United States Naval Air Station Queenstown

NAS Queenstown
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type Military
Owner Admiralty
Operator United States Navy
Location Aghada, County Cork, Ireland
Built 14-Feb-1918 (14-Feb-1918)
In use 1918-1919 (1919)
Elevation AMSL 3 ft 3 in ft / 1 m
Coordinates 51°50′N 8°13′W / 51.833°N 8.217°W / 51.833; -8.217Coordinates: 51°50′N 8°13′W / 51.833°N 8.217°W / 51.833; -8.217
Map
NAS Queenstown

Location in Ireland

United States Naval Air Station Queenstown was the first US Naval Air Station established in Ireland.[1] The site, close to the village of Aghada on the eastern side of Cork Harbour (across the harbour from Queenstown/Cobh) was commandeered under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914.[1] On 14 February 1918, Commander F. McCrary, USN, Commander of all United States Naval Air Stations in Ireland, was headquartered in this location.[2] One of four US Navy anti-submarine seaplane installations in Ireland, the site's three slipways were operational by September 1918,[3] and it operated as both a seaplane base, as an assembly location for planes, and training station for pilots.[4] The aircraft at the site were Curtiss H16 flying boats, and by the end of World War I, the base had approximately 20 such planes[5] and over 1000 personnel.[1] The base closed in April 1919 - although some remnants of the slipway remain.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ronald V. "Abandoned, Forgotten & Little Known Airfields in Europe". Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Treadwell, T.C. (2000). America's First Air War: The United States Army, Naval and Marine Air Services In The First World War. MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 1840371137.
  3. ↑ John Abbatiello (2006). Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I: British Naval Aviation and the Defeat of the U-Boats. Routledge. p. 125. ISBN 1135989540.
  4. ↑ Karl E. Hayes (1988). A History of the Royal Air Force and the United States Naval Air Service in Ireland 1913-1923. ISBN 0950823112.
  5. ↑ Sources differ. Abbatiello indicates approximately 18 seaplanes. RonaldV suggests 28.
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