RAF targets sale of Machrihanish base

View large map
It was nicknamed Britain's "Area 51", supplied American presidents with intelligence during the Cold War and was reputed to have the longest runway in Europe. But now RAF Machrihanish has been put up for sale.

For three decades the base, near Campbeltown, was used by US special forces for training and it was seen as a location where bombers would have launched had the Cold War turned hot.

The collapse of the Berlin Wall led to the base being gradually run down and it was handed by to the RAF by the US authorities before the announcement of official closure came in 1996. Since then a small team of MOD staff have remained at the Kintyre site to provide care and maintenance.

Read more