- RNAS Hatston
RNAS Hatston, also called HMS "Sparrowhawk", was a Royal Naval Air Station.It was situated one mile to the north west of
Kirkwall on the island of Mainland in theOrkney s. It was located near to the strategically vital naval base ofScapa Flow , which for most of the the twentieth century formed the main base of the ships of theHome Fleet .Hatston's main period of activity came during the
Second World War , when it was host to a number of different types of aircraft of theFleet Air Arm , includingFairey Swordfish ,Blackburn Roc s and Avengers. Two squadrons ofBlackburn Skua s flew from Hatston on10 April 1940, on a mission to sink the German cruiser "Königsberg", in which they were successful.After the end of the war, the airfield became the island's main airport, until 1948. By then
British European Airways was operating Douglas Dakotas which were deemed to large to use the runways safely. They moved operations to a larger airfield outside Kirkwall. The airfield remained in use from 1953 until 1957, when it was the home of the Orkney Flying Club, but was finally closed and turned into an industrial estate.References
* [http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/wartime_orkney/page4.html History of RNAS Hatston]
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