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Royal Air Force Kirkistown or more simply RAF Kirkistown is a former Royal Air Force satellite airfield located 6.3 miles (10.1 km) of Ballyhalbert, County Down, Northern Ireland.
| RAF Kirkistown HMS Corncrake II   | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portavogie, County Down in Northern Ireland | |||||||||||
.jpg) RAF Kirkistown on a target dossier of the German Luftwaffe, 1941 | |||||||||||
  RAF Kirkistown Shown within Northern Ireland  RAF Kirkistown RAF Kirkistown (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 54°27′18″N 005°27′57″W / 54.45500°N 5.46583°W | ||||||||||
| Type | Satellite station | ||||||||||
| Code | IK[1] | ||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry Admiralty | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force Royal Navy | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command 1941-44 RAF Northern Ireland 1944-45 Fleet Air Arm | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1940/41 | ||||||||||
| In use | July 1941 – 1952 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European theatre of World War II | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 6 metres (20 ft)[1] AMSL | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
It was a satellite to the RAF Fighter Command airfield at Ballyhalbert on the Ards Peninsula.
History
editRAF Ballyhalbert opened officially on 28 June 1941 and the Kirkistown satellite airfield opened in July 1941. On 22 January 1942, No. 504 Squadron RAF moved to Kirkistown.[2] In 1945, Ballyhalbert Airfield was designated a Royal Naval Air Station as "H.M.S. Corncrake", and Kirkistown Airfield was known as "H.M.S. Corncrake II".[3] The following units were here at some point:[4]
- No. 485 Squadron RNZAF (1942)[5]
- 808 Naval Air Squadron
- 818 Naval Air Squadron
- 835 Naval Air Squadron
- 881 Naval Air Squadron
- 885 Naval Air Squadron
- 887 Naval Air Squadron
- No. 1493 (Target Towing) Flight RAF (April – May 1942) became No. 1493 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight RAF (May – November 1942)[6]
- No. 2898 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 4117 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment
Current use
editToday the site is home to Kirkistown Circuit, a regular venue for car and motorcycle races. The circuit utilises the northern parts of the former air base's runways and perimeter roadways.
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Falconer 2012, p. 122.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 95.
- ^ "Kirkistown". Ballyhalbert Airfield. A Brief Chronology. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ "Kirkistown". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 94.
- ^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 136.
Bibliography
edit- Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
- Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.