RAF Kinloss
Description
RAF Kinloss is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland.The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a training establishment during the Second World War. After the war it was handed over to Coastal Command to watch over Russian ships and submarines in the Norwegian Sea. Until 2010 it was the main base for the RAF's fleet of Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol aircraft. It was intended that the MR2 would be replaced by the Nimrod MRA4, but the MRA4 was cancelled in the Strategic Defence and Security Review of October 2010. This meant that Kinloss was no longer required by the RAF. Regular flying operations ceased on 31 July 2011. However, the runways will be maintained to be used as a relief landing site, e.g. from RAF Lossiemouth.In November 2011 the Ministry of Defence and 12 (Air Support) Engineer Group announced that 930 Service personnel from 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support) would move from Waterbeach Barracks, near Cambridge, to Kinloss in summer 2012. First units of 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support) arrived in June 2012, with the majority expected by July.