The station was built in 1940 by the
British Army and used by the
Royal Air Force from March 1941 and throughout the remainder of the
Second World War. On 2 September 1942 the war artist
Eric Ravilious was lost after he flew from Kaldadarnes.
Royal Navy During 1943 lodger facilities for an RN Air Section were granted from
RAF Coastal Command to provide and maintain, in storage,
Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bomber aircraft for
escort carriers on
North Atlantic convoy duties and for
MAC-Ships. The Air Section opened on 1 May 1943 with its accounts 'on books of HMS
Baldur II' It was commanded by
Lieutenant Commander(
A)(P) A.G. Mayhew,
RNVR, under the administrative control of
Admiral Commanding Iceland. RAF Coastal Command maintained the airbase and it could accommodate around 100
ratings and six
officers. The Fairey Swordfish for storage were flown in from the on 5 May and its embarked squadrons
819 and
892 spent the night at the airbase. RAF Coastal Command intended to reduce RAF station to Care & Maintenance status offering the
Admiralty control of the site, but as little use had been made of the airbase this was rejected and the Air Section was withdrawn on 2 November. ==Squadrons==