RAF Heathfield
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, with the designation USAAF Station 570.
| RAF Heathfield RNAS Ayr (HMS Wagtail) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prestwick, South Ayrshire in Scotland | |||||||||||
RAF Heathfield Shown within South Ayrshire RAF Heathfield RAF Heathfield (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 55°29′10″N 004°35′56″W | ||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station Parent Station | ||||||||||
| Code | AR | ||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force Royal Navy United States Air Force | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command 1941-44 * No. 13 Group RAF Fleet Air Arm | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1940 | ||||||||||
| In use | April 1941-1946 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 15 metres (49 ft) AMSL | ||||||||||
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Like many other wartime airfields, its runways were of the triangular layout.
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