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RAF Leuchars is the most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. It is located in Leuchars
Leuchars

Leuchars is a small town near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland.The town is nearly 2 miles to the north of the village of Guardbridge, which lies on the north bank of the River Eden, Fife where it widens to the Edenmouth estuary before joining the North Sea at St Andrews Bay....
, Fife
Fife

Fife is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire....
, on the east coast of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, near to the university town of St Andrews
St Andrews

St Andrews is a town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife, Scotland. According to the recent population estimate , the town has a population of 16,596, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
.

Leuchars is commanded by an Air Commodore
Air Commodore

Air Commodore is an Air Officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank s...
 instead of a Group Captain
Group Captain

Group Captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth of Nations countries. It ranks above Wing Commander and immediately below Air Commodore....
 who would usually be given command of a base. This is because the base commander here also undertakes the role of Air Officer Scotland. The present base commander is Air Commodore Clive Bairsto
Clive Bairsto

Air Commodore Clive A Bairsto Aide-de-Camp Royal Air Force is a senior serving Royal Air Force Officer and is currently Air Officer Scotland and Station Commander RAF Leuchars....
 who takes over from Air Commodore Julian Stinton.

Leuchars is currently home to two squadrons of Panavia Tornado
Panavia Tornado

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine combat aircraft, which was jointly developed by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy. There are three primary Panavia Tornado variants of the Tornado; the Tornado IDS Ground attack aircraft, the electronic warfare Tornado ECR and the Panavia Tornado ADV Interceptor aircraft....
 F3s.






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RAF Leuchars is the most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. It is located in Leuchars
Leuchars

Leuchars is a small town near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland.The town is nearly 2 miles to the north of the village of Guardbridge, which lies on the north bank of the River Eden, Fife where it widens to the Edenmouth estuary before joining the North Sea at St Andrews Bay....
, Fife
Fife

Fife is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire....
, on the east coast of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, near to the university town of St Andrews
St Andrews

St Andrews is a town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife, Scotland. According to the recent population estimate , the town has a population of 16,596, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
.

Operations

RAF Leuchars is commanded by an Air Commodore
Air Commodore

Air Commodore is an Air Officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank s...
 instead of a Group Captain
Group Captain

Group Captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth of Nations countries. It ranks above Wing Commander and immediately below Air Commodore....
 who would usually be given command of a base. This is because the base commander here also undertakes the role of Air Officer Scotland. The present base commander is Air Commodore Clive Bairsto
Clive Bairsto

Air Commodore Clive A Bairsto Aide-de-Camp Royal Air Force is a senior serving Royal Air Force Officer and is currently Air Officer Scotland and Station Commander RAF Leuchars....
 who takes over from Air Commodore Julian Stinton.

Leuchars is currently home to two squadrons of Panavia Tornado
Panavia Tornado

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine combat aircraft, which was jointly developed by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy. There are three primary Panavia Tornado variants of the Tornado; the Tornado IDS Ground attack aircraft, the electronic warfare Tornado ECR and the Panavia Tornado ADV Interceptor aircraft....
 F3s. They are No. 111 Squadron
No. 111 Squadron RAF

No. 111 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the RAF Tornado F3 from RAF Leuchars, Scotland....
 and No. 43 Squadron
No. 43 Squadron RAF

No. 43 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Panavia Tornado RAF Tornado F3 from RAF Leuchars, Scotland....
. Both squadrons operate Quick Reaction Alert which was set up primarily to combat threats from Russian attacks during the Cold War
Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
.

The station is also home to No. 125 Expeditionary Air Wing and the East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron (ESUAS) and XII Air Experience Flight
Air Experience Flight

An Air Experience Flight is a training unit of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve whose main purpose is to give introductory flying experience to Air Cadet Organisations or the RAF section of the Combined Cadet Force....
 (12 AEF) who both use a fleet of seven Tutor T1s.

Leuchars is also the base for No. 612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force
Royal Auxiliary Air Force

The Royal Auxiliary Air Force is the volunteer active duty reserve element of the Royal Air Force, providing a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service....
 (an air-transportable surgical squadron), an RAF Mountain Rescue
Mountain rescue

File:Horsk? slu?ba - auto.JPGMountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments....
 Unit, and is the airfield of use for the local Air Training Corps
Air Training Corps

The Air Training Corps is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organization and the Royal Air Force ....
 units.

The other operational UK air defence base since June 2007 is RAF Coningsby
RAF Coningsby

RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England. It has been commanded by Group Captain John Hitchcock since 15 December 2008 ....
 in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a Counties of England in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire....
 which operates the Eurofighter Typhoon F2
Eurofighter Typhoon

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine Canard -delta wing Multirole combat aircraft aircraft. It is being designed and built by a consortium of three separate partner companies: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and EADS working through a holding company Eurofighter GmbH which was formed in 1986....
.

No 125 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) was formed at Leuchars on 1 April 2006. The wing encompasses most of the non-formed unit personnel and does not include the flying units based at the station. The station commander is dual-hatted as the commander of the wing.

Current structure


A third F3 Squadron, No. 56 (Reserve) Squadron
No. 56 Squadron RAF

Number 56 Squadron is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both World War I and World War II....
, was disbanded in April 2008 in preparation for the arrival of the Typhoon, in 2010. Members of 56 squadron have temporarily joined 43 squadron until a 3 squadron arrangement is reinstated with the arrival of the Typhoon. The RAF Leuchars structure as of May 2008 is as follows:

  • 125 Expeditionary Air Wing
  • 6 Forces Protection Wing
  • Air Combat 1 Group
    • 43 Fighter Squadron
      No. 43 Squadron RAF

      No. 43 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Panavia Tornado RAF Tornado F3 from RAF Leuchars, Scotland....
       - operating Tornado F3
      Panavia Tornado

      The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine combat aircraft, which was jointly developed by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy. There are three primary Panavia Tornado variants of the Tornado; the Tornado IDS Ground attack aircraft, the electronic warfare Tornado ECR and the Panavia Tornado ADV Interceptor aircraft....
    • 111 Fighter Squadron
      No. 111 Squadron RAF

      No. 111 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the RAF Tornado F3 from RAF Leuchars, Scotland....
       - operating Tornado F3
  • Lodger Units
    • 3 Flt AAC
    • East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron
      East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron

      The East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron , commonly known as ESUAS, is a squadron within the Royal Air Force established in 2003 as an amalgamation of "East Lowlands Universities Air Squadron" and "Aberdeen, Dundee and St....
    • No 612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron
      Royal Auxiliary Air Force

      The Royal Auxiliary Air Force is the volunteer active duty reserve element of the Royal Air Force, providing a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service....
    • 71 Engineer Regiment (Volunteers)
    • No 2 RAF Police Wg 4 Sqn
      Royal Air Force Police

      The Royal Air Force Police is the military police branch of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force. It was formed on 1 April 1918, when the RAF was formed from the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service ....
    • HQ Dundee & Central Scotland Wing ATC
      Air Training Corps

      The Air Training Corps is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organization and the Royal Air Force ....
    • Mountain Rescue Team


History

What would become RAF Leuchars was started during the First World War as a base for training pilots and crew. In 1920 it was officially named. By the start of the Second World War, it was under the control of RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command

RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force. The service came to prominence during the Second World War. It defended the United Kingdom from naval threats and countered them by air....
.

Annual Airshow

RAF Leuchars is home to the annual Leuchars Airshow. This usually takes place on a Saturday in September. The 2007 Leuchars Airshow was cancelled due to resurfacing of the runway.

Approximately 45,000 people attended the 2006 show to see displays including the Red Arrows
Red Arrows

The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force, based at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, UK ....
, Eurofighter Typoon, and Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the sustained strategic effort by the Luftwaffe during the summer and autumn of 1940 to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force , especially RAF Fighter Command....
 memorial flight. Air forces from many NATO
NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
 countries provide additional static and flight displays.

See also

  • List of RAF stations
    List of RAF stations

    This List of RAF stations is a comprehensive list of all Royal Air Force station, airbases, Aerodromes and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force - past and present....
  • HMS Fieldfare
    HMS Fieldfare

    HMS Fieldfare, also known as RNAS Evanton and later as RAF Evanton, is a disused airfield in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It lies on the shore of the Cromarty Firth near the village of Evanton....


External links

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