RNAS Dale Air Base

Post-World War II military drawdown. With the end of the war, the strategic need for a large number of coastal airfields diminished significantly. RNAS Dale was deemed surplus to the peacetime requirements of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, leading to its eventual decommissioning and sale.

The site is now a civilian-owned property. The original runways and perimeter track are largely intact but are not maintained for licensed aviation. The former airfield is primarily used as the Dale Airfield Business Park, housing various commercial and industrial units. Parts of the site are also used for agriculture and motorsport events, such as karting and rallying. The original control tower is a Grade II listed building and still stands, along with other wartime structures in various states of repair. The airfield is occasionally used by light aircraft on a private, prior-permission-only basis but is not a public or licensed airport.

RNAS Dale was a significant World War II air base that played a crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic. Commissioned in August 1942 as HMS Goldcrest, it initially served as a satellite station for RNAS St Merryn. It hosted various Fleet Air Arm squadrons flying aircraft like the Fairey Swordfish, Fairey Albacore, and Supermarine Seafire for anti-submarine warfare and convoy protection. In September 1943, control was transferred to RAF Coastal Command, and it became RAF Dale. Under the RAF, it was a key base for long-range fighter squadrons (including Nos. 248, 254, and 404 Squadrons) flying Bristol Beaufighters and de Havilland Mosquitos. These squadrons conducted anti-shipping and anti-submarine missions over the Bay of Biscay and the Western Approaches, inflicting heavy losses on German shipping and U-boats. After the war, in 1946, it returned to Royal Navy control as HMS Goldcrest II, a satellite of the nearby RNAS Brawdy, serving as a training and fleet requirements unit before being reduced to care and maintenance.

There are no known official plans or prospects for reopening RNAS Dale as a licensed public airport. The site's conversion to a business park, its use for agriculture and motorsport, and its private ownership make a return to full-scale, regular aviation operations highly unlikely and economically unviable.