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Old 5th Apr 2009, 14:25
  #5582 (permalink)  
S'land
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany
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Well done Little Cloud, it is indeed what is now Scatsta Airport on Shetland. The photograph is from the admirable Shetland Museum photo archive and is, I believe, of WWII vintage.
First developed as RAF Scatsta in 1940 as a fighter base and able to support Coastal Command Flying Boat operations. It was the most northerly base in the British Isles. Construction started on the two runways in Spring 1940. In November 1944 Scatsta was used as a support base and diversion point for Lancasters from 617 squadron, led by Wing Commander J. B. Tait, on "Operation Catechism", which bombed and sank the Tirpitz near Håkøy Island, Tromsø. After WWII the aerodrome lay dormant until 1978 when it opened as a civil airport.
According to Wickipedia Scatsta is “the fifth largest airport in Scotland, ranked by international passengers“. The airport service area has no bar (the nearest is some 3 miles away), and no taxi or bus service.
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