The runways are operated by the Royal Navy and today it is a satellite airfield and relief landing ground for nearby RNAS Culdrose.

The capitulation of France in June 1940 gave impetus to the building of numerous airfields across South West England which was now vulnerable to attack by the Luftwaffe.

The night fighting element was later augmented by 1457 Flight flying Douglas Havoc aircraft with its unsuccessful Turbinlite searchlight tactics.

Late in 1942 some of the 67th TCG's Douglas C-47 Skytrains and the 81st Fighter Group's Bell P-39 Airacobras refuelled here before flying around the Iberian Peninsula.

In preparation for Operation Overlord, Nos 1 and 165 Squadrons formed a wing of Supermarine Spitfire IXs at Predannack to prevent Luftwaffe aircraft from attacking Allied shipping.

[3] 151 Squadron, with its different types of Mosquitos, continued flying from Predannack until April 1946,[4] and the following month the airfield closed, being reduced to care and maintenance.

After a period of experimental use by Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd under the supervision of Barnes Wallis from 1951 to September 1957, the base was taken over by the Royal Navy on 15 December 1958.

On the west side of the spectacular Lizard Peninsula, parts of the base away from the operational areas are in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its combination of botany (including orchids, Cornish heath, magic mushroom), zoology (including butterflies, and snakes notably the venomous common adder) and geology (bastite and serpentinite).