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.
RAF St Merryn, on Cornwall’s north coast near Padstow, was created specifically for Coastal Command and the Atlantic war. The station’s geography mattered: it faced the Western Approaches and the Bay of Biscay routes used by U-boats and hostile shipping. Coastal airfields in Cornwall formed a chain of coverage, and St Merryn added depth and flexibility – more runways, more dispersal space, and a base from which aircraft could launch quickly into the sea lanes.
St Merryn’s operational life saw a changing cast of squadrons and aircraft as Coastal Command adapted its tactics. Early and mid-war maritime work relied heavily on aircraft such as the Lockheed Hudson and Vickers Wellington variants configured for reconnaissance and anti-submarine patrol. As the war progressed and the Allies pushed U-boats further out, longer-range types such as the Consolidated Liberator were increasingly important across the region, while coastal strike and anti-shipping tasks made use of heavily armed aircraft like the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito in appropriate phases and locations. At St Merryn, this translated into a mix of patrol, training, and readiness sorties – often with detachments and short postings rather than a single continuous unit.
A key part of the station’s story is the operational method of the maritime war: endurance, search patterns and reporting. Crews flew long hours over water, scanning for periscopes, wakes or ships, relying on radar and disciplined navigation. When contact was made, the job was either attack – using depth charges, bombs or rockets depending on the aircraft and period – or coordination, keeping a target under observation and summoning surface escorts. Many missions ended with no dramatic encounter, but they still mattered by denying the enemy freedom of movement.
St Merryn’s ground organisation reflected that endurance role. Aircraft needed constant servicing between sorties, and maritime flying accelerated wear. Radio and radar maintenance was crucial; meteorology drove decisions; and armourers handled anti-submarine weapons under strict safety regimes. Stations also maintained air-sea rescue links because ditching risk was ever-present in Atlantic flying. The combination of long sorties, harsh weather and complex equipment made Coastal Command bases intensely technical places.
- Primary wartime role: Coastal Command maritime patrol/anti-submarine and associated training and readiness flying in the Cornish Atlantic sector.
- Typical aircraft associated with the region and station’s role: Lockheed Hudson, Vickers Wellington (maritime variants), longer-range patrol types such as Liberator; strike phases in the wider Cornwall network used Beaufighter/Mosquito.
- Unit pattern: rotational Coastal Command squadrons and detachments as priorities and aircraft availability shifted.
RAF St Merryn’s WWII significance is that it represents the ‘coastal coverage’ layer of the Atlantic war – an airfield built to keep aircraft over the sea, day after day, until the shipping lanes became safer and the strategic tide turned.
A final aspect is the human strain of endurance flying. Maritime patrol crews sat for hours over grey sea with little stimulation, then had to react instantly if a contact appeared. Training and readiness were therefore not optional extras; they were essential to performance. St Merryn helped sustain that readiness by providing runway availability, skilled ground support and reliable routine.