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Donegal Corridor
The Donegal Corridor () was a narrow strip of Irish airspace linking Lough Erne to the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean through which the Irish Government permitted flights by British military aircraft during World War II. This was a contravention of Irish neutrality and was not publicised at the time. Background When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Ireland remained neutral, in accordance with its pre-declared neutrality policy. The Battle of the Atlantic commenced soon after war was declared. German U-boats attacked Allied shipping convoys in the Atlantic Ocean, where hundreds of ships were sunk and thousands of lives lost, resulting in a very serious situation for the Allied forces. In December 1940, a survey was carried out on Lough Erne with a view to having flying boat bases built there. This was the most westerly point in the United Kingdom from where planes could patrol the Atlantic and offer some protection to the shipping convoys agai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provinces Of Ireland
There have been four Provinces of Ireland: Connacht (Connaught), Leinster, Munster, and Ulster. The Irish language, Irish word for this territorial division, , meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Kingdom_of_Meath, Meath has been considered to be the fifth province; in the medieval period, however, there were often more than five. The number of provinces and their delimitation fluctuated until 1610, when they were permanently set by the English administration of James VI and I, James I. The provinces of Ireland no longer serve administrative or political purposes but function as historical and cultural entities. Etymology In modern Irish language, Irish the word for province is (pl. ). The modern Irish term derives from the Old Irish (pl. ) which literally meant "a fifth". This term appears in 8th-century law texts such as and in the legendary tales of the Ulster Cycle where it refers to the five kingdoms of the "Pentarchy". MacNeill enumer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby
John Loader Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby, , (1 July 1877 – 20 April 1969) was a British civil servant and diplomat who was a key figure in Anglo-Irish relations during the Second World War. Biography Early life Maffey was the younger son of Thomas Maffey, a commercial traveller of Rugby, Warwickshire, and his wife, Mary Penelope, daughter of John Loader. He was educated at Rugby School and Christ Church, Oxford. Career He entered the Indian Civil Service in 1899, and notably served as Assistant Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of North-West-Frontier-Province from 1912 to 1916 and then as Private Secretary to the Viceroy of India Lord Chelmsford from 1916 to 1920 and then Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province from 1921 to 1924. After a disagreement with the British government in 1924, Maffey resigned from the Indian Civil Service. In 1926 he became Governor-General of Sudan, followed in 1933 by his appointment as Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Coloni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Battleship Bismarck
''Bismarck'' was the first of two s built for Nazi Germany's . Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched in February 1939. Work was completed in August 1940, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. ''Bismarck'' and her sister ship were the largest battleships ever built by Germany, and two of the largest built by any European power. In the course of the warship's eight-month career, ''Bismarck'' conducted only one offensive operation that lasted 8 days in May 1941, codenamed . The ship, along with the heavy cruiser , was to break into the Atlantic Ocean and raid Allied shipping from North America to Great Britain. The two ships were detected several times off Scandinavia, and British naval units were deployed to block their route. At the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the battlecruiser initially engaged ''Prinz Eugen'', probably by mistake, while engaged ''Bismarck''. In the en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other nations. The last military PBYs served until the 1980s. As of 2021, 86 years after its first flight, the aircraft continues to fly as a waterbomber (or airtanker) in aerial firefighting operations in some parts of the world. None remain in military service. Design and development Background The PBY was originally designed to be a patrol bomber, an aircraft with a long operational range intended to locate and attack enemy transport ships at sea in order to disrupt enemy supply lines. With a mind to a potential conflict in the Pacific Ocean, where troops would require resupply over great distances, the U.S. Navy in the 1930s invested millions of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finner Camp
Finner Camp () is a military installation near Ballyshannon in Ireland. History The barracks, which were built on a site known for its megalithic tombs, were completed in 1890. Following the Anglo-Irish Treaty the barracks were handed over to the forces of the Irish Free State in 1922. In the Second World War, it was close to the Donegal Corridor. In August 1969 there was false speculation in the media that Taoiseach Jack Lynch would use the barracks to launch an invasion of Northern Ireland with the aim of protecting the Catholic community there. The barracks are now the home of 28th Infantry Battalion, Irish Army. See also * List of Irish military installations This is a list of Irish military installations occupied by the Defence Forces (including Army, Air Corps, Naval Service and Reserve Defence Forces) in the Republic of Ireland by province and overseas. The Irish Defence Forces maintains approx ... References {{Irish Army & Army Reserve Barracks in the Repu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supermarine Stranraer
The Supermarine Stranraer is a flying boat designed and built by the British Supermarine Aviation Works company at Woolston, Southampton. It was developed during the 1930s on behalf of its principal operator, the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was the RAF's last and fastest biplane flying boat. Derived from the Supermarine Scapa, the aircraft's design was heavily shaped by Specification R.24/31, issued in 1931. After an initial rejection by the Air Ministry, Supermarine persisted with development as a private venture under the designation Southampton V. During 1933, a contract was placed for a single prototype; it was around this time that the type was named the Stranraer. First flown on 24 July 1934, the Stranraer entered frontline service with the RAF during 1937; most examples of the type were in service by the outbreak of World War II. The Stranraers typically undertook anti-submarine and convoy escort patrols during the early years of the conflict. During March 1941, the mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Castle Archdale
Royal Air Force Castle Archdale or more simply RAF Castle Archdale, also known for a while as RAF Lough Erne is a former Royal Air Force station used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force station in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. History RAF Castle Archdale was located on the eastern shore of Lower Lough Erne, near the village of Lisnarrick. It was used during the Second World War by flying boats of No. 209 Squadron RAF. From Castle Archdale, Consolidated Catalinas and Short Sunderlands could patrol the North Atlantic for German U-boats. A secret agreement with the government of Ireland allowed aircraft to fly from Lough Erne to the Atlantic along the Donegal Corridor. In May 1941 the German battleship ''Bismarck'' was found during a routine patrol by a Catalina flying out of Castle Archdale boat base on Lower Lough Erne, Northern Ireland. RAF St Angelo and RAF Killadeas were also on the shores of Lough Erne, close by. Units The following units were here at so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donegal Bay
Donegal Bay (''Bá Dhún na nGall'' in Irish) is an inlet (or bay) in the northwest of Ireland. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The town of Donegal and the River Eske lie at the head of the bay. Donegal Bay is Ireland's largest bay, and also contains Ulster's highest (and Ireland's's second-highest) sea cliffs at Slieve League, which tower 1972 ft (601 m) above sea level. Donegal Bay's beaches have some of Europe's finest surfing, caused by a combination by a direct west-facing location and the funnel-shape of Donegal Bay (the westerlies of the Atlantic Ocean get funnelled into a relatively small area, which increases the size of the swell). Rossnowlagh and Bundoran are recognised by the European surfing community as among Ireland's finest surf beaches with good facilities and excellent water quality. Towns on the Bay * Bal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Erne
The River Erne ( , ga, Abhainn na hÉirne or ''An Éirne'') in the northwest of the island of Ireland, is the second-longest river in Ulster, flowing through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and forming part of their border. Course The Erne rises on the east shoulder of Slieve Glah mountain three miles south of Cavan in County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, and flows 80 miles (129 km) through Lough Gowna, Lough Oughter and Upper and Lower Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, to the sea at Ballyshannon, County Donegal back in the Republic. The river is 120 kilometres long and is used for fly fishing for trout and salmon, with a number of fisheries along both the river itself and its tributaries. The town of Enniskillen is mostly situated on an island in the river, between Upper and Lower Lough Erne. It is linked to the River Shannon by the Shannon–Erne Waterway. The total catchment area of the River Erne is 4,372 km2. The long-term average ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county, which had a population of 35,087 according to the 2022 census. The county encompasses the historic Gaelic territory of West Breffny () corresponding to the northern part of the county, and Muintir Eolais or Conmaicne Réin, corresponding to the southern part. Geography Leitrim is the 26th largest of the 32 counties by area (the 21st largest of the 26 counties of the Republic) and the smallest by population. It is the smallest of Connacht's five counties in both size and population. Leitrim is bordered by the counties of Donegal to the north, Fermanagh to the north-east, Cavan to the east, Longford to the south, Roscommon to the south-west and Sligo to the west. Fermanagh is in Northern Ireland while all the other neighbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lough Melvin
Lough Melvin ( ; ) is a lake in the northwest of the island of Ireland on the border between County Leitrim (in Ireland) and County Fermanagh (in the United Kingdom). It is internationally renowned for its unique range of plants and animals. Ecology The water quality was reported to be excellent with an oligotrophic rating. The ecology of Lough Melvin, and other Irish waterways, remain threatened by curly waterweed, zebra mussel, and freshwater clam invasive species. Fishes and angling Lough Melvin is one of Ireland's famous angling loughs offering the chance of spring salmon from February to May, grilse from May to July and gillaroo, sonaghan and ferox trout throughout the season. Lough Melvin is also home to an endemic species of char, the Melvin charr or Gray's charr ('' Salvelinus grayi''). A ghillie or boatman is strongly recommended to anglers unfamiliar with the lake. Gillaroo trout Lough Melvin is home to the gillaroo or ''Salmo stomachius'', a species of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Neutrality During World War II
The policy of Irish neutrality during World War II was adopted by the Oireachtas at the instigation of the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera upon the outbreak of World War II in Europe. It was maintained throughout the conflict, in spite of several German air raids by aircraft that missed their intended British targets, and attacks on Ireland's shipping fleet by Allies and Axis alike. While the possibilities of not only a German but also a British invasion were discussed in the Dáil, and either eventuality was prepared for, the most detailed preparations were done with the Allies under Plan W. De Valera's ruling party, Fianna Fáil, supported his neutral policy for the duration of the war. This period is known in the Republic of Ireland as '' The Emergency'', owing to the wording of the constitutional article employed to suspend normal government of the country. Pursuing a policy of neutrality required maintaining a balance between the strict observance of non-alignment and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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