After 100 years of proud aviation history, the death knell has sounded for the world-famous RAF Leuchars air base.
During a nine-minute statement, Defence Secretary Liam Fox changed the future of Fife forever. Air force personnel will leave Leuchars within the next four years, to be replaced by army troops returning from overseas.
Meanwhile, Condor, near Arbroath home to 45 Commando Royal Marines is also set to be transformed by the arrival of the army and the departure of marines.
As Dr Fox informed Westminster of the changes, there was sadness for servicemen and women, their families and residents, many of whom openly wept.
North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell branded the decision to remove the RAF from Leuchars “wrong and inept.” He also said the safety of Scottish citizens had been compromised.
It is understood some civilian jobs at Leuchars could be at risk, although The Courier has been told there will be “opportunities” for staff to redeploy to the army.
The number of army personnel in Scotland is expected to treble as troops return from Germany. Details remain scant, but it is thought several thousand will be based in Leuchars.
The Courier understands Typhoons from the Fife base could be deployed to Lossiemouth within two years and the RAF’s long association with Leuchars will be ended within four years.
Personnel at RAF Leuchars and Lossiemouth had been gathered in large hangars on their respective bases ahead of the announcement. As Dr Fox made his statement to parliament, staff in Fife and Moray were simultaneously told of the changes.
Gerald Howarth, the minister for international security strategy, visited RAF Leuchars to break the news on behalf of the government.
Dr Fox confirmed that the Typhoons which have only recently arrived in Leuchars would instead be built up at Lossiemouth.
Announcing the plans to “rationalise” the UK’s defence estate, he said, “I am conscious of the uncertainty changes will cause to service personnel and their families.”
Nevertheless, he insisted the developments were “good news” for the armed forces and for Scotland’s overall “defence footprint.”
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Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy insisted the government’s handling of the basing review had been shabby.
“There will be fury in Fife. The government has not done its homework on this.”
Mr Murphy said the breaking of the link between Fife and the RAF should be a matter of grave regret for the government.
Meanwhile, a clearly furious Sir Menzies did not hold back in his stinging criticism and suggested RAF chiefs had made it perfectly clear they wanted to stay at Leuchars.
“The decision not to retain Leuchars in my constituency as an RAF base providing air defence is fundamentally wrong, strategically inept, and likely to increase the risk to our citizens,” he said in parliament, moments after the announcement.
“Can he (Dr Fox) confirm that his decision was taken against the advice of senior commanders of the RAF?”
He is also concerned over plans to move army troops in.
“The proposals for use of Leuchars by the army lack dates, details and substance.”
He asked for the government to provide “cast-iron guarantees” that money will be found to support the Fife changes.
Sir Menzies insisted the strategic case for retaining Leuchars had never been challenged and attacked army generals he said had interfered with the basing review.
“The army has exerted considerable influence over the process,” he told The Courier. “You should not meddle with strategic arrangements solely for the convenience of the army.
“The announcement is very short on detail and substance so the next step is to get cast-iron guarantees about dates.”
As Leuchars was axed, there was joy in Moray. In addition to the retention of RAF Lossiemouth, there is also a potentially bright future for nearby Kinloss. Army troops will be moving in at the base which had, until recently, been Scotland’s third RAF facility.
Local MP Angus Robertson, the SNP’s defence spokesman, said, “The victory in Moray is tinged with sadness due to the loss of RAF Leuchars.”
The Fife base has played a huge role in the lives of generations of locals. There was an air of stunned disbelief among many residents, with community council chairwoman Carroll Finnie describing the decision as “devastating”.
Fife MSP and presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament Tricia Marwick said, “I am extremely disappointed the UK coalition government has not listened to representations made by the Fife community about the importance of RAF Leuchars. Closure of the base will have a devastating economic effect on Fife, as well as reducing the strategic capacity of the UK as a whole.”
For decades, those in Fife and Tayside have grown used to the sound of jets roaring overhead after taking off from Leuchars. The silence in years to come is set to be hugely uneasy.