Donegal Corridor
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The Donegal Corridor () was a narrow strip of Irish
airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the ...
linking
Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, ...
to the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean through which the
Irish Government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
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 The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
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 Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River 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 against the dreaded U-boats. Early in 1941, the first
flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
s were based on Lough Erne. They were not permitted to fly over the territory of Ireland. This meant that they had first to fly northwards, then change their flight path and go west. Some limited protection could be given to the convoys coming to the UK from the US and Canada, the same protection could be given by American-based aircraft. Still, there was a gap where the U-boats could create havoc unhindered. This mid-Atlantic area was known as the Black Gap. Ireland came under extreme pressure from the British and even the US, who at this time were themselves neutral, to dispense with its neutrality policy and join with the Allies. A meeting took place in January 1941 between Éamon de Valera and Sir John Maffey, the British representative in Dublin. An agreement was reached whereby the Lough Erne based flying boats were permitted to fly across a stretch of neutral territory from Belleek in County Fermanagh to
Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location B ...
in County Donegal and thereby gain access to the Atlantic Ocean. This agreement was concluded in The Cranborne Report. To pacify the Germans, these aircraft were supposed to follow a defined route and then only on air/sea rescue missions. This flight path became known as 'The Donegal Corridor'. The original agreement and rules were soon changed and the flying boats went on missions to the mid-Atlantic, to the west coast of France and to Iceland to protect convoys on those routes. This was a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic which was the longest battle of the Second World War. Some nine U-boats were confirmed as having been sunk by the Lough Erne Sunderland and Catalina flying boats and many others so badly damaged that they had to return to base in France.


Location

Between
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. Ec ...
in County Leitrim and the River Erne in County Donegal, County Donegal narrows and separates the Northern Irish County Fermanagh from Donegal Bay and the Atlantic. The long Corridor was between Belleek and the coast beyond Ballyshannon, along the course of the River Erne. The base itself was at
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. His ...
.


Use

The first official flight along the Corridor was on 21 February 1941 by No. 240 Squadron RAF's Supermarine Stranraer flying boats. Conditions of the concession included that flights should be made at a "good height" and that aircraft should not fly over the military camp at Finner; these conditions appear to have been ignored by both sides. A notable episode was when a Consolidated Catalina flying boat from No. 209 Squadron RAF based at Lough Erne observed and pinpointed the German battleship ''Bismarck'' in 1941, a stroke of tactical intelligence that helped lead to the warship's destruction. By the end of the war, 320 men had died in 41 missions by flying boats based at Lough Erne. In 2007, memorial plaques were unveiled in Counties Donegal and Fermanagh.


See also

* The Emergency * Treaty Ports (Ireland)


References

{{Reflist Politics of World War II Politics of the Republic of Ireland Independent Ireland in World War II Battles and operations of World War II involving independent Ireland Battles and operations of World War II involving Northern Ireland Ireland–United Kingdom relations Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border