Unit History: RN Air Station Dale
Constructed as RAF dale in 1942.IN 1943 it became RNAS Dale (HMS Gold Crest)
In September 1943, the light blue of the RAF and the navy blue of the Fleet Air Arm embarked on an exchange scheme with Dale and Angle as the pawns in the game. The Fleet Air Arm who had until then operated Angle as a Royal Naval Air Station would take over Dale, to be known as HMS “Goldcrest”, while the RAF would relinquish Dale and transfer to Angle. Why the navy would wish this arrangement is not known, the only obvious immediate advantage being greater accessibility to mainline surface transport. As time went on, the advantage from the Navy’s point of view increased in that it brought it next door to the Flight Director Training School, HMS “Harrier”, located beside the village of Kete. Kete and Dale were to become closely associated with each other in the function that Kete was established to perform, namely the training of Fighter Direction Officers and Radar Plotters.
In September 1943, the light blue of the RAF and the navy blue of the Fleet Air Arm embarked on an exchange scheme with Dale and Angle as the pawns in the game. The Fleet Air Arm who had until then operated Angle as a Royal Naval Air Station would take over Dale, to be known as HMS “Goldcrest”, while the RAF would relinquish Dale and transfer to Angle. Why the navy would wish this arrangement is not known, the only obvious immediate advantage being greater accessibility to mainline surface transport. As time went on, the advantage from the Navy’s point of view increased in that it brought it next door to the Flight Director Training School, HMS “Harrier”, located beside the village of Kete. Kete and Dale were to become closely associated with each other in the function that Kete was established to perform, namely the training of Fighter Direction Officers and Radar Plotters.
