RNAS Twatt (aka HMS Tern)

[ricardian]

Huge RN presence on Orkney in WW2 including seaplanes at RNAS Twatt (HMS Tern) and RNAS Hatston:

[FD2]

Thanks for the history ricardian.

I see St Magnus' Cathedral spire across the water - a fascinating visit in later years via John O'Groats. When I looked at Google Maps I realised I could see the remains of the runways by Grainshore Road between the Hatston Business Park and the Northlinks ferry terminal. Twatt was well known to us because of its snigger value, although it was paid off in 1945, over 20 years before we visited Orkney as cadets.

We anchored off Lyness in summer 1966 and went ashore to have a look at the remains of the WW2 naval shore base there with its fleet facilities. It inevitably progressed to a visit to a local pub (possibly in Rinnigill) where the local fishermen regaled us with memories of the War when the Flow was full of warships. Oil was still seeping from the wreck of the Royal Oak at the time of our visit as cadets, though I believe her fuel tanks have now largely been emptied. 835 lost that night in October 1939.

A later visit as a civilian pilot in 1980 entailed taking Margaret Thatcher and the mysterious Armand Hammer to his oil terminal at Flotta and back again from Kirkwall. Occidental was a British Airways Helicopters contract though she would much rather have flown in a Bristow aircraft!

Orkney - always a fascinating place to visit.

[CharlieOneSix]

I mentioned in this thread viewtopic.php?p=392647#p392647 that I once touched skids at Twatt just to get it in my logbook. My boss in the Electricity Board in the late 60s, Sox Hosegood, a former Walrus pilot, flew a Sikorsky R4 Hoverfly to Twatt in 1945 when he was part of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment at RAF Beaulieu.