Wath Head X5WH (A)

Alt Name: Jenkins Cross. Opened: 1941. Status in 1944: RAF. No.10 SLG. MSU. Current use: Agriculture. Remarks: Wath Head had a grass strip, roughly 24/06, parallel to the A595, heavy-rollered to take the weight of the Bothas and Wellingtons that mainly used it. They were pushed back into the trees to the S of the strip for camouflage and the gaps cut in the line of trees can still be seen. The Receipt and Dispatch Hut and the remains of a Lewis Gun post are still visible. On the N side of the A595 remains one of the original 12 Nissan huts that housed the personnel. As part of the concealment policy the field continued to be grazed - the sheep had to be cleared from the runway to accommodate arrivals. Wath Head was used in the early part of the war by Kirkbride but towards the end most machines came from the base at Dumfries.