RAF Sullom Voe

Royal Air Force Sullom Voe or more simply RAF Sullom Voe is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of Brae, in the Shetland Isles of Scotland. It was a Flying boat base and was closely associated with the adjacent airfield of RAF Scatsta.^[2]

RAF Sullom Voe
Sullom Voe, Shetland Isles in Scotland
Site information
Type	Satellite Station
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Coastal Command
Location
RAF Sullom Voe Shown within Shetland Show map of Shetland RAF Sullom Voe RAF Sullom Voe (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom
Coordinates	60°28′00″N 001°16′30″W
Site history
Built	1938 (1938)
In use	1938-1952 (1952)
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	1 metre (3 ft 3 in)[1] AMSL
Other	Aligned with RAF Scatsta

History

Beginnings

The building of this flying boat station started well before the Second World War during 1938 and it became home to various Coastal Command squadrons that patrolled the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic for enemy ships and U-boats.

In the early days accommodation was provided by the Clyde-built SS Manella,^[3] a ship built in 1921, requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1939, renamed HMS Manella and sent to Sullom Voe as a supply ship to provide temporary accommodation prior to suitable accommodation being built on-shore at nearby Graven.

201 Squadron was posted there just 25 days before the declaration of war on 3 September 1939. 240 Squadron was posted there a month later on 4 November 1939 then Sullom Voe became the first location in the British Isles to be bombed on Monday 13 November 1939 when four bombs landed in a field. No damage was formally reported apart from the death of a rabbit!^[4]

The complex was added to when a nearby airfield was built during 1940 and named RAF Scatsta.

Units

Squadron	Aircraft	Posted from	Posted to	From → To	Notes
190	Consolidated Catalina IB & IV	17 February 1943	1 January 1944	Formed → Disbanded	Formed from the nucleus of disbanded 210 Squadron and subsequently reformed back to 210 Sqn again.[5]
201	Saro London I & II Short Sunderland I & II	9 August 1939 26 May 1940	6 November 1939 9 October 1941	RAF Calshot → RAF Invergordon RAF Invergordon → RAF Lough Erne	Squadron moves twice to Sullom Voe.[6]
204	Short Sunderland I	2 April 1940	5 April 1941	RAF Mount Batten → RAF Reykjavik	[7]
210	Short Sunderland I	24 November 1939 13 July 1940	21 May 1940 4 October 1942	RAF Invergordon → RAF Pembroke Dock RAF Oban → RAF Pembroke Dock	Detachment from RAF Invergordon then from RAF Oban.[8]
240	Saro London II	4 November 1939 27 March 1940	12 February 1940 27 May 1940	RAF Invergordon → RAF Invergordon RAF Invergordon → RAF Pembroke Dock	Squadron moves twice to Sullom Voe.[9]
330	Short Sunderland II, III and V	12 July 1943	14 June 1945	RAF Oban → Stavangar Airport, Sola, Norway	Squadron disbanded 21 Nov 1945 and transferred to Norwegian control.[10]
333	Consolidated Catalina I & IV	5 May 1943	June 1945	RAF Woodhaven → Fornebu (Oslo, Norway)	On detachment before being disbanded 21 November 1945 and transferred to Norwegian control.[10]
413 RCAF	Consolidated Catalina I & IV	1 October 1941	4 March 1942	RAF Stranraer → En route to Sri Lanka	[11]
461 RAAF					[12]
701 Naval Air Squadron					[12]

The following units were also here at some point:^[12]

• No. 2733 Squadron RAF Regiment
• No. 2751 Squadron RAF Regiment
• No. 2766 Squadron RAF Regiment
• No. 2778 Squadron RAF Regiment
• No. 2782 Squadron RAF Regiment

During the War

In 1944 one of 210 Sqn's pilots, Flying Officer John Cruickshank, carried out a successful attack off Narvik on a German U-boat, sinking the U-361, which by this time possessed heavy anti-aircraft guns. Despite severe injuries from those guns, he managed to fly his aircraft home and circled until daybreak before he was able to land it safely saving his crew, an achievement for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.^[13]

Post War

RAF Sullom Voe and RAF Scatsta was rendered non-operational in June 1945 after all wartime operations by Coastal Command ended.

In 1975 the Sullom Voe Terminal was built in the land and surroundings formerly part of the airbase and its sister airport RAF Scatsta.^[14]

Major portions of the airfield still remain. Some have been repurposed; such as taxiways being used as car parking.