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RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts....
 station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth

Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, Moray, it became an important and innovative fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that eventually merged into one....
 in Moray
Moray

Moray is one of the 32 Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland ....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It is one of the RAF's biggest bases and currently Britain's main base for Tornado GR4s.

ouses three operational Tornado GR4 squadrons, and the Tornado GR4 Operational Conversion Unit
Operational Conversion Unit

An Operational Conversion Unit is a unit within an air force whose role is to support preparation for the operational missions of a specific aircraft type by providing trained personnel....
. The station is also home to No. 140 Expeditionary Air Wing. It is the RAF's busiest fast jet base with 77 fast jets based there.






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RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts....
 station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth

Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, Moray, it became an important and innovative fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that eventually merged into one....
 in Moray
Moray

Moray is one of the 32 Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland ....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It is one of the RAF's biggest bases and currently Britain's main base for Tornado GR4s.

Existing squadrons

It houses three operational Tornado GR4 squadrons, and the Tornado GR4 Operational Conversion Unit
Operational Conversion Unit

An Operational Conversion Unit is a unit within an air force whose role is to support preparation for the operational missions of a specific aircraft type by providing trained personnel....
. The station is also home to No. 140 Expeditionary Air Wing. It is the RAF's busiest fast jet base with 77 fast jets based there. Also, two Sea King
Sea King

Sea King may refer to:* Sea-King, the Viking name for a powerful pirate* Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology* Seaking , an orange and white, fishlike water-type Pok?mon...
 helicopters are based there in a search and rescue role. Additionally, an extensive range of operational, logistic and administrative support functions are carried out.

Current structure

The RAF Lossiemouth structure as of April 2008:

  • 140 Expeditionary Air Wing
  • Air Combat 1 Group
    • No. 12 Squadron RAF
      No. 12 Squadron RAF

      No. 12 Squadron of the Royal Air Force currently operates the Panavia Tornado from RAF Lossiemouth....
    • No. 14 Squadron RAF
      No. 14 Squadron RAF

      No. 14 Squadron of the Royal Air Force currently operates the Panavia Tornado RAF Tornado GR4 from RAF Lossiemouth and is specialised in precision bombings by utilising the TIALD system....
    • No. XV Squadron RAF
      No. XV Squadron RAF

      No. 15 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Panavia Tornado RAF Tornado GR4 from RAF Lossiemouth. Currently XV Squadron is the RAF's Operational Conversion Unit for the Tornado GR4....
    • No. 617 Squadron RAF
      No. 617 Squadron RAF

      No. 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is better known as the "Dambusters" squadron. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 from RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland....
       - The Dambusters
  • Air Combat 2 Group
    • No. 202 Squadron RAF
      No. 202 Squadron RAF

      No. 202 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Westland Sea King in the Search and rescue role at three stations in the northern half of the United Kingdom....
       - 'D' Flight - Sea King Search and Rescue
      Search and rescue

      Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger....
       helicopter
      Helicopter

      A helicopter is an aircraft that is Lift and propelled by one or more horizontal plane Helicopter rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades....
      s.
  • RAF Regiment
    • No 5 RAF Force Protection Wing HQ
    • 51 Squadron
      No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment

      No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment is a field squadron of the RAF Regiment in the Royal Air Force. Its mission is protection of RAF bases from ground attack....
    • 2622 Squ RAuxAF
      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....


Future aircraft

In November 2005, it was announced that Lossiemouth would be the main base for the RAF's fleet of F-35 Lightning II
F-35 Lightning II

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a Fighter aircraft#Fifth generation jet fighters , single-seat, single-engine, Stealth aircraft-capable military aviation strike fighter, a Multirole combat aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and Aerial warfare missions....
s (designated the Joint Combat Aircraft
Joint Combat Aircraft

The Joint Combat Aircraft is the official designation of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence used for the F-35 Lightning II, formerly the Joint Strike Fighter, and the result of the Joint Strike Fighter Program....
 by the Ministry of Defence).

The President of Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public. Further in the future Virgin Galactic plans to offer orbital spaceflights as well....
, Will Whitehorn
Will Whitehorn

Will Whitehorn is the President of Virgin Galactic, a company which plans to offer space tourism flights to the paying public. He joined the Virgin Group as Group Public Relations Manager in 1987....
 stated in an interview with Space.co.uk on 29th April 2008 that the company was considering flying from RAF Lossiemouth during the summer months only.

History

Lossiefromspace
Originally established as an RAF station, after the second world war the airfield was handed over to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
 and the station was renamed HMS Fulmar. The Royal Naval air station was returned to the Royal Air Force on 28 September 1972. As noted, the base is currently home to a number of Tornado squadrons including the famous 617 'Dambuster' Squadron. Coincidentally, 29 modified Lancaster bomber
Avro Lancaster

The Avro Lancaster was a United Kingdom four-engine World War II bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley-Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force and squadrons from other Commonwealth of Nations...
s from No. 617 Squadron and No. 9 Squadron, left RAF Lossiemouth for Norway
Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
 on 12 November 1944 to bomb the German battleship Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz

Tirpitz was the second Bismarck class battleship battleship of the Germany Kriegsmarine, sister ship of German battleship Bismarck, named after Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz....
. Each of the aircraft was loaded with a single Tallboy bomb
Tallboy bomb

The Tallboy was an earth quake bomb developed by Barnes Wallis and brought into operation by the British in 1944. It weighed five long tons and, carried by the Avro Lancaster bomber, was effective against hardened structures against which earlier, smaller bombs had proved ineffective....
. The Tirpitz was located at a range of twenty miles and opened fire on the squadrons when the aircraft were thirteen miles away. One of the Lancasters was shot down. All of the remaining aircraft managed to get their bombs away – three of which hit their target. Within 10 minutes of the first hit, the Tirpitz had capsized.

During the 1980s and part of the 90s the main RAF force of Buccaneer aircraft was based at RAF Lossiemouth

No. 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) was formed at Lossiemouth on 1 April 2006 encompassing most of the non-formed unit personnel on station. The EAW does not include any of the flying squadrons. The station commander is dual-hatted as the commander of the wing.

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....


External links