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RNAS Hatston (HMS Sparrowhawk)

Aviation in ScotlandBuildings and structures in OrkneyKirkwallRoyal Naval Air Stations in ScotlandUse British English from January 2018
RNAS Hatston
RNAS Hatston

Royal Naval Air Station Hatston (RNAS Hatston, also called HMS Sparrowhawk), was a military airfield located one mile to the north west of Kirkwall, on the island of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland, built as a Royal Naval Air Station. It was located near the strategically vital naval base of Scapa Flow, which for most of the twentieth century formed the main base of the ships of the Home Fleet. The airbase was designed to provide accommodation for disembarked Front-Line squadrons and accommodation for disembarked Ship's Flight Aircraft and was home to the Home Fleet Fleet Requirements Unit, 771 Naval Air Squadron. The airbase was situated near two notable landmarks, it was located next to the town and port of Kirkwall, with Scapa Flow 2.5 miles (4 km) south. The airfield was sited on the south bank of the Bay of Kirkwall, 1 mile (2 km) north east of the town of Kirkwall, and the road from Kirkwall to Finstown forms the southern boundary of the airfield. It was purpose built by the Admiralty and commissioned on 2 October 1939 as HMS Sparrowhawk, the airbase remained operational for almost six years, before It was ‘paid off’ on 1 August 1945. It immediately re-commissioned on the same day as HMS Tern II. Six weeks later it decommissioned for a second time, on 15 September and the airbase was reduced to care and maintenance.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article RNAS Hatston (HMS Sparrowhawk) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

RNAS Hatston (HMS Sparrowhawk)
Grainshore Drive,

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N 58.994166666667 ° E -2.9763888888889 °
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Grainshore Drive
KW15 1GG
Scotland, United Kingdom
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RNAS Hatston
RNAS Hatston
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St Magnus Cathedral
St Magnus Cathedral

St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in Scotland, and the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built for the bishops of Orkney when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney. It is owned not by the church, but by the burgh of Kirkwall as a result of an act of King James III of Scotland following Orkney's annexation by the Scottish Crown in 1468. The cathedral has its own dungeon. People accused of witchcraft in Orkney from 1594-1708 were usually incarcerated in the church, with their trials also held here. Construction began in 1137, and it was added to over the next 300 years. The first bishop was William the Old, and the diocese was under the authority of the Archbishop of Nidaros in Norway. It was for Bishop William that the nearby Bishop's Palace was built. Before the Reformation, the cathedral was presided over by the Bishop of Orkney, whose seat was in Kirkwall. Today, it is a parish church of the Church of Scotland (with a Presbyterian system of Church governance), but remains consecrated grounds and place of worship within the Roman Catholic Church with occasional Catholic services taking place. The congregation of St Magnus Cathedral is now (since 1 October 2024) part of Orkney Islands Church of Scotland - a single ecclesiastical parish staffed by a team ministry.