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 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) and ...

station used by the RAF and the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

station in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by flying boats of

No. 209 Squadron RAF Number 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS)Rawlings 1978, p. 324. and saw active servic ...

. From Castle Archdale, Consolidated Catalinas and

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

s could patrol the North Atlantic for German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s. A secret agreement with the government of

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 ...

allowed aircraft to fly from

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 Atlantic along the

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 ...

. 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 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, ...

, Northern Ireland.

RAF St Angelo Royal Air Force St Angelo or more simply RAF St Angelo is a former Royal Air Force station during the Second World War, located near the village of Trory on the southern tip of Lower Lough Erne, north of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern I ...

and

RAF Killadeas Royal Air Force Killadeas or more simply RAF Killadeas is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Irvinestown, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and northwest of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. History The following units were ...

were also on the shores of Lough Erne, close by.

Units

The following units were here at some point: *

No. 119 Squadron RAF No. 119 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, flying with RAF Coastal Command during the World War II, Second World War. It was the only Royal Air Force, RAF unit flying the Short S.26, Short G class and Short Empire, Short C class ...

between 16 April 1942 and 6 September with the Catalina IIIA *

No. 201 Squadron RAF Number 201 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It currently operates the Boeing Poseidon MRA1 from RAF Lossiemouth, Moray. It is the only squadron affiliated with Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. This affiliation started in 1935 ...

initially between 9 October 1941 and 8 April 1944 with the Sunderland I, II & III then again between 3 November 1944 and 2 August 1945 with the Sunderland III & V *

No. 202 Squadron RAF No. 202 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the maritime and mountains training element of the No.1 Flying Training School, operating the Airbus Helicopters H145 Jupiter. It previously operated the Sea King HAR3 in the search and rescue role ...

between 3 September 1944 and 4 June 1944 when it was disbanded using Catalina IB & IV *

No. 228 Squadron RAF No. 228 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force active at various times between 1918 and 1964. It spent the greatest part of its existence flying over water, doing so in First, and Second World Wars and beyond, performing anti-submarin ...

between 11 December 1942 and 4 May 1943 using Sunderland I, II & III *

No. 230 Squadron RAF No. 230 Squadron is an RAF squadron, currently based at RAF Benson. The squadron was part of Royal Air Force Germany, operating the Puma HC.1 there from 1980. Following the drawdown at the end of the Cold War, the squadron disbanded on 30 April ...

between 10 August 1946 and 16 September 1946 using Sunderland V * No. 240 Squadron RAF as a detachment between July 1940 and 28 March 1941 using Stranraer and Catalina I * No. 422 Squadron RCAF was formed here on 2 April 1942 with the Lerwick I and Catalina IB staying until 30 October 1942. The squadron returned between 13 April 1944 and 4 November 1944 with the Sunderland III * No. 423 Squadron RCAF between 2 November 1942 and 8 August 1945 using the Sunderland II & III * No. 302 Ferry Training Unit RAF (September - December 1942) * No. 2707 Squadron RAF Regiment

Postwar

A flag lowering ceremony was conducted in late 1957, and the airfield finally closed on 31 January 1958. Today the base is part of Castle Archdale Country Park. The slipway remains in use and the concrete stands for parking the Catalina aircraft are now part of a caravan site. Other buildings lie derelict and overgrown in the surrounding forest. A museum in the park grounds has a section devoted to its role during the Second World War.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Castle Archdale in Coastal Command
Royal Air Force stations in Northern Ireland World War II sites in Northern Ireland Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Military history of County Fermanagh Buildings and structures in County Fermanagh Defunct airports in Northern Ireland 1940 establishments in Northern Ireland 1945 disestablishments in Northern Ireland {{Fermanagh-geo-stub