St Angelo airfield

RAF St Angelo is a former military airbase at Rosshilly near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/fermanagh/st_angelo.shtml] It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm.

Opened in 1941 as an RAF fighter station, Spitfires and Hurricanes were based there to intercept enemy reconnaissance aircraft off the west coast of Ireland. In August 1943 it became part of the Coastal Command network and home to Catalina and Sunderland flying boats and later that year Bristol Beaufighters of No. 235 Squadron RAF.

One successful mission from the base is described:

On 10th March 1944 Short Sunderland MKIII, RAF s/n EK591, aircraft “2-U” of No. 422 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron based at St Angelo, County Fermanagh, Ireland with Warrant Officer 2nd Class W.F Morton and crew, sank U-625 at 52-53N 20-19W. This was W/O Morton’s first operational mission as an aircraft commander [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/fermanagh/st_angelo.shtml]

The base was later used as a barracks by the British Army and Ulster Defence Regiment as part of The Troubles in Northern Ireland and is now an airport but does not currently have any commercial services.

Controversially, this almost complete Second World War airfield was destined to become an historic monument but the landowner destroyed many of the perimeter defences and historic buildings in 2004. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3580505.stm]

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