| RAF Grangemouth | |
| Ensign: | Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg |
| Ensign Size: | 90px |
| Location: | Grangemouth, Stirlingshire |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Type: | Royal Air Force station |
| Coordinates: | 56.0197°N -3.6917°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Scotland Falkirk#UK |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Shown within Falkirk |
| Pushpin Label: | RAF Grangemouth |
| Ownership: | Air Ministry |
| Operator: | Royal Air Force |
| Controlledby: | RAF Fighter Command |
| Code: | GW |
| Built: | /39 |
| Used: | May 1939 – |
| Battles: | European theatre of World War II |
| Elevation: | 4m (13feet) |
| R1-Number: | 00/00 |
| R1-Surface: | Tarmac |
| R2-Number: | 00/00 |
| R2-Surface: | Tarmac |
Royal Air Force Grangemouth or more simply RAF Grangemouth is a former Royal Air Force station located 3miles north east of Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland.
It was opened as the Central Scotland Airport in May 1939[1] and operated as a Civilian Air Navigation School (CANS) until early September 1939. After the war it was used as Gliding School until 1946.[2] It was then used by RAF Maintenance Command until its closure in June 1955.
From September 1939 – March 1941 it was used by 602 Squadron flying Supermarine Spitfires, 141 Squadron flying Bristol Blenheims and Gloster Gladiators and 263 Squadron flying Westland Whirlwinds. In December 1940 it was used by No. 58 Operational Training Unit (later renamed No. 2 Tactical Exercise Unit RAF).
The air traffic control tower (watch tower) was of a pre-war civilian type. There were 10 Hangars, two were of a civil type and the other eight were of the Blister type.
In an attempt to reduce the number of crashes caused by over-shooting, the east–west runway was extended by about 300 yards in the summer of 1942. This runway intersected with the Inchyra Road runway and extended west to where Candie Crescent now starts off Overton Road. The Charlotte Dundas Shopping Centre was built over part of the remains of this runway in 1960–1961.
After the war, it was used as a gliding school and by No. 13 Refresher Flying School RAF, then by RAF Maintenance Command until closure in 1955.
Unfortunately at 0200 one Sunday in 1952 a fire started & some of the buildings were destroyed.
| Unit | From | To | Aircraft | Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1939 | 3 Sep 1939 | I II | |||
| Sep 1939 | Oct 1939 | I | |||
| 1 Nov 1939 | 2 Dec 1939 | I | |||
| 7 Oct 1939 | 13 Oct 1939 | I | |||
| 19 Oct 1939 | 28 June 1940 | IF I | |||
| 28 June 1940 | 2 Sep 1940 | I I | Detachment at RAF Montrose. | ||
| 8 Jun 1940 | 5 Mar 1941 | II | |||
In the event of a German invasion the OTU would have become No. 558 Squadron (and later also as No. 563 Squadron) to operate from RAF Turnhouse.
The unit reformed on 15 March 1945, at RAF Poulton in No. 12 Group, as half an Operational Training Unit equipped with Spitfires from the day fighter element of No. 41 Operational Training Unit until it was disbanded on 20 July 1945.
Codes used: -
Today the site is now part of Inchyra Park, a light industrial area, the Charlotte Dundas Shopping Centre, and a housing estate. The shorter runway is now Inchyra Road, Grangemouth. Contrary to many reports, the vast majority of the site is NOT now covered by petrochemicals industry. Only a relatively small area east of Inchyra Road has such industry on it and which was only built on during the 1970s and thereafter.
Some of the hangars still remain intact at Latitude, Longitude 56.013348N, 3.707562W.[6]
In 2008, a memorial garden was unveiled, to commemorate those who died, planted on ground granted for the purpose and located on the perimeter of the original airfield. Within the garden, a wall features the names of 71 trainee pilots from 11 countries who died whilst in training. On Thursday 9 May 2013, a full size replica of a Mk1 Spitfire was unveiled in the memorial garden.[7]
The memorial remembers the contribution of hundreds of Polish and other international pilots who developed their skills at the airfield as members of No. 58 Operational Training Unit during the Second World War.
The many British and Polish pilots dying of wounds on return are buried to the south in Grandsable Cemetery.