RAF Tain
 On the 16th September 1941 the small landing strip which had served the pre-war Tain ranges was developed and opened as a fighter sector station to bridge the gap between Scapa Flow in the North and Turnhouse in the South.
At the end of October 1942 American engineers made extensions to the north-east and south-west runways. This allowed longer range aircraft, like the Liberators,to use the station.
On 22nd February 1943 the station was transferred to Coastal Command. Various British and Allied squadrons came and went throughout the war, some staying for as little as a day, others for much longer. Among them was 547 Squadron, flying B24 Liberators. DJ Matthews recalls the atrocious flying conditions they faced north of the Shetlands:
 "... we saw neither sea nor sky for over 8 hours. For all that time the drift meter, astro compass and sextant were blind and impotent. Combine these shortcomings with fickle magnetic compass and pernicious static peculiar to the area, and navigation was reduced to little more than a hope and a prayer. And pray I did!"
311 Czech Squadron
Another unit operating out of Tain was 311 Czech Squadron.
Forbie Urquhart, a Tain resident, witnessed the crash of a 311 Sq. Liberator. He recalls he was coming home from the ATC at 10pm one evening when he saw a glow in the sky and then an aircraft overhead losing height. It came down by Kirksheaf Farm and the pilot was later praised for avoiding the town. Forbie was the first on the scene but there was nothing anyone could do for the crew.
He subsequently discovered the Liberator, fully laden with fuel and depth charges for the trip that could last as long as 16 hours, had lost its starboard inner engine on take-off.
The ultimate price
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