RAF Portreath

England

50.2710, -5.2635 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF Portreath opened on the north Cornwall coast in 1941 as a Fighter Command station and quickly took on a second role as a staging post for aircraft being ferried out to North Africa and the Middle East; it later served Coastal Command. After the war the site became the Nancekuke chemical-defence establishment, where nerve agents were produced and tested. It reopened as an RAF radar station in 1980 and continues today as a Remote Radar Head watching the south-western approaches.

Photographs

Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. A QF 6-pounder 7-cwt anti-tank gun on its carriage in front of a [De Havilland Mosquito](/aircraft/9/) Mark XVIII 'Tstetse' of [No. 248 Squadron](/squadrons/354/) RAF Special Detachment, which mounts a similar weapon, minus the carriage and fitted with automatic loader, in its nose, (note the protruding barrel). This version was also known as the 'Molins gun' after its manufacturer. Location of the photograph is [Portreath](/airfields/6304/), Cornwall.
ⓘ licence & creditForward (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Coastal_Command,_1939-1945._CH18219.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Fighter Command As part of the war effort, private individuals and organisations were encouraged to donate money towards the cost of a new aircraft, an example of which would then be marked with an appropriate acknowledgement and 'presented' to the RAF. [Spitfire](/aircraft/18/) II P8448 was funded by NAAFI canteen workers and bore the name 'Counter Attack'. It is seen here being officially handed over to [No 152 Squadron](/squadrons/290/) at [Portreath](/airfields/6304/) in Cornwall on 8 August 1941 by 19-year-old Nora Margaret Fish.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Fighter_Command_CH3614.jpgView source & full licence →
Aerial photograph of [Portreath](/airfields/6304/) airfield looking north, the technical sites and barrack sites are at the bottom, 9 March 1944. Photograph taken by 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, sortie number US/7PH/GP/LOC213. English Heritage (USAAF Photography).
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Forces / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Portreath_-_9_Mar_1944_Airphoto.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM text : [Mosquito](/aircraft/9/) FB Mark XVIII, NT225 O, of [No. 248 Squadron](/squadrons/354/) RAF Special Detachment based at [Portreath](/airfields/6304/), Cornwall, banking away from the camera while in flight, showing the 57mm Molins gun mounted underneath the nose. This version is sometimes referred to as the Tsetse.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer : Forward (Fg Off) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Mosquito_with_Molins_gun_WWII_IWM_CH_14114.jpgView source & full licence →
A Royal Air Force [Airspeed Horsa](/aircraft/57/) Mark I demonstrates its characteristically steep landing approach with flaps fully while being flown into [Portreath](/airfields/6304/), Cornwall (UK), for "Operation Beggar": the transit of [Handley Page Halifax](/aircraft/2/)/Horsa glider combinations from the United Kingdom to North Africa by units of No. 38 Wing RAF, in preparation for the invasion of Sicily ("Operation Husky").
ⓘ licence & creditNo. 295 Squadron RAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horsa_glider_landing_in_Cornwall_on_way_to_Africa_1943.jpgView source & full licence →
A [Handley Page Halifax](/aircraft/2/) A.V Series 1 (Special) glider tug (EB139, "NN"), of [No. 295 Squadron](/squadrons/382/) RAF based at [Holmesley South](/airfields/8736/), getting airborne from [Portreath](/airfields/6304/), Cornwall (UK), towing [Airspeed Horsa](/aircraft/57/) glider LG723 to Tunisia, during "Operation Beggar": the transit of Halifax/Horsa glider combinations from the United Kingdom to North Africa by units of No. 38 Wing RAF, in preparation for the invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky).
ⓘ licence & creditNo. 295 Squadron RAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Halifax_and_Horsa_take_off_from_Cornwall_for_North_Africa_1943.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditDavid Medcalf / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gullyn_Rock_seen_down_the_gully_above_the_beach_-_geograph.org.uk_-_7718814.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPhilip Halling / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Defences_around_Portreath_Airfield_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2005836.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPhilip Halling / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buildings_on_Portreath_Airfield_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1838990.jpgView source & full licence →
Above Sally's Bottom. To the left, a steep cliff and to the right the fence guarding the airfield. The coast path runs along the narrow strip of land in between. The old buildings beside the fence look like they date from World War II when the airfield was first built as [RAF Portreath](/airfields/6304/).
ⓘ licence & creditTony Atkin / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Above_Sally%27s_Bottom_-_geograph.org.uk_-_187185.jpgView source & full licence →

Home to

People connected to this base

28 persons cross-referenced to this airfield — through a posting here, a squadron based here, or aircrew who flew from it.

NameRankConnectionDates
Abbott, Bruce Andrew Stanley Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Bacon, Lewis Robert Flight Lieutenant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Barron, Oswald James Milman Wing Commander Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Bonnett, Alwynn Lincoln Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Brennan, Cyril Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Cosman, William Nathan Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Cowley, Samuel Flight Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Farmer, Raymond Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Goodes, Geoffrey Vernon Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Gore, Ronald Frederick Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Green, John Frederick Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Hanson, Antony Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Hunt, Peter Flight Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
McLeod, Angus Flight Lieutenant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Milne, Wilfred William Murdoch Flight Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Moffat, Raymond William Warrant Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Mokanyk, Alexander Elliott Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Mowat, William Rankin Alexander Flight Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Orr, Ronald Sinclair Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Rose, Charles Frank Squadron Leader Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Shield, Vernon Rippon Pilot Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Strickland, James Murray Flight Lieutenant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Taylor, Donald Jeffery Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Turner, Ronald Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Utting, Alfred William Flight Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Wing, Kenneth Cecil Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Woodcraft, Raymond Thomas Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Young, Richard Graeme Flight Lieutenant Aircrew (squadron based here) —