U.S. Naval Air Station Queenstown Ireland

src: www.navalhistory.org

United States Naval Air Station Queenstown was the first US Naval Air Station established in Ireland. NAS Queenstown was close to the village of Aghada on the eastern side of Cork Harbour (across the harbour from Queenstown/Cobh) on lands commandeered under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914.

Video U.S. Naval Air Station Queenstown Ireland

History

At the start of America's involvement in the First World War, five sites in Ireland - Queenstown, Wexford, Lough Foyle, Whiddy Island and Berehaven - were identified to be operated by the United States Navy in support of allied operations against enemy submarines. On 14 February 1918, Commander F. McCrary, USN, Commander of all United States Naval Air Stations in Ireland, was headquartered at the Queenstown/Aghada location.

Maps U.S. Naval Air Station Queenstown Ireland

Operations

The base's three slipways were operational by September 1918, and it operated as both a seaplane base, as an assembly location for planes, and as a training station for pilots.

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 and over 1000 personnel.

src: www.forgottenairfields.com

End of hostilities and closure

With the end of the war, the U.S. Naval Air Stations Anti-submarine warfare patrols in Ireland were discontinued and all aircraft grounded and disarmed. Armistice was on 11 November 1918, and NAS Queenstown closed in April 1919 - although some remnants of the slipway remain.