RAF West Freugh
Encyclopedia
RAF West Freugh is a Royal Air Force
station located in Wigtownshire
, five miles (8 km) south east of Stranraer
, Dumfries and Galloway
, Scotland
.
It is presently and has always been an armaments training school, either for handling or deployment of ordnance
.
s, known as RNAS Luce Bay. The base was provided with one huge airship hangar
.
RAF West Freugh opened in 1937 as an armament training camp. During the Second World War, it expanded to include training facilities for observers, navigators, and bomb aimers; and served as a base for the Bombing Trials Unit. The known history of units known at West Freugh is:
incident.
Awaiting a test over Luce Bay
from an aircraft RAE Farnborough, the civilian radar operators of the Ministry of Supply
were told to turn their sets off due to a delay.
One unit at Balscalloch near Corsewall Point did not receive the signal. They observed a large and solid unidentified echo, an almost stationary object, located above the Irish Sea. It remained stationary for 10 minutes at an initial height of 50000 feet (15,240 m), 20 to 25 miles (40.2 km) north of Stranraer; its height then increased to 70000 feet (21,336 m). The Balscalloch Unit contacted West Freugh air traffic control and informed the controller that there were now several moving targets. These were moving at speeds of thousands of miles per hour, and the echoes were like nothing the radar operator had ever seen before.
West Freugh observed the targets, as did the now switched-on Ardwell Unit (14 miles to their south), confirming the observation. After ten minutes, the position begun to move north-east at speeds gradually increasing up to 70 mi/h, and at a height of 54000 feet (16,459.2 m). A third radar station then confirmed the target, and noted that after the radar echo had travelled about 20 miles (32.2 km), it did an "impossible" sharp turn and proceeded in a south-easterly direction whilst increasing its speed. The third station then tracked four objects at 14000 feet (4,267.2 m) altitude and 4000 yards line astern from each other, which was confirmed by Balscalloch. The radar operators noted the echoes were much larger than those of normal planes, size being nearer to that of a ship.
RAF intelligence ordered radar stations throughout the UK to be on 24-hour alert. A few days later, civilian operators reported the incident to various newspapers including the Sunday Dispatch
, which published the incident on 7 April 1957. An Air Ministry spokesman declined to make a detailed statement until a full report had been studied by experts, while Wing Commander Walter Whitworth, RAF West Freugh Commanding Officer, made an Air Ministry approved statement:
Questions were asked in Parliament and the Air Ministry were eventually obliged to admit they were unable to explain the incident. As the incident had leaked to the press, internal RAF records were well preserved, although details of official records are presently protected by the Official Secrets Act
However, in an RAF meeting minutes document of 1970, Whitworth additionally commented that:
The station was also used, during the Summer of 1957, to house airmen deployed on Operation Hardrock, which was the name given to establishing a rocket tracking station on the island of Hirta
in the St Kilda
archipelago. Airmen were driven daily to Cairnryan Military Port and those, destined for St.Kilda, were shipped out on
Mk VIII LCT's (landing craft tank).
West Freugh, now operated by QinetiQ
since 2001 is presently used as a test range for bombs and Air-to-Ground missiles. Its ranges extend over Luce Bay
, and an area of land at Torrs Warren.
In 1988 and 1990 its ranges were used to test Phalanx CIWS
weapons system with depleted uranium
rounds. A subsequent radiological survey of beach, sand and seawater by staff from the Atomic Weapons Establishment
concluded that there was no detectable contamination.
Reports have suggested that West Freugh has been used to test British Aerospace
's HALO project, a Stealth Strike replacement for the Panavia Tornado GR 4
.
RAF West Freugh has also been used on several occasions for exercises by 16 Air Assault Brigade.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station located in Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a registration county in the Southern Uplands of south west Scotland. Until 1975, the county was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway...
, five miles (8 km) south east of Stranraer
Stranraer
Stranraer is a town in the southwest of Scotland. It lies in the west of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...
, Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
It is presently and has always been an armaments training school, either for handling or deployment of ordnance
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
.
History
During the First World War the site was a base for naval airshipAirship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
s, known as RNAS Luce Bay. The base was provided with one huge airship hangar
Airship hangar
Airships are sheltered in airship hangars during construction and sometimes also for regular operation, particularly at bad weather conditions. Rigid airships always needed to be based in airship hangars because weathering was a serious risk.- History :...
.
RAF West Freugh opened in 1937 as an armament training camp. During the Second World War, it expanded to include training facilities for observers, navigators, and bomb aimers; and served as a base for the Bombing Trials Unit. The known history of units known at West Freugh is:
- 22 October 1939 - 10 Service Flying Training School formed. Moved November
- 4 November 1939 - 4 Air Observer School formed
- 11 January 1940 - re-designated 4 Bombing & Gunnery School
- 14 June 1941 - 4 Air Observer School reformed
- 11 June 1943 - re-designated 4 Observer Advanced Flying Unit
- 21 June 1945 - 4 Observer Advanced Flying Unit disbanded
- April 1957 - RAF West Freugh incident
- 2001 - Airfield closed, all RAF operations cease
- 2001 - operations taken over by QinetiQQinetiQQinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
West Freugh incident
In April 1957, while monitoring a test bombing exercise, radar units of the Ministry of Supply Bombing Trials Unit headquartered at RAF West Freugh observed the UK's most reported UFOUnidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
incident.
Awaiting a test over Luce Bay
Luce Bay
Luce Bay is a large bay in Wigtownshire in southern Scotland. The bay is 20 miles wide at its mouth and is bounded by the Rhins of Galloway to the west and the Machars to the east....
from an aircraft RAE Farnborough, the civilian radar operators of the Ministry of Supply
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
were told to turn their sets off due to a delay.
One unit at Balscalloch near Corsewall Point did not receive the signal. They observed a large and solid unidentified echo, an almost stationary object, located above the Irish Sea. It remained stationary for 10 minutes at an initial height of 50000 feet (15,240 m), 20 to 25 miles (40.2 km) north of Stranraer; its height then increased to 70000 feet (21,336 m). The Balscalloch Unit contacted West Freugh air traffic control and informed the controller that there were now several moving targets. These were moving at speeds of thousands of miles per hour, and the echoes were like nothing the radar operator had ever seen before.
West Freugh observed the targets, as did the now switched-on Ardwell Unit (14 miles to their south), confirming the observation. After ten minutes, the position begun to move north-east at speeds gradually increasing up to 70 mi/h, and at a height of 54000 feet (16,459.2 m). A third radar station then confirmed the target, and noted that after the radar echo had travelled about 20 miles (32.2 km), it did an "impossible" sharp turn and proceeded in a south-easterly direction whilst increasing its speed. The third station then tracked four objects at 14000 feet (4,267.2 m) altitude and 4000 yards line astern from each other, which was confirmed by Balscalloch. The radar operators noted the echoes were much larger than those of normal planes, size being nearer to that of a ship.
RAF intelligence ordered radar stations throughout the UK to be on 24-hour alert. A few days later, civilian operators reported the incident to various newspapers including the Sunday Dispatch
Sunday Dispatch
The Sunday Dispatch was a British newspaper, published between 27 September 1801 and 1961. Until 1928, it was called the Weekly Dispatch.-History:...
, which published the incident on 7 April 1957. An Air Ministry spokesman declined to make a detailed statement until a full report had been studied by experts, while Wing Commander Walter Whitworth, RAF West Freugh Commanding Officer, made an Air Ministry approved statement:
"I have been ordered by the Air Ministry to say nothing about the object. I am not allowed to reveal its position, course and speed. From the moment of picking it up, it was well within our area. It was an object of some substance - quite definitely not a freak. No mistake could have been made by the [Ministry of Supply] civilians operating the sets. They are fully qualified and experienced officers."
Questions were asked in Parliament and the Air Ministry were eventually obliged to admit they were unable to explain the incident. As the incident had leaked to the press, internal RAF records were well preserved, although details of official records are presently protected by the Official Secrets Act
Official Secrets Act
The Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.-United Kingdom:*The Official Secrets...
However, in an RAF meeting minutes document of 1970, Whitworth additionally commented that:
"After remaining stationary for a short time, the UFO began to rise vertically with no forward movement, rising rapidly to approximately 60000 feet (18,288 m) in much less than a minute. The UFO then began to move in an easterly direction, slowly at first but later accelerating very fast and traveling towards Newton Stewart, losing height on the way. Suddenly the UFO turned to the southeast, picking up speed to 240 mi/h as it moved towards the Isle of Man. It was at this stage that the radar signals became contradictory. Balscalloch tracked a single 'object' at high altitude while Ardwell picked up what appeared to be four separate objects moving line astern behind each other at a height of 14000 feet (4,267.2 m). As the echoes disappeared; all three radars fleetingly traced the four smaller UFOs 'trailing' behind the larger object. The UFO had been tracked for 36 minutes."
The station was also used, during the Summer of 1957, to house airmen deployed on Operation Hardrock, which was the name given to establishing a rocket tracking station on the island of Hirta
Hirta
Hirta is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The name "Hiort" and "Hirta" have also been applied to the entire archipelago.-Geography:...
in the St Kilda
St Kilda, Scotland
St Kilda is an isolated archipelago west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom and three other islands , were also used for...
archipelago. Airmen were driven daily to Cairnryan Military Port and those, destined for St.Kilda, were shipped out on
Mk VIII LCT's (landing craft tank).
Present day
In 1987, Exercise Purple Warrior forces utilised West Freugh.West Freugh, now operated by QinetiQ
QinetiQ
Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
since 2001 is presently used as a test range for bombs and Air-to-Ground missiles. Its ranges extend over Luce Bay
Luce Bay
Luce Bay is a large bay in Wigtownshire in southern Scotland. The bay is 20 miles wide at its mouth and is bounded by the Rhins of Galloway to the west and the Machars to the east....
, and an area of land at Torrs Warren.
In 1988 and 1990 its ranges were used to test Phalanx CIWS
Phalanx CIWS
The Phalanx CIWS is an anti-ship missile defense system. It is a close-in weapon system and was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division...
weapons system with depleted uranium
Depleted uranium
Depleted uranium is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope U-235 than natural uranium . Uses of DU take advantage of its very high density of 19.1 g/cm3...
rounds. A subsequent radiological survey of beach, sand and seawater by staff from the Atomic Weapons Establishment
Atomic Weapons Establishment
The Atomic Weapons Establishment is responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. AWE plc is responsible for the day-to-day operations of AWE...
concluded that there was no detectable contamination.
Reports have suggested that West Freugh has been used to test British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
's HALO project, a Stealth Strike replacement for the Panavia Tornado GR 4
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
.
RAF West Freugh has also been used on several occasions for exercises by 16 Air Assault Brigade.