World War One Audit of Surviving Remains
Date 4 June 2013
Event ID 961216
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type World War One Audit of Surviving Remains
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/961216
Donibristle aerodrome was developed from September 1917 to cater for the expansion of naval flying in southern Scotland. It lay close to the naval base at Rosyth, on an emergency landing ground previously established by No. 77 Home Defence Squadron (although it was never used by the squadron). The station was designed to maintain the aeroplanes of the fleet – both land-planes and seaplanes – a growing commitment after it was decided to equip all light and battle cruisers with onboard aircraft. The base was to be the principal repair depot for fleet aircraft, the store for reserve aircraft and a landing ground for aeroplanes coming in from their ships.
At the time of the 1918 RAF survey of aerodromes, the main station covered an area of 53 hectares (measuring 1005m by 550m), with its technical buildings in its north-west corner and the accommodation area in the north-east. The technical area included four aeroplane sheds measuring 61m by 30m and an erecting shed and a stores shed of the same size; there was a further, smaller, stores shed, as well as a range of workshops and ammunition stores. The establishment of the aerodrome had not been finalised at the time of the 1918 survey, but extensive accommodation for men and women was under construction.
The main site was linked to the shore by a railway line 2.6km long, connected at its NE end to the main railway line that ran along the northern boundary of the aerodrome. The route of the line was mapped on the 1926-7 edition of the OS 25-inch map of the area. At its SW end the railway ran out onto a pier for the seaplanes, which survives. The railway was used to transport seaplanes up to the main part of the aerodrome. There were two store sheds and a bomb store near the pier.
Donibristle was one of only two Scottish aerodromes that continued in active military use after the First World War and then through the Second World War. Since its closure in 1959 most of the main part of the aerodrome has been occupied by Donibristle Industrial Estate, but about 16 buildings of the First World War accommodation complex survive as commercial premises at the south-east corner of the estate. Second World War buildings also survive.
Information from HS/RCAHMS World War One Audit Project (GJB) 31 May 2013
