RAF Kirkistown

RAF Kirkistown; HMS Corncrake II
	Portavogie, County Down in Northern Ireland
	RAF Kirkistown Shown within Northern Ireland
Coordinates	54°27′18″N 005°27′57″W
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry; Admiralty
Operator	Royal Air Force; Royal Navy
Controlled by	RAF Fighter Command; Fleet Air Arm
Site history
Built	1941
In use	1941-1946
Battles/wars	Second World War
Airfield information
Elevation	84 metres (276 ft) AMSL

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 and 6.3 miles (10.1 km)

It was a satellite to the RAF Fighter Command airfield at Ballyhalbert on the Ards Peninsula.

History

RAF 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.[1] In 1945 Ballyhalbert Airfield transferred to the Admiralty and became a Royal Naval Air Station commissioned as HMS Corncrake. On 17 July 1945 Kirkistown Airfield was commissioned as HMS Corncrake II.[2] The following units were here at some point:[3]

No. 485 Squadron RNZAF
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 became No. 1493 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight RAF
No. 2898 Squadron RAF Regiment
No. 4117 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment

Current use

Today 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.

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References

Citations

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.

Bibliography

Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.

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[Jefford1988p95-1] Jefford 1988, p. 95.

[2] "Kirkistown". Ballyhalbert Airfield. A Brief Chronology. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.

[ABCT-3] "Kirkistown". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 7 June 2020.