RNAS Caldale

Post-war military drawdown. With the end of World War II, the strategic importance of the Scapa Flow naval base diminished significantly. The vast military infrastructure built to support and defend it, including numerous airfields, was no longer required. RNAS Caldale, as a satellite training airfield, was deemed surplus to requirements and was closed as part of the nationwide reduction of armed forces.

The site has been returned to private ownership and is now primarily agricultural land. The faint, triangular outline of the three original runways is still clearly visible in satellite imagery. While the main hangars and the control tower have been demolished, several original wartime buildings, including Nissen huts and various concrete structures, remain on site. These surviving buildings are in various states of decay or have been repurposed for farm use, such as for storage or as barns. The site is not publicly accessible.

RNAS Caldale, commissioned in April 1941 under the name HMS Tern II, was a crucial satellite airfield for the main Fleet Air Arm station at RNAS Twatt (HMS Tern). Its primary function was to serve as an auxiliary field for the Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance School. The airfield was instrumental in training aircrews for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Squadrons operated aircraft vital to the war at sea, including the Fairey Swordfish, Fairey Albacore, and later the Fairey Barracuda. Pilots, observers, and air gunners practiced essential skills such as torpedo drops, bombing runs, and reconnaissance from Caldale before being deployed to active service on aircraft carriers in critical theatres like the Battle of the Atlantic and the Arctic convoys. The station featured three hard runways, Bellman hangars, and accommodation for hundreds of personnel, making it a key component of the Allied training effort in the UK.

None. There are no plans or realistic prospects for reopening RNAS Caldale. The Orkney Islands are well-served by the modern and fully-equipped Kirkwall Airport (ICAO: EGPA, IATA: KOI), which is located only a few kilometers to the east of the Caldale site. There is no economic, commercial, or strategic need for a second airport in such close proximity. The land is now in private agricultural use.