Help would be appreciated to find the site of the Kinloss GPSS depot on aerial photography.

Does anyone have any further information on the Heathfield site as it seems unknown appart from the list of MOD Property?

In case you don't have the Big Boys Book of Abbreviations to hand or, haven't read the appropriate page stubs, GPSS stands for Government Pipeline & Storage System.  

I thought there was some sort of fuel site alongside the road that runs up the West side of the airfield but can't see it on ther aerial photograph so not sure what I saw.  I presume the large circles at the North of the airfield are the main fuel storage tanks?

The mounded tanks at Inverness are the WWII ones.

If they are still there they must be in use or they would have been demolished.  Flat ground would have been reclaimed by the neighbouring industrial estate I would have thought.

The GPSS site must be on a discreet piece of land as they are isted separately and often seem to be some distance from the airfield served.  Therein lies the problem with the aerial pics!

You can see the mounded tanks in the fuel depot on the Longman near Kessock Bridge.

Don't think there is a "depot" as such at Kinloss. There are several BFI's (bulk fuel installations), 7 in total I think, supplied from the depot at Inverness, close to the football stadium/bridge

P.S. the large circles at the North of the Airfield are aerial sites formerly of 81 signals unit

Thanks  Tackdriver and welcome.

OK on the aerials, I did wonder but did not think they would be so near the airfield.  

MB

Perhaps pedantic, but I don't think it would be correct to say the the aerial site was "formerly of 81 signals unit" - which could imply they were stationed here. Their stated role suggests they would have installed and commissioned the facility, then handed it over.

81 Signal Squadron is a specialist Territorial Army unit that recruits trained telecommunications engineers from industry, gives them the required military skills and deploys world-wide in support of Army fixed operating bases. The unit can trace it's history to 1924 where it formed as a Kite Balloon Signal Section, through both World Wars in a variety of Air Formation Signals roles, into the Army Emergency Reserve (AER) of the 1950s and as 81 Signal Regiment in the 1960s. Since 1971, the unit has been at Squadron strength and moved to it's current role in 2 (NC) Signal Brigade after the Defence Review of 1999.

81 has an interesting history:

81 Signal Squadron - British Army Website

Is 81 signals unit the same as 81 signals squadron? I thought 81SU was an RAF outfit?

Anyway, to get back to the original thread: I was mistaken, there is a fuel depot at Kinloss, located south of the camp on the domestic site. If you find Easter Road, Kinloss on Google map and head North West along it towards the camp about half way along there is turn-off on the left. The compound can be seen as a seven sided enclosure with a couple of buildings within it, just north of the grass football pitch (not the light green astroturf pitch). Does that make sense Mr Fox? If I remember rightly there is a c contact number on the gate for Aldermaston? but this could be years old.

Quoted from Tackdriver

Is 81 signals unit the same as 81 signals squadron? I thought 81SU was an RAF outfit?

Aw c.mon... just because I'm the resident pedant doesn't mean everybody has to start

But seriously, it's a good question.

All I can say at the moment is that it may be down to sloppy authorship across the net.

I searched the usual MoD official site sources, and all it came up with was the British Army listing for 81 Signal Squadron.

I don't know the internal ordering of the armed forces, and why an Army unit should be called a Squadron, but I do know that most casual writers on the internet are too lazy to check into the backround of what the find on Google, and do no verification, so the many reference to 81 being an RAF unit than and Army unit is likely to be down to an assumption that seeing the word "Squadron" attached to the unit means it is an RAF unit and not an Army unit.

After finding the Army unit, and seeing its communications installation duties, I did not look further for an RAF unit since the MoD search had not returned such an entity, and it would be something of a remarkable coincidence that both the Army and the RAF had a signal unit which also had the same number assigned in each service.

Maybe somebody knows better, and there are two.

One for the long winter's evenings

I think they are or were 2 different things. I don't think 81 SU exists in the RAF anymore where as 81 signals squadron army does.... I agree it seems bizarre to use the same number in different branches of the services - but, there are two No.51 squadrons in the RAF, one is a flying unit, the other RAF regiment! I believe the same case existed for No. 2 squadron. The scope for confusion is enormous!

I agree.

I've had a chance to do some more digging and cross-checking, and although I don't have a specific entry for the RAF unit, the descriptions are consistent, and different from the Army unit I picked up on above.

Looks like some more info for our existing Secret Scotland - RAF Milltown page, which does mention their site and its demise, but we weren't aware of 81 at the time, which also operated at other sites in the north of Scotland.

Not bad for a new start in the Forum - good job The Fox said "Welcome" up front

Someone has to do the PR bit.

First attempt at pics.... hope it works. All taken from the publc road and show the Kinloss GPSS terminal.

All working nicely

Nice collection of signs on the gate too.

Give it a few years and Babcock's will rule the world!!!

Quoted from Specopcaptain

Give it a few years and Babcock's will rule the world!!!

Not SERCO?

My money is on Serco too!

SerCo has been described as "Probably the biggest company you've ever heard of" by the media, and is usually the option I keep tripping over at work.

It's been in the management business longer than Babcock, with a wider reach, but Babcock, as a company, has actually been around somewhat longer, but changed its business shape quite a few times

Depending on what measure you use, SerCo can be anything up to twice the size of Babcock.