Back to Trail Four – Wigtown to Stranraer

RAF Castle Kennedy

RAF Castle Kennedy lies 3 miles east of Stranraer and dates back to World War 1 when the Royal Flying Corps used the flat ground of Cults Farm for limited flying.

With the outbreak of World War 2, a modern airfield was built to house No. 3 Air Gunnery School. Other units based there during the war specialised in torpedo training and target towing.

The main aircraft used at Castle Kennedy were similar to some of those at Dumfries, with Vickers Wellingtons, Avro Ansons, Blackburn Bothas and Fairey Battles being commonplace as well as the Bristol Beaufighters used for dropping torpedoes.

At the end of the war 57 Maintenance Unit used the airfield for storing Wellingtons and Mosquitos until they were either sold, or more commonly scrapped, before the airfield was closed in 1946.

Image credit – Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum collection

However this was not the end of flying at Castle Kennedy as between 1955 and 1957 Silver City Airways used the airfield to fly cars to Ireland and the Isle of Man, using Bristol 170 Freighters and Douglas Dakotas.

Since then the airfield has remained in occasional use, and is open as an unlicensed landing ground for light aviation – the only former RAF airfield in south Scotland to remain open for private flying. A few of the airfield buildings remain, including two hangars in use by local businesses.

RAF Castle Kennedy

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