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 for flying boats by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

History

RAF Castle Archdale was located on the eastern shore of Lower Lough Erne, near the village of Lisnarick. It was used during the Second World War by flying boats of No. 209 Squadron RAF. From Castle Archdale, Consolidated Catalinas and Short Sunderlands could patrol the North Atlantic for German U-boats. A secret agreement with the government of Ireland allowed aircraft to fly from Lough Erne to the Atlantic along the Donegal Corridor. 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, Northern Ireland. RAF St Angelo and RAF Killadeas were also on the shores of Lough Erne, close by.

Units

The following units were here at some point:

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.

Citations