HMS Osprey was one of the Navy’s helicopter airfields. It closed in 1999. Most of the base has been demolished. An HM Coastguard heliport remains, as does the old main building. This contained the control tower, operations room, met office and communications centre. There are plans to turn this building into a hotel.
More info can be found on Wikipedia.
Inside was completely trashed – nothing much remains. Wires have been stripped and things have been smashed by vandals.
The main draw to visiting the building was the control tower at the top. The tower would’ve given marvellous views of the base.
This was the most interesting thing in the building – a map/diagram of the base as it was. You can see the helicopter landing pads, and one of shortest runways in England (229m apparently).
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For those who served at Osprey it must be galling to see the dereliction described above. As a civilian who has known Portland as a holidaymaker for some fifty years it is for me too. However, for what it is worth, and only in fiction, the Navy went back to Portland and extended the runway up to the A354 to take STOL aircraft.
Some fifty helicopters and aircraft were based there – including Harriers taken out of mothballs by the defence cuts. The reason, Portland is to go back in time to avoid asteroids heading for the Earth. The mission is to industrialise the ancient world to have the technology in time to destroy them.
The Empress of Rome may be read free online on the Harper-Collins authonomy web site at http://www.authonomy.com/
The first chapter briefly sets the scene at the airbase. I hope people find this of interest. Portland has been used in fiction before now, and may that continue.
Clive Bone
I trained as a TAS underwater control operator in HMS Osprey (TAS School) in 1959 when it was situated above the naval base at East wear. Where can I find history or photo’s of that period. This phase in Osprey’s existance seems to have been completely overlooked.
How very sad to see dear Osprey in such a state. I believe it is called ‘progress’. I spent some memorable time with 737 squadron on Advanced Flying Training and then as a staff pilot for Wessex Mk3. I also contracted hepatitis there (in the days before “A” to “C”, it was just ‘hepatitis’!!). Fond memories nevertheless abound.