Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove or more simply JHC FS Aldergrove is located south of Antrim,

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

and northwest of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and adjoins

Belfast International Airport Belfast International Airport is an airport northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland, is the main airport for the city of Belfast. Until 1983, it was known as ''Aldergrove Airport'', after the nearby village of Aldergrove. In 2018, over 6.2 ...

. It is sometimes referred to simply as Aldergrove which is the name of a nearby hamlet. The military flying units share the Aldergrove runways but have their own separate facilities and helipad. The site was formerly RAF Aldergrove, a

Royal Air Force station The Royal Air Force (RAF) operates several stations throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training air bases, support, administrative and training stations with no flying activity, unmanned airfields used fo ...

which was in operation between 1918 and 2009.

History

Inter-war years

RAF Aldergrove first opened in 1918 but was not designated as an operational RAF station until 1925. Various squadrons were posted here during this time: * A detachment of No. 4 Squadron RAF between 30 April 1920 and 26 September 1922 again with the Bristol F2B. * No. 2 Squadron RAF initially at full strength between 2 June 1922 and 27 September 1922 and then as an detachment until 17 September 1923 flying the

Bristol F2B Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Biff"' ...

. *

No. 502 Squadron RAF No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron was a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron that saw service in World War II. It was reformed in September 2013, and is the oldest of all the reserve squadrons, being formed in 1925. History Formation and early years ...

was formed here on 15 May 1925 and used various aircraft types including Vickers Vimy's,

Handley Page Hyderabad The Handley Page H.P.24 Hyderabad was a twin-engine biplane heavy bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It holds the distinction of being the last wooden heavy bomber to be operated by the Royal Air ...

's, Virginia X's,

Westland Wallace The Westland Wallace was a British two-seat, general-purpose biplane of the Royal Air Force, developed by Westland as a follow-on to their successful Wapiti. As the last of the interwar general purpose biplanes, it was used by a number of front ...

's, Hawker Hind's,

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) ...

I's,

Blackburn Botha The Blackburn B.26 Botha was a four-seat reconnaissance and torpedo bomber. It was produced by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft at its factories at Brough and Dumbarton. The Botha was developed during the mid 1930s in response t ...

I's and

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World ...

V's until 27 January 1941. * A detachment of No. 214 Squadron RAF between 15 October 1935 and 1 October 1936 with the Virginia X. * No. 9 Squadron RAF between 15 January 1936 and 1 October 1936 initially flying the Vickers Virginia X until April 1936 when they started converting to the Handley Page Heyford III. * No. 85 Squadron RAF with the

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

I between 18 October 1938 and 4 November 1938.

Second World War

Aldergrove's location made it an important station of

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

in 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 Allies of World War II, ...

during the Second World War. From the base, long-range reconnaissance aircraft were able to patrol the Eastern Atlantic for

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 ro ...

s. Some of these patrols ranged as far out as the distant islet of

Rockall Rockall () is an uninhabitable granite islet situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom claims that Rockall lies within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is part of its territory, but this claim is not recognised by Ireland ...

Various squadrons were posted here during this time: * A detachment of No. 224 Squadron RAF between 1 September 1938 and 15 April 1941 with the Hudson I and III version's. * A detachment of No. 235 Squadron RAF with the Bristol Blenheim IVF between 24 June 1940 and 4 June 1941. *

No. 231 Squadron RAF No. 231 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force between 1918 and 1946, active in both World War I and World War II in various roles. History First World War No. 231 Squadron was formed from Nos. 329 and 330 Flights of the seaplane ...

between 1 July 1940 and 15 July 1940 with the

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft' ...

II. * No. 245 Squadron RAF with Hurricane I between 20 July 1940 and 14 July 1941. *

No. 233 Squadron RAF No. 233 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron that operated from 1918–1919, 1937–1945, 1952–1957 and 1960–1964. The squadron was formed from several Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) flights and took part in the tail end of the First ...

between 3 August 1940 and 14 September 1940 with the Hudson I. * No. 102 Squadron RAF with the Whitley V between 1 September 1940 and 10 October 1940. *

No. 272 Squadron RAF No. 272 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an anti–submarine unit in World War I and a coastal fighter unit in World War II. History Formation and World War I No. 272 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed on 25 July 1918 ...

reformed here on 18 November 1940 with the Blenheim IVF and stayed until 3 April 1941. *

No. 252 Squadron RAF No. 252 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron that formed as a bomber unit in World War I and as part of RAF Coastal Command in World War II. History Formation and World War I No. 252 Squadron was formed at Tynemouth on 1 May 191 ...

between 6 April 1941 and 15 June 1941 with Beaufighter IC. *

No. 254 Squadron RAF No. 254 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was the designation of a number of units formed throughout the 20th century. History World War One No. 254 Squadron first formed in 1918 as a coastal reconnaissance squadron operating from Prawle Point. ...

using Blenheim IVF between 29 May 1941 and 12 December 1941. *

No. 143 Squadron RAF No. 143 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as a fighter unit in the First World War and reformed as an RAF Coastal Command fighter and anti-submarine unit in Second World War. History Formation and the First World War No. 143 Sq ...

reformed here on 15 June 1941 with the

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

IC, and stayed here until 24 March 1944. * A detachment of

No. 48 Squadron RAF No. 48 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both the First and Second World Wars. History First World War No. 48 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Netheravon, Wiltshire, on 15 April 1916. The squadron wa ...

between 3 August 1941 and 20 October 1941 with the Lockheed Hudson V & III's. * No. 206 Squadron RAF between 12 August 1941 and 1 July 1942 using various versions of the Hudson including the I/II/III/IV and V. *

No. 311 Squadron RAF No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF was a Czechoslovak-manned bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. It was the RAF's only Czechoslovak-manned medium and heavy bomber squadron. It suffered the heaviest losses of any Cze ...

between 28 April 1942 and 12 June 1942 with the

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

IC. * A detachment of

No. 120 Squadron RAF Number 120 Squadron or No. CXX Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which was established as a Royal Flying Corps unit late in World War I, disbanded a year after the end of the war, then re-established as a RAF Coastal Command squadro ...

between 21 July 1942 and 24 March 1944 with the Liberator III. *

No. 220 Squadron RAF No. 220 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) was founded in 1918 and disbanded in 1963 after four separate periods of service. The squadron saw service in both the First and Second World Wars, as a maritime patrol unit, and finally as part of Brit ...

with Boeing Fortress II between 14 February 1943 and 30 March 1943. * No. 86 Squadron RAF between 18 March 1943 and 6 September 1943 using the Liberator IIIA & V versions. *

No. 59 Squadron RAF No. 59 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, based in Norfolk, England. History No.59 Squadron was formed at Narborough Airfield in Norfolk on 1 August 1916 as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. On 13 February 1917, the Squadr ...

between 11 May 1943 and 15 September 1943 with the Consolidated Liberator V's. * A detachment of No. 547 Squadron RAF between 25 October 1943 and 13 June 1944 with Wellington XI and XIII's and Liberator V's.

Post war

Aldergrove was designated as a dispersal airfield for the RAF's

V bomber The "V bombers" were the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the V force or Bomber Command Main Force. The three models of strategic ...

force in the 1950s and was included in a reduced list of 26 airfields in 1962. In 1968 No. 23 Maintenance Unit RAF was responsible for the maintenance of

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and B ...

s in RAF service, with 116 aircraft passing through on their way to front-line service. Aldergrove was also the main servicing and reconditioning station for the

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...

from their introduction in 1951. In 1976, the station had a staff of 2,500 RAF personnel and 1,500 civilians. Various squadrons were posted here between 1945 and 1985: * No. 518 Squadron RAF operated the Halifax III, Hurricane IIC, Spitfire VII and Halifax VI between 18 September 1945 and 1 October 1946 when the squadron was disbanded here. * A detachment of No. 280 Squadron RAF between 3 November 1945 and 21 June 1946 when it was disbanded. It operated the

Vickers Warwick The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose twin-engined British aircraft developed and operated during the Second World War. In line with the naming convention followed by other RAF heavy bombers of the era, it was named after a British city or ...

I. *

reformed here on 10 May 1946 and operated various aircraft types including

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...

B.25 & NF.30's,

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...

F.22's and

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

F.3's, FB.5's and FB.9's until 10 March 1957. * No. 202 Squadron RAF with the Halifax GR.6, A.9 and Met 1 version's from 1 October 1946 and 28 August 1964 when it was disbanded. * No. 214 Squadron RAF reformed here on 1 March 1948 and operated the Handley Page Halifax GR.6 until 18 October 1948. * No. 240 Squadron RAF reformed here on 1 May 1952 with the Avro Shackleton MR.1 and stayed until 27 May 1952. * A detachment of No. 275 Squadron RAF between 18 November 1954 and 1 September 1959 when it was disbanded. The detachment operated the Hiller HTE-2, Anson T.21, de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10, Sycamore HR.14, Westland Whirlwind HAR.4 & 2. * No. 1913 Light Liaison Flight of

No. 651 Squadron RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

between 1 November 1955 and 4 April 1957 operated the Taylorcraft Auster AOP.6. The flight was renamed 13 Flight No. 651 Squadron AAC on 1 September 1957 and stayed here until November 1952 when it was replaced by 2 Reconnaissance Flight, 2 Royal Tank Regiment. * No. 118 Squadron RAF reformed here on 1 September 1959 with Bristol Sycamore HR.14 before being disbanded here on 31 August 1962.

Royal Air Force operations

No. 72 Squadron operated

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main chang ...

HC.2 helicopters from Aldergrove from 12 November 1981 until its disbandment in 2002. No. 230 Squadron RAF was re-deployed from Germany to RAF Aldergrove in 1992, where it operated Westland Puma HC.1 helicopters until its relocation to RAF Benson in November 2009. No. 18 Squadron RAF also operated detachments of Boeing Chinook during the late 80s in support of the British Army in Northern Ireland. ; Army Air Squadron Operations The 17/21st Lancers Air Squadron based at RAF Aldergrove from 1969 to 1971 operating with Sioux Helicopters and a Fixed Wing Beaver aircraft. The following units were here at some point:

Army Air Corps operations

The Army Air Corps also operated

Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led t ...

and Westland Gazelle helicopters as well as

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing propeller-driven short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a bush plane and has been used f ...

aircraft in its joint operations with the RAF's Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (Northern Ireland); the Beaver was replaced by the

Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airc ...

late in 1988. During 1991, No. 655 Squadron AAC moved from

RAF Ballykelly Royal Air Force Ballykelly or more simply RAF Ballykelly is a former Royal Air Force station which opened in 1941 in Ballykelly, County Londonderry. It closed in 1971 when the site was handed over to the British Army as Shackleton Barracks. A ...

to Aldergrove with the Westland Lynx AH Mk 7 helicopter. On 1 October 1993, the Northern Ireland Regiment Army Air Corps was retitled 5 Regiment Army Air Corps. On 4 August 2008, 651 Squadron Army Air Corps moved back to Northern Ireland from RAF Odiham almost 50 years after its first deployment there.

Post Operation BANNER

During the latter years of

Operation BANNER Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initial ...

, 5 Regiment Army Air Corps and 230 Squadron RAF came under the control of the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) and formed the Joint Helicopter Force Northern Ireland (JHF(NI)). As the site was no longer a major RAF establishment it became Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove. After the end of Operation BANNER, a number of other Army units were relocated to Aldergrove. The base was no longer therefore administered by the JHC and on 1 Apr 2013 became Aldergrove Flying Station under command of 38 (Irish) Brigade. 5 Regiment Army Air Corps continues to operate at Aldergrove, providing Gazelle, Defender and Islander aircraft in support of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and military units for Operation Helvetic, and for other operations abroad. Due to the closure of RAF Machrihanish, the base is now used for University Air Squadron and Air Training Corps cadets as a training camp, where cadets from Scotland and Northern Ireland Region gather for flying experiences,

fieldcraft Fieldcraft is the techniques involved in living, traveling, or making military or scientific observations in the field and the methods used to do so. The term "fieldcraft" is used in a broad range of industries including military, oil and gas, wi ...

, shooting, first aid and other activities. During 2003

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and us ...

arrived at the airport in support of U.S. presidential visits to Northern Ireland. Aldergrove officially ceased to be an RAF Station on 20 September 2009 when, after the annual

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

parade, the RAF ensign was lowered for the last time and the Joint Helicopter Command flag was hoisted in its place. No. 651 Squadron's

and Defender aircraft were retired from service in June 2021.

Based units

Units based at Aldergrove:

British Army

Joint Helicopter Command / Army Air Corps * 5 Regiment ** No. 665 Squadron – Westland Gazelle AH1 Royal Logistics Corps * 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment ** 321 Explosive Ordnance Disposal & Search Squadron

Civilian

* Police Service of Northern Ireland **Air Support Unit –

Eurocopter EC135 The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted wit ...

and

Eurocopter EC145 The Eurocopter EC145 (now Airbus Helicopters H145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the ''BK 117'', the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1, which b ...

Royal Air Force

No. 1 Group (Air Combat) * No. 1 Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Wing ** No. 3 ISR Squadron (Regional Intelligence Geographic Centre-Northern Ireland) No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support) RAF * No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron (Royal Auxiliary Air Force) No. 22 Group (Training) RAF *

No. 6 Flying Training School No. 6 Flying Training School RAF is a Flying Training School (FTS) within No. 22 (Training) Group of the Royal Air Force that delivers flying training to University Air Squadrons and Air Experience Flights. History The school was formed by renam ...

** Northern Ireland Universities Air Squadron – Grob Tutor T1 ** No. 13 Air Experience Flight RAF – Grob Tutor T1

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Docherty, Tom. ''Ours to Hold: RAF Aldergrove at War, 1939–1945''. Cowbit, Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK: Old Forge Publishing, 2008. . * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldergrove Aldergrove World War II sites in Northern Ireland Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in County Antrim Military history of County Antrim Military of Northern Ireland 1918 establishments in Ireland 2009 disestablishments in Ireland