RAF Hell's Mouth
RAF Hell's Mouth | |||||||
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Near Abersoch, Gwynedd in Wales | |||||||
RAF Hell's Mouth Shown within Gwynedd | |||||||
Coordinates | 52°48′25″N 004°32′14″W / 52.80694°N 4.53722°W | ||||||
Type | Emergency Landing Ground Air gunnery and bombing range | ||||||
Site information | |||||||
Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||
Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||
Controlled by | RAF Coastal Command | ||||||
Site history | |||||||
Built | 1940 | ||||||
In use | 1940-1946 | ||||||
Battles/wars | Second World War | ||||||
Airfield information | |||||||
Elevation | 18 metres (59 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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Royal Air Force Hell's Mouth or more simply RAF Hell's Mouth is a former Royal Air Force Emergency Landing Ground at Hell's Mouth, (Porth Neigwl) on the Llŷn Peninsula near Abersoch, Gwynedd, Wales.
History[]
RAF Hell's Mouth was commissioned in February 1937 as a Relief Landing Ground, later an Emergency Landing Ground for RAF Penrhos. It took its name from the local coastline which is known as Hell's Mouth due to the 'hellish' conditions for sailors with little shelter from the sea.[1] It was also an air gunnery and bombing range, with targets on the land, floated 1 mile offshore and towed drogues in the air. A small range railway was in use to provide moving targets.[2]
Typical aircraft using the airfield were Bristol Blenheim and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley. In August 1944 a Vickers Wellington was successfully landed by a Polish pilot following an engine failure. Despite the mismatch in size, the aircraft also was able to subsequently take off.[2]
was posted here at some point.[3]
Current use[]
The site was decommissioned in 1945 and returned to agriculture.[3]
See also[]
References[]
Citations[]
- ^ "Llyn and Bardsey Island" (PDF). naturalresources.wales. p. 3. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- ^ a b McLelland, Tim (2010). Action Stations Revisited: Wales and the Midlands No. Cheshire: Crecy Pub. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-85979-111-3.
- ^ a b "Hell's Mouth - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
Bibliography[]
- Annand, David. RAF Penrhos near Pwllheli 1937-45 and RAF Llandwrog near Caernarvon 1940-45. Tywyn : David Annand, 1986.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAF Hell's Mouth. |
- Gilby, John. "RAF Hell's Mouth (Porth Neigwl)". Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- Images at Geograph
- Royal Air Force stations in Wales
- Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom
- Royal Air Force stubs