boat base for both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. The RAF operated search and rescue launches from the base. T. E. Lawrence was stationed there under the moniker Aircraftsman Shaw. Shorts Sunderland flying boats of the Royal Australian Air Force operated from RAF Mount Batten during World War II, taking part in the Battle of the Atlantic. The RAF finally left in 1986. Recent history The former RAF Mount Batten site was transferred to the Plymouth Development Corporation in 1992. In 1999, the Mount Batten Sailing and Watersports Centre opened on the site of the former sergeants' mess. The peninsula is also home to a small residential community with 22 houses, Spinnaker Quay, dating from 2001. References Geography of Plymouth, Devon Former populated places in Devon