During World War II, there was a large training and operational base for Catalina amphibians and Sunderland seaplanes, which extended from Invergordon to Alness point - also now an industrial estate.
On 26 November 1944, RAF Short Sunderland DD851 of the 4th Operational Training Unit departed Cromarty Firth, RAF Station Alness on an anti-submarine patrol of the North Sea off the coast of Scotland.