A Stirling bomber at Maghaberry 1947

Maghaberry Airfield was an RAF satellite to Long Kesh Airfield. Both were designed by Air Ministry planners to operate light and medium bomber aircraft. However the first pair of hangars to be constructed at each was erected for aircraft manufacturers Short & Harland for the assembly of Stirling heavy bombers.

 During 1942, at least two Stirlings were completed and test-flown at Long Kesh before the final assembly process was transferred to Maghaberry, leaving Long Kesh to concentrate on Stirling wing production.

This work continued at both airfields until the early part of 1945.

 

Maydown Airfield was an RAF airfield around 95 kilometers northwest of Belfast.

The airfield was built in 1941 and opened as a satellite station to nearby RAF Eglinton in 1942. It served as a USAAF airfield between August and Dec 1942. It was transferred to the Royal Navy on 1 May 1943 to become RNAS Maydown. With the Royal Navy it served by providing aircraft and personnel to the Merchant Aircraft Carriers which became operational in 1943 to provide air cover for the Atlantic Convoys.

Information from forgottenairfields.com

Plan of Maydown Airfield from the Royal Navy Research Archive

Limavady was an RAF base and was the first of 20 new airfields constructed for the war effort in Northern Ireland. This base was handed over to the RAFs 15 Group. The airfield was known locally as Aghanloo Airfield.

Large numbers of Whitleys, Hudsons and Wellingtons operating from Limavady accumulated about 25,600 flying hours on convoy patrols during its first year of service.

In April 1942, however, it was handed over to 17 Group for training purposes and the operational squadrons withdrew to be replaced by 7 Operational Training Unit (OTU) equipped with Wellingtons and Ansons. In January 1944 it once again became a base for operational Wellington squadrons 612, 407, and 172 as well as Fleet Air Arm 850 Squadron operating Avengers within 15 Group.

The airfield had a high accident rate and saw the deaths of many airmen. In one incident alone in January 1943, three aircraft were lost. Bad weather and the airfields proximity to Benevenagh Mountain accounted for many of these accidents.

Information from ulsteraviationsociety.org and forgottenairfields.com

This plaque can be found at Portstewart Cenotaph. It was ereted by author John P McCann to commemorate the US troops in the area and is dedicated to the 508th Parachute Infantry Division.

Mullaghmore airfield was an RAF base but was also known to the Americans as USAAF Station 240. It was also known locally as Aghadowey Aerodrome, 65 kilometers northwest of Belfast.
The airfield was officially opened in August 1942. The US 8th Air Force Composite Command used it as a base from December 1943 until May 1944 when it was handed over to the RAF. The Americans first stationed 6 Replacement and Training Squadron at the airfield (Dec 1943 – Feb 1944). They then used it to store USAAF aircraft until May 1944.

From September 1944 the RAF used it to carry out anti-U-boat sorties close to the coast because it was believed that some enemy submarines appeared to have shifted their area of operations from deeper waters.

The airfield was put on care and maintenance in May 1945. It was sold off a year later.

Information and photo from forgottenairfields.com

Aldergrove International Airport was a key RAF base in Northern Ireland during WW2. RAF Aldergrove first opened in 1918 but was not designated as an operational RAF station until 1925.

Aldergrove’s location made it an important station during the Second World War of RAF Coastal Command in the Battle of the Atlantic. From the base long range reconnaissance aircraft were able to patrol the Eastern Atlantic for U-Boats.

Sandy Bay Airfield was built as a seaplane base with moorings for flying boats. It was situated on the eastern shores of Lough Neagh, close to Ram’s Island.

The US Navy decided in 1942 not to use Killadeas as a base for Catalina flying boats however US Navy aviation saw plenty of action throughout the war. In October 1942 US Navy amphibious Catalinas appeared at Ballykelly en route to Morocco and continuted their anti-U-boat patrols, sinking two and damaging several more.

Lough Neagh became the main base for the US Naval Air Service in Northern Ireland during the Second World War, with Sandy Bay and Ram’s Island becoming key locations. They were the UK terminal for a scheduled twelve times weekly service operated by the US Naval Air Transport Service Consolidated Coronado flying boats from and to the La Guardia terminal in New York. These services conveyed personnel and urgently needed supplies, under the control of the US Navy Commodore at Londonderry. However the RAF was responsible for the provision of accommodation and messing for these transit crews and their control staff. They were accommodated in buildings that were erected at the residence known as Ben Neagh close to Crumlin and Sandy Bay. Many of the Coronado pilots were civilians seconded under contract by Pan American or American Export Airlines.

This service was part of the build up to D-Day and was inagurated on 18 May 1944, when a Coronado arrived from New York. This was the first of 538 crossings of the Atlantic made by these large flying boats during that summer, the normal load being 9 crew, between 10 and 18 passengers and freight. Up to 11 movements a day were recordered in the lead up to D-Day. Despite the frequency of these movements, there was only one accident recordered. On 17 July a Coronado was holed on some rocks at Sandy Bay. It was repaired at returned to service.

These planes were not fast and transatlantic journies took well over half a day, at a cruising speed of 150 mph.

On 15 October 1944 all services were terminated.

Information above from Ernie Cromie and his book Overhead and Over Here.

Catalinas on Lough Erne. These planes belonged to RAF Castle Archdale. Images from seawings.co.uk

Nestled in the grounds of the Beech Hill House Hotel is an amazing museum entirely dedicated to the US presence in Londonderry.

Work had already began on the secret ‘Base One Europe’ well before the Pearl Harbour attacks on December 1941. Construction started in June that year and the US Naval Operating Base Londonderry was spread across seven sites in the Foyle Valley. Base One was oficially commissioned on 5 February 1942 and can now be found in the grounds of present day Beech Hill Country House Hotel. It provided a huge accommodation camp for the US troops and a woodland trail has been created to tell the tale of the US Navy Bluejackets, Marines and Seabees who were based in Derry during the Second World War, highlighting the cultural, physical and personal imprints they left behind.

 

Make sure you visit the ‘jewel’ of Londonderry, The Tower Museum. This museum is lcoated in the heart of the city, inside the walls and tells the story of Derry from 7000BC to present day. Please follow the link below for more information https://discovernorthernireland.com/Tower-Museum-Londonderry-Derry-P2910

The Tower Museum is located within the City’s historic walls and has won four major awards since its opening in October 1992.

The Tower Museum houses two permanent exhibitions.
1. “The Story of Derry” tells the colourful and dramatic history of the city from earliest prehistory to the present.
2. “An Armada Shipwreck – La Trinidad Valencera” tells the story of one of the largest ships in the Spanish Armada, La Trinidad Valencera, which sank off the Donegal Coast in 1588 and was rediscovered by divers from the City of Derry Sub-Aqua Club in 1971.

Both exhibitions use a range of display and interactive techniques to present their stories.

The top of the Tower Museum (level 5) provides the only open air viewing facility in the heart of the city centre with stunning panoramic views of the inner city and river Foyle.

For further information please contact (028) 7137 2411.

 

Lisahally Port was a key location during the Second World War and there is a plaque to mark this which you can view while you are exploring the city (now the Foyle Port).

At the conclusion of the war the quayside at Lisahally hosted the surrender of German U-boats. Eight submarines were surrendered on 14 May 1945 to Admiral Sir Maxwell Horton, Commander-in-Chief of the Western Approaches with the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Sir Basil Brooke in attendance. During the following winter, twenty eight U-boats were towed out from here into the Atlantic and scuttled. Historians would argue that Londonderry was the key to victory during the Battle of the Atlantic.