picking it up, it was well within our area. It was an object of some substance - quite definitely not a freak. No mistake could have been made by the [Ministry of Supply] civilians operating the sets. They are fully qualified and experienced officers."

Questions were asked in Parliament and the Air Ministry were eventually obliged to admit they were unable to explain the incident. As the incident had leaked to the press, internal RAF records were well preserved, although details of official records are presently protected by the Official Secrets Act [ [http://lakenheath.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/MoD-1.htm Ufos At Raf Lakenheath ] ] However, in an RAF meeting minutes document of 1970, Whitworth additionally commented that:

"After remaining stationary for a short time, the UFO began to rise vertically with no forward movement, rising rapidly to approximately convert|60000|ft|m in much less than a minute. The UFO then began to move in an easterly direction, slowly at first but later accelerating very fast and traveling towards Newton Stewart, losing height on the way. Suddenly the UFO turned to the southeast, picking up speed to convert|240|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on as it moved towards the Isle of Man. It was at this stage that the radar signals became contradictory. Balscalloch tracked a single 'object' at high altitude while Ardwell picked up what appeared to be four separate objects moving line astern behind each other at a height of convert|14000|ft|m. As the echoes disappeared; all three radars fleetingly traced the four smaller UFOs 'trailing' behind the larger object. The UFO had been tracked for 36 minutes."

Present day

West Freugh, now operated by QinetiQ since 2001 is presently used as a test range for bombs and Air-to-Ground missiles. Its ranges extend over Luce Bay, and an area of land at Torrs Warren. [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo020403/text/20403w01.htm House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 3 Apr 2002 (pt 1) ] ]

In 1988 and 1990 its ranges were used to test Phalanx CIWS weapons system with depleted uranium rounds. A subsequent radiological survey of beach, sand and seawater by staff from the Atomic Weapons Establishment concluded that there was no detectable contamination. [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo021212/text/21212w06.htm House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 12 Dec 2002 (pt 6) ] ]

Reports have suggested that West Freugh has been used to test British Aerospace's HALO project, a Stealth Strike replacement for the Panavia Tornado GR 4. [ [http://robocat.users.btopenworld.com/bases.htm Secret Bases ] ]

References

RAF West Freugh has also been used on several occasions for exercises by 16 Air Assault Brigade. These Knights of the flying silk drop onto the fogiving bog like DZ and then tab off trying to avoid the "baby's heads". The disused runway is also used for rehrersing TALO operations.

External links

* [http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/dg/west_freugh_latest_weather.html MetOffice weather station at RAF West Freugh]
* [http://www.abpic.co.uk/search.php?q=RAE%20West%20Freugh&u=location Pictures of various aircraft at RAE West Freugh]