Full WW2 control tower details and photos for this wartime airfield are coming soon. Please check back later as this is work progress. If you would like to contribute information or photos please get in touch.
Wartime role
RAF Tealing was a wartime airfield at near Dundee in Angus (Scotland). During the Second World War it served as a fighter OTU and satellite training station, feeding the front line with combat-ready pilots. developed as a satellite within the eastern Scotland fighter/training network; heavily used during 1942-45 for conversion and continuation training.
Like most British wartime stations, RAF Tealing functioned as a small, self-contained town. Beyond the runways were technical areas for maintenance and armament, dispersed hardstandings to reduce losses during raids, and domestic sites where airmen, WAAFs or naval personnel lived, trained, and waited for the next tasking. On operational nights or intensive training days the routine revolved around briefings, meteorology, aircraft servicing, and a tight rhythm of take-off and recovery windows.
Squadrons, units and types
Aircraft commonly associated with wartime flying here: Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, Miles Master (advanced trainer).
Records for RAF Tealing show a mix of operational and support activity. Some units were long-term residents with a stable identity, while others arrived as detachments – often for conversion training, gunnery work-ups, dispersal, or to cover a specific operational requirement. That pattern is typical of the RAF’s wartime system: stations were constantly re-tasked as the air war shifted from defence to offence, from the Battle of the Atlantic to the bomber offensive, and later to preparations for the invasion of Northwest Europe.
- Operational Training Unit activity including fighter conversion work (commonly associated with No. 56 OTU in the region)
- Detachment-style movements from nearby stations such as Leuchars, with aircraft rotated for gunnery, formation and operational exercises
What happened here
Part of the ‘quietly essential’ training architecture: pilots learned combat tactics, low-level navigation, and interception procedures before joining operational squadrons.
Also supported coastal defence readiness in the North Sea approaches, with aircraft able to disperse rapidly between fields.
Research tip: if you’re tracing people connected to the airfield, look for unit Operational Record Books (ORBs), station diaries, and local newspaper reports. Squadron codes, aircraft serials and incident cards can often tie a single photograph to a precise date, aircraft and crew – turning a generic image into a documented historical moment.
What’s left today
As with many OTU satellites, physical remains are patchy, but local memory and airfield plans preserve its role as a training workhorse.
Landscape and flying conditions: RAF Tealing’s geography influenced operations. Prevailing winds dictated runway selection, while local terrain and weather shaped training and safety. In winter, short daylight and low cloud increased the workload; in summer, longer hours enabled intensive training programmes and high sortie rates. These practical factors are often reflected in accident reports and ORBs, which mention crosswinds, icing, fog, and diversion landings.
People and local impact: wartime stations drew in thousands of personnel and contractors. Nearby villages saw billets, transport convoys, blackout rules, and the sudden arrival of foreign accents – from Commonwealth aircrew to American units. Many airfields formed strong links with local communities through dances, sports, and fundraising, but also through tragedy when aircraft crashed or when raids hit technical sites and domestic camps.