RAF Tain Bombing Range Control Centre

 military, RAF - Royal Air Force

RAF Tain is a bombing range (formal designation: air weapons range) on the Moray Firth near Tain in Scotland. The original airfield is abandoned, but still exists within the boundaries of the range. The current station is the largest live bombing range in Europe. It is the only one in Europe where live 1000 lb bombs may be dropped, and is thus crucial to the final certification of bomber pilots. Several World War II airfield buildings in various states of decay can be seen from the road to Inverness and Portmahomack.

RAF Tain is now under the control of DTE (Defence Training Estates). The Range has no live bombing as it is all done at the Cape Wrath range in the far northwest of Scotland at Durness. The weapons at Tain are 3kg and 14kg practice bombs and inert 1000lb concrete bombs. The Americans drop BDU 50s and some 500lb bombs. The main users are RAF Lossiemouth jets including 15 Sqn OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) trainee pilots, but they can come from all over UK and beyond. The OCU use Tain to practice various types of attack from loft dive and level from 250 ft up to 15000 ft.

There are various bombing targets spread throughout the range; there are also a strafe panel and a couple of heli strafe targets. The range is staffed by RAF controllers and assistants from VT Aerospace, both of whom also man the Cape Wrath range. There are still some of the old RAF buildings and part of a runway left at Tain just used by the local farmers now.As a Royal Naval Air Station, it was also known as RNAS Tain.


www.wardetectives.info/projects/wardetectives/highlandm...
banthebomb.org/militaryscotland/35.html
www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/RAFTain