Building record MAB21599 - ABERDEEN AIRPORT, DYCE

Aerodrome, World War II airfield (RAF Dyce) and WAAF camp,, now Aberdeen International Airport.

Aerodrome, World War II airfield (RAF Dyce) and WAAF camp,, now Aberdeen International Airport. In October 1933 work began on the construction of an airfield at Dyce, 6 miles north-west of Aberdeen, on a site to the west of Dyce village and the Aberdeen - Inverness railway. After the area was cleared three grass runways each 1,000 yards long were constructed together with a fourth 600 yards in length. At the north-east corner of the site, adjacent to Farburn Terrace, two aircraft hangars were erected and, next to these, a building to house electrical equipment and a staff clubhouse were provided. Following its official opening on 28th July 1934 the new aerodrome was operated by Aberdeen Airways Ltd, a company founded in January of the same year by pioneer aviator Eric Leslie Gandar Dower. The airline offered services to Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Northern Isles. In 1937 its name was changed to Allied Airways (Gandar Dower) Ltd. under which guise it operated until Dyce aerodrome and its associated buildings were requisitioned by the Air Ministry following the outbreak of World War II. The Air Ministry indertook a programme of expansion to equip it for its military role. Originally planes used the grass field but later three concrete runways were built. One of the airfield's primary wartime uses was as a fighter Sector station for No. 13 Group from January 1940. RAF Coastal Command also flew from the airfield to carry out anti-shipping and convoy protection patrols over the North Sea. Dyce's main use from the middle of the war was for photographic reconnaissance instruction. No.8 Operations Training Unit arrived at the airfield in early 1943 from Fraserburgh. Dyce also operated civil airline services to and from neutral Sweden during this period. After the end of the war Aberdeen University Air Squadron and No 612 squadron continued operating from Dyce until 1957. Civilian flights resumed at the start of 1946 but a huge change took place the following year when the aerodrome came under the control of the new state-owned airline, British European Airways. Despite fierce criticism of the new regime some improvements to services were made and by 1949 an average of twenty flights a day landed at Dyce. In the early 1950s the runways were extended and improved facilities were provided at the passenger terminal. In 1955 the title 'Aberdeen Airport' was officially adopted and a few years later passenger-handling facilities were again upgraded at a cost of £10,000. After the Civil Aviation Authority took control in 1972 the airport's well-known association with helicopters began when BEA Helicopters opened a new servicing area. By the early 1970s it was becoming clear that the small terminal on the east side of the airport was no longer adequate and a new and much larger terminal was built on the undeveloped west side. This new building and its associated facilities were officially opened in June 1977. Since then the development of the North Sea oil and gas industries together with a huge increase in leisure travel have ensured that Aberdeen Airport has continued to grow in order to meet these demands. Most of the wartime facilities have been demolished during reconstruction work including the original WWII control tower, replaced in 1980. The present air traffic control tower is of brutalist modernist design. The main runway now is use for fixed wing aircraft is post-war although the original three runways are used for helicopter operations. See also NJ81SE0121, NJ81SE0123, NJ81SE0125, NJ81SE0127, NJ81SE0129. A watching brief was carried out by Headland Archaeology in March - May 2011 during groundworks related to a runway extension. The foundations and floors of a number of structures relating to the use of the airfield in World War II were uncovered. The work also recorded two undated pits.

AAS/GR/95/CT320, AAS/GR/95/CT320 (Ground Photograph). SAB36653.

HEADLAND ARCHAEOLOGY, 2011, ABERDEEN AIRPORT RUNWAY EXTENSION, DYCE, ABERDEEN: RESULTS OF AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB4517.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2012, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 12, 2011, p. 11 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5536.

Jan 15 1946 , 106G/UK/1125/3344, 3345, 106G/UK/1125/3344, 3345 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB36418.

May 30 2000 , GR/00CT586, 587, GR/00CT586, 587 (Ground Photograph). SAB36967.

Record last edited

Feb 21 2025 1:05PM