Dates: 1941 -
RAF Peterhead, Longside Airfield, was a World War II airfield located approximately four miles west of Peterhead.
Peterhead Airfield was built for the RAF in 1941, between Longside and Peterhead, and disbanded in 1945. At its busiest, there was in excess of 2,000 personnel stationed there, serving a large number of RAF squadrons, and up to four Fleet Air Arm squadrons.
Although the hangars no longer remain, much of the airfield remains, including much of the runways, dispersal sites, and remains of the accommodation camps, buildings and huts associated with them. A number of pillboxes (possibly seven originally) remain around the site, which was equipped with a Battle HQ, rifle range, and its own sewage plant. The Operations Block lay to the south east of the junction of the A950 and the Peterhead bypass. Originally a flat roofed building with four associated huts within a fenced enclosure, a house now occupies the site.
The airfield is still in use, and has served as a refuelling point for Bond Helicopters and Bristows, flying on to service oil platforms in the North Sea. The control tower was demolished in 1969.
On a smaller scale, a stretch of runway has also been cleared for use by radio-controlled model aircraft.
