Airfields Used B y NZ Squadrons During WW 2, RAF Skitten

RAF Skitten

Image Source

The Memorial near RAF Skitten

58^29’45 N, 03^09’50” W

RAF Skitten was located directly East of the village of Killmister, 5.1 miles [8.2 km] North East of Wattem, Caithness and 4.7 miles [7.6 km ] North West of Wick, Caithness, Scotland.

The Station was opened in October 1940, as a satellite of RAF Castletown, the small Station was designed to accommodate a single fighter Squadron, but it ended up as a satellite for RAF Wick, then part of Coastal Command.

While under Coastal Command the Station played host to No 489 [NZ] Squadron, from 5th August 1942 to 6th October 1943, while they phased out the Handley Page Hampden’s and retrained using Bristol Beaufighters

Image Source

Handley Page Hampden

Image Source

Bristol Beaufighter

On 19th November 1942, Operation Freshman, the first use of gliders, took off from here to Vemork Norsk Hydro Chemical plant in Telemark, Norway.

The target was the source of the heavy water required for the German Nuclear program.

A small force of Sappers from the Royal Engineers attached to the 1st Airbourne Division would land by glider some distance from the target, demolish it, and then escape over the border to Sweden and escape.

They took off in two aircraft - glider combinations, the first pair suffered navigational difficulties and severe weather which resulted in the tow rope snapping and the first glider crashed with the tow aircraft returning to home Station.

Image Source

Airspeed Horsa Glider

Three of the sappers were killed in the crash landing, the others were soon captured.

The second pair fared worse, as both aircraft and glider crashed into a mountain for some unknown reason.

Those aircrew and sappers who weren’t killed in the landing were soon rounded up.

All the survivors were shot due to Hitlers “Commando Order”, which stated that all commando typre personnel were to be shot upon capture

The Station was transferred to Bomber Command in 1943,

It was here that the pilots began training with the Highball Bomb. A derivative of the
Barnes Wallis’s bomb, that was used by 617 Squadron on their famous raid on the Rhur Dams.

Pilots were able to train here for a raid on Norway without German interference.

The target was the German battle ship Tirpetz

Image Source

Tirpitz

with thanks to son-of-satire for the banner