RAF Leuchars is the most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom. It is located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, near to the university town of St Andrews. St Athernase Church in Leuchars, Fife, Scotland Leuchars is a small town near the north east coast of Fife in Scotland, sited nearly 2 miles (3 km) to the north of the village of Guardbridge which lies on the north bank of the River Eden where it widens to the... Fife (Fìobh in Gaelic) is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with landward boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Named after Saint Andrew the Apostle, the Royal Burgh of St Andrews is a town on the east coast of Fife, Scotland, and the home of golf. ...

Leuchars is currently home to three squadrons of Panavia Tornado F3s. They are No. 111 Squadron, No. 43 Squadron & No. 56 (Reserve) Squadron. Nos. 43 and 111 Squadrons are operational units, each with a strength of 16 aircraft. No. 56 Squadron is an Operational Conversion Unit, which trains aircrew on how to use the F3. The Panavia Tornado is a jet engine fighter-bomber and interceptor jointly developed as the Multi-role combat aircraft - or MRCA - by the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. ... RAF Tornado F3 The Tornado F3 is a fighter/interceptor version of the Panavia Tornado in service with the Royal Air Force. ... No. ... No. ... Number 56 (R) Squadron is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons in the RAF, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both world wars. ... An Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) is a unit within an air force whose role is to support preparation for the operational missions of a specific aircraft type by providing trained personnel. ...

3AAC is also based here. Consisting of four Gazelle helicopters, it is manned by five permanent personnel (OC, 2IC, QHI, Artificer and Admin Officer) together with 11 Territorial Army (TA) pilots. These are ex-Army Air Corps and fly for the Flight as and when required. Aircraft maintenance is carried out by a civilian team from VT Aerospace. Although a Territorial Army unit, it is fully operational and is subject to tasking by the Joint Helicopter Command in support of Land Command. Consequently, the Flight carries out tasks such as liaison, VIP duties, reconnaissance, photographic, load carrying and command and control in support of Army units all over Scotland and occasionally England.

Leuchars is also the base for No. 612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, an RAF Mountain Rescue Unit, and is the airfield from which the local Air Training Corps units and officer cadets from Aberdeen, Dundee and St. Andrews University Air Squadrons fly from, using the Tutor T1. No. 612 Squadron RAuxAF is an air-transportable surgical squadron. Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. ... The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. ... University Air Squadrons are training units of the Royal Air Force which provide basic flying training to students at British universities. ... The Grob Tutor is a single-engined low-wing monoplane used as a basic training aircraft by the RAF. The aircraft has fixed tricycle undercarriage with spatted wheels, a short nose, and a cabin with a broad canopy and all round vision. ...

The other RAF air defence base is RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire. RAF air defence bases RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force station in North Yorkshire, England. ...

RAF Leuchars is home to the annual Leuchars Airshow. This usually takes place on a Saturday in September. The 2006 Leuchars Airshow will take place on 9 September 2006. September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• List of RAF stations

This is a list of Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. ...

External links

• RAF Leuchars homepage
• - Airshow site.