| RAF Heathfield RNAS Ayr (HMS Wagtail) | |
| Location: | Prestwick, South Ayrshire |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Type: | Royal Air Force station Parent Station |
| Pushpin Map: | Scotland South Ayrshire#UK |
| Pushpin Label: | RAF Heathfield |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Shown within South Ayrshire |
| Ownership: | Air Ministry |
| Operator: | Royal Air Force Royal Navy United States Air Force |
| Controlledby: | RAF Fighter Command 1941-44 * No. 13 Group RAF Fleet Air Arm 1944-46 |
| Code: | AR |
| Used: | April 1941- |
| Battles: | European theatre of World War II |
| Elevation: | 15m (49feet) |
| R1-Number: | 01/19 |
| R1-Length: | 1261m (4,137feet) |
| R1-Surface: | Tarmac/Asphalt |
| R2-Number: | 06/24 |
| R2-Length: | 1463m (4,800feet) |
| R2-Surface: | Tarmac/Asphalt |
| R3-Number: | 13/31 |
| R3-Length: | 1097m (3,599feet) |
| R3-Surface: | Tarmac/Asphalt |
Royal Air Force Heathfield, or more commonly RAF Heathfield, sometimes known as RAF Ayr/Heathfield due to its proximity to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which was also used by military flights, is a former Royal Air Force station. It opened in April 1941 as an airbase for day and night fighter squadrons. In September 1944 it transferred to Fleet Air Arm control and commissioned as HMS Wagtail. The Royal Navy paid off the airbase in March 1946 and it was reduced to care and maintenance. The United States Air Force used it for storage between 1951 and 1957.
Like many other wartime airfields, its runways were of the triangular layout.
The following units were posted here at some point:
The airbase was transferred on loan to the Admiralty, from No. 13 Group RAF, on 6 September 1944. The Royal Navy took over with Commander(A) H.L. McCullock as CO. Known as Royal Naval Air Station Ayr (RNAS Ayr), it was commissioned shortly afterwards, on 20 October, as HMS Wagtail.[1] One runway was redesigned and used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to practice aircraft carrier landings.
HMS Wagtail was 'paid off' by the Royal Navy on 10 March 1946 and it was reduced to Care & Maintenance Status, administered by RNAS Abbotsinch.[1]
List of commanding officers of HMS Wagtail with date of appointment:
List of units associated with HMS Wagtail, in support of disembarked fighter squadrons and a Fleet Requirements Unit:[1]
A list of Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm aviation squadrons that were either stationed at or deployed to HMS Wagtail:
The site was used by the United States Air Force (USAF) between 1951 and 1957 for aircraft storage use. From then on the USAF decided to solely use the adjacent Prestwick.
The site is now a mixture of housing, farmland and a golf club.