- Type of Memorial
- Board / Plaque / Tablet
- WMR Reference Number
- 69562
- Description
- Two rectangular cast bronze plaques set on a block of pink Scottish granite. The left one gives the dedication,
and the right a map of the 27 Scottish Maritime bases in use during the Second World war.
- Inscription
- TRIBUTE TO ROYAL AIR FORCE/ COASTAL COMMAND IN SCOTLAND/
During the Second World War, aircraft of Royal Air Force Coastal/ Command operated from the 27 Scottish Bases depicted on this map/ display under control from a headquarters at Pitreavie Castle in Fife. The/ British Isles presented a physical barrier to the submarines and ships of/ the German Navy, around which they had to navigate before they could/ operate against Britain’s vital shipping lifelines across the Atlantic/
Ocean. The first task of the maritime and photo reconnaissance/ squadrons, operating from these bases, was therefore to search for and/ attack enemy submarines and warships attempting to sail around the/ north of Scotland or through the Faeroes-Iceland gap./
Patrols from bases on the East Coast also swept out across the North Sea/ towards the coasts of Norway and Denmark on reconnaissance and anti-/ shipping strikes in the face of fierce opposition against German convoys/ sailing down the Norwegian coast. Others took off from the West Coast/ and flew far out into the Atlantic constantly searching for U-boats and/ raiders deployed to attack our convoys carrying food, war materials and/ men to Britain from Canada and the United States./
German naval units were also based in Norway, following the occupation/ of that country, making the tasks of Coastal Command yet more difficult/ with its aircraft operating over the inhospitable waters of the far north,/ to stop the U-boats reaching the Atlantic and also to support our convoys/ sailing to Russia around the north of Norway. Among other roles, the/ meteorological squadrons, operating at long range over the Atlantic in all/ weathers, were pivotal to the success of Bomber Command and in/ preparing for the Allied landings in Normandy in 1944. While the Air Sea/ Rescue launches, deployed around the Scottish coastline, played their/ crucial part in the rescue from the sea of airmen and seamen, both friend/ and foe./
In their long and demanding patrols across the featureless expanse of the/ ocean searching for the enemy, the crews of Coastal Command faced/ danger not only from enemy attack, but also from extreme weather. In/ contributing to the Command’s overall task, and its magnificent record/ of 189 submarines sunk and a million tons of enemy shipping sunk or/ disabled, many made the supreme sacrifice. But by their courage and/ perseverance - as for those of a later Cold War age - they helped/ preserve the freedoms we now enjoy.