RNAS Inskip (HMS Nightjar)

Military Conversion and Post-War Downsizing. Following the end of World War II, the vast requirement for training naval aviators diminished significantly. Like many other wartime airfields, RNAS Inskip was surplus to the Royal Navy's peacetime requirements for flying operations. The base was officially 'paid off' (decommissioned as a naval air station) in 1959, having been converted for a new military purpose.

The site is currently a major military high-frequency (HF) communications transmitting station known as DHFCS Inskip (Defence High Frequency Communications Service). It is a critical node in the UK's military communications network, providing long-range radio links for the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and British Army, as well as NATO allies. The site is easily identifiable by its forest of very large radio masts and antenna arrays which dominate the landscape. While the runways are no longer in use for aviation, the original triangular layout is still clearly visible from the air and on satellite imagery, with the former runways and perimeter tracks now serving as access roads within the secure facility. Some original wartime buildings and hangars may also remain, repurposed for the communications station's use. The site is operated by Babcock International on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

RNAS Inskip was commissioned on 15 June 1942 as a Royal Naval Air Station under the name HMS Nightjar. Its primary role during World War II was as a Naval Air-Fighter School and a satellite station for the larger RNAS Stretton (HMS Blackcap). The airfield was crucial for training Fleet Air Arm pilots, particularly in fighter aircraft operations, before their deployment to aircraft carriers. It featured a standard wartime layout with three intersecting runways. A wide variety of naval aircraft operated from Inskip, including the Supermarine Seafire, Fairey Fulmar, Grumman Martlet (Wildcat), Grumman Hellcat, and Vought Corsair. Numerous naval air squadrons were formed, trained, or based at HMS Nightjar during its operational years, making it a vital component of the British naval war effort.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening RNAS Inskip as an airport. Its current function as a strategic and highly secure military communications facility is of critical national importance. The extensive infrastructure of masts, antennas, and ground-based equipment covering the former airfield makes any conversion back to aviation use completely infeasible. The site will remain in its current role for the foreseeable future.