Hoy/Longhope Airfield

Military decommissioning. The airfield was a temporary wartime installation built specifically to defend the Scapa Flow naval anchorage. With the end of hostilities in 1945, the massive military presence in Orkney was scaled down, and the airfield became redundant and was no longer required for operational use.

The site has reverted to agricultural land, primarily used for sheep grazing. The classic triangular layout of the three runways is still clearly visible from satellite imagery and on the ground, though the surfaces are now grassed over. Several original wartime structures remain in various states of preservation, including two large hangars (a Bellman and a Mainhill), various Nissen huts, and other support buildings, many of which are now used for farm storage. The control tower has been demolished. The site is a significant point of interest for military historians visiting Orkney.

Officially known as RAF Hoy (and initially as the Royal Naval Air Station RNAS Hoy, or HMS Tern II), the airfield was a critical World War II fighter station. Constructed and opened in 1940, its primary mission was to provide air defence for the vital Royal Navy fleet base at Scapa Flow. This role became paramount following the successful German U-boat attack that sank HMS Royal Oak within the anchorage in 1939. RAF Hoy was a key component of the air defence network, hosting several RAF Fighter Command squadrons throughout the war. These squadrons, including notable units like No. 3, 232, and 253, operated aircraft such as Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires to intercept German reconnaissance and bomber aircraft targeting the fleet.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the airfield. Orkney's modern aviation needs are fully served by the main Kirkwall Airport (KOI) for commercial traffic and a network of smaller airstrips for inter-island flights. The cost of restoring the runways and infrastructure to modern standards would be prohibitive, and there is no strategic or economic case for its reactivation. The land is in private ownership and established as farmland.