Casement Aerodrome ( ga, Aeradróm Mhic Easmainn) or Baldonnel Aerodrome is a

military airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

to the southwest of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

situated off the N7 main road route to the south and south west. It is the headquarters and the sole airfield of the

Irish Air Corps "Watchful and Loyal" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = ''see list of wars'' , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , fl ...

, and is also used for other government purposes. The airport is the property of the Irish Department of Defence. Baldonnel Aerodrome is also the home of the Garda Air Support Unit.

History

The airfield was first laid out in 1917 and was used by the Royal Flying Corps (soon to become the Royal Air Force). It was part of the RAF's Ireland Command. In 1919, civilian flights commenced, with a service from London. The aerodrome was originally run by two pilots from the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. The airfield was the one from which the first successful east–west

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

crossing by a

Junkers W33 The Junkers W 33 was a German 1920s single-engine low-wing monoplane transport aircraft that followed Junkers standard practice making extensive use of corrugated aluminium alloy over an aluminium alloy tube frame, that was developed from the s ...

aeroplane, the '' Bremen'', took off on 12 April 1928 with Baron Hünefeld,

Hermann Köhl Hermann Köhl (15 April 1888 – 7 October 1938) was a German aviation pioneer and pilot of the first transatlantic flight by a fixed-wing aircraft from east to west. Biography Köhl was born in Neu-Ulm, Bavaria, as one of eight children. At the ...

and Captain James Fitzmaurice as co-pilot; and the first

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

flight took place from here on 27 May 1936. It was also the destination at which

Douglas Corrigan Douglas Corrigan (January 22, 1907 – December 9, 1995) was an American aviator, nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938. After a transcontinental flight in July from Long Beach, California, to New York City, he then flew from Floyd Bennett Field in Brook ...

landed on his famous 'wrong way' flight across the

on 18 July 1938. In February 1965 Baldonnel was renamed Casement Aerodrome in honour of the Irish nationalist

Roger Casement Roger David Casement ( ga, Ruairí Dáithí Mac Easmainn; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during Worl ...

, executed for treason by the British in 1916. In 1995 it was suggested that it be used as a second commercial

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

for Dublin, especially for low-cost carriers such as Ryanair. Anti-war activists have accused the government of allowing the aerodrome's use as a US military stopover hub, with protests in 2006 leading to arrests. In March 2002, Michael Smith, the Minister for Defence, confirmed that since September 2001, 22 US military aircraft had landed at the aerodrome. There has also been speculation since the early 2000s that Casement Aerodrome is used as an airport by the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA) for their

extraordinary rendition Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism for state-sponsored forcible abduction in another jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The phrase usually refers to a United States-led program used during the War on Terror, which had the purpos ...

programme. Similar claims have been made with regard to

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

, but as Baldonnel is a military airport, it is impossible to verify. Queen Elizabeth II landed at Casement Aerodrome on 17 May 2011, beginning her state visit to Ireland.

Climate

Aerial travel for Business or Pleasure - Thos Cook & Son - 1919 - pp 16+ (map)

References

External links

''On Golden Wings'' - YouTube video documentary history of the Air Corp
{{authority control Airports in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in South Dublin (county) Transport in South Dublin (county) Irish Air Corps bases 1917 establishments in Ireland Airports established in 1917

History

Climate

See also

References

External links