Thank you to Michael Noone for the article and updated report on John.
To mark United States Navy Day we would like to share the story of Irish American John Casey. A remarkable man with a remarkable story. John is one of the unknown tens of thousands of Irish Americans who have served in the United States military. In John’s case he served in both the U.S. Army and Navy. We are lucky to have John’s story as he has spent most of his life in Ireland, and is currently living in Roscommon.
US Army and Navy veteran John Casey was born on the 3 August 1926 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, of Irish parents, James P. Casey and Mary F. O’Brien, who had emigrated to the Boston area sometime around the beginning of 1900. John had one brother, James, who was two-years older. Their father enlisted in the Army and served during the Great War. Still suffering from a gas inhaled during the war, he died in the mid-1930s and their mother took the two boys back to her family outside Athlone, Westmeath, Ireland until such time when they could return to the U.S. and the boys could take jobs.
brothers John and JamesParents James and Marybrother James
Their plans were interrupted by Germany’s Hitler when he declared war on Poland and World War II began in September 1939. All transatlantic passenger ship traffic came to a halt and the Casey family was stuck in Ireland. Ireland remained neutral and the family were informed by the U.S. Consulate in Dublin to wait and see if the U.S. could guarantee safe passage to the U.S. Germany did allow one passenger ship from Europe to the U.S., but that one ship was full of US citizens from mainland Europe only. In 1942 John’s brother James turned 18, which meant he was eligible to enlist. He joined the U.S. army in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He volunteered as a member of the first American Ranger Battalion, who were trained by the British Commandoes. The unit made history in North Africa, Sicily and the Anzio Beachhead in Italy where he was captured and became a POW.
Following in his brother’s footsteps, John headed for Belfast two years later and enlisted in the American Army. He was sent to England without training and then to France. John remembers well the boat across the English Channel on 7/8 May. As they approached the harbor, the sky lit up. The men sank in dread the Germans had somehow launched a new offensive. As it turned out it was celebrations to mark the unconditional surrender of German forces. In France the new recruits were trained by staff member who came ashore on D-Day. John was then sent to the Bremen Enclave in Northern Germany until he accumulated enough points to return to the U.S. for discharge. John rose to the rank of Sergeant.
John in US Army service in Occupied Germany
In the U.S. John worked for the Boston Gas Company. He hated the job, hated the civilian life and decided to join the U.S. Navy under a four year enlistment. No boot camp training needed as he held the pay grade of an army corporal. John was sent to the Naval Air Technical Training Command in Memphis, Tennessee where he graduated as an engine specialist and transferred to Naval Air Station Quonset Point Rode Island. His job there was to conduct a “Yellow Sheet” inspection of repaired navy planes for the test pilots; part of which included warming up the engines. While at Quonset Point the Korean War broke out. President Truman immediately tacked on an extra year to John’s enlistment. He was transferred to Alameda California as a member of Ships Company on a “Jeep” aircraft carrier, the USS Bairoko CVE 115 which was brought back into service from the mothball fleet. After getting the ship ready to join the fleet, it was transferred to San Diego, her home port. Finally, with the carrier loaded with planes, marines and equipment for the fighting war with North Korea, she sailed to her overseas “home port” Yokosuka, Japan. John was assigned to the flight deck as a “Yellow Shirt” plane director and guided many pilots to the catapults for launching. When they returned from “in country” John was the fire “Yellow Shirt” to guide the pilots back aboard…….day or night. With an end to the conflict, the Bairoko’s cruise with the 7th Fleet was over and John’s five-year enlistment was coming to an end and John was discharged from the navy.
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John took advantage of the GI Bill and spent three years at a government approved school of broadcasting, televising and movie making. He wound up working in Hollywood studios as an assistant film editor for several first run movies and many TV series. John decided to return to Ireland to take care of his mother and set up a photography studio; he is proud of photographing over 900 weddings. After his mother passed away, he met and married a Margaret Leo from Tuam, Co. Galway. Sadly, she died after 18 years from Cancer. John then moved from Athlone to Grange, Co. Roscommon. John who is now 96, is still living comfortably in a nursing home.
We would like to thank John’s niece Kathleen Cummings and the American Legion Post IR03 ‘Commodore John Barry’ for their help in this production.
On This Day in 1963 America’s loss was Ireland’s Loss
By Declan Brennan
President John F. Kennedy was a great-grandson of Patrick Kennedy of Dunganstown, New Ross, Co Wexford, who emigrated to the United States in 1848 when he was 25.
The Kennedy Homestead, birthplace of President John F. Kennedy’s great-grandfather Patrick Kennedy. (Photo: kennedyhomstead.ie)
As a young man Patrick worked in Cherry’s Brewery, New Ross as a cooper. His father was a tenant farmer. Times were very hard in Ireland and Patrick left in 1848 during the Great Hunger. He first went to Liverpool and then on to Boston on the S.S. Washington Irving.
Patrick met Bridget Murphy from Gusserane a village near New Ross and they married in 1849. They lived in a tenement in Noddle Island which is now East Boston. They had three daughters and a son called Patrick Joseph (P.J.), another son John died in infancy.
Patrick died aged 35 from cholera in 1858. Bridget had great tenacity and strength to keep the family going, finding work as a housemaid in wealthy areas of Boston, and subsequently worked in a grocery and bakery store, which she went on to own. She also later helped her son P.J. to purchase a saloon. She died in 1888 in East Boston, aged 67.
P.J., a tee totaler married Mary Hickey and became very wealthy from his saloons and wine and spirit importation business, P.J. Kennedy and Company. The Kennedy political legacy started with P.J. who served five consecutive one-year terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, followed by three two-year terms in the Massachusetts Senate. They had a son Joseph who married Rose Fitzgerald, who in turn had nine children, one of whom was elected the 35th President of the United States of America. The rest as they say is history.
P. J. Kennedy c. 1900. (JFKlibrary.org)
Ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (Wide World Photos)
United States Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade John F. Kennedy, 1942 (Photo: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)
In a virtual ceremony on 24 July, the United States Congress,
awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, its highest honour, to all living and
dead crew members of the USS Indianapolis (CL/CA-35); which was sunk by
Japanese torpedoes 75 years ago on 30 July 1945. The ceremony was broadcast on Thursday
30 July at 11 a.m. EDT.
A good portion of the crew were Irish American with the crew
list dotted with surnames such as Sullivan, Kelly, Murphy, O’Donnell, Moran,
Conway, Kennedy and many more. It is claimed the Captain, Charles Butler McVay
was also of Irish descent.
The USS Indianapolis(CA-35) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 10 July 1945, after her final overhaul and repair of combat damage. (Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.)
The USS Indianapolis was a Portland-class heavy
cruiser of the United States Navy. Launched in 1931, the vessel served as the
flagship for the commander of Scouting Force 1 for eight years, then as
flagship for Admiral Raymond Spruance in 1943 and 1944 while he commanded the
Fifth Fleet in the Central Pacific during World War II. In July 1945 the ship
was engaged on a secret mission, delivering enriched uranium to the island of
Tinian; the silver-grey metal was badly needed for the ‘Little Boy’ atomic bomb
that would later be dropped on Hiroshima. On 30 July, four days after
completing her mission she was attacked by Japanese submarine I-58; two torpedoes
sank her in 12 minutes. The secrecy of the mission and the suddenness of the
attack meant few life rafts could be deployed and the disaster was compounded
by failures at various operational levels. For five days in the Philippine Sea,
the survivors – many suffering burns – were stranded in open ocean with few
lifeboats, no food or water, and dehydration. Many died from shark attacks.
The ship became globally famous in the 1970’s when its story
played a major role in one of the characters from the movie Jaws. In a famous
scene during the movie Quint (Robert Shaw) sitting on the Orca drinking
with Brody (Roy Scheider) and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) told them about his
traumatic experience surviving the sinking of the Indianapolis, and
bobbing in the sea for three days while his crew mates were picked off by
sharks or drowned.
Of the 1,196-man crew, 880 escaped the sinking ship into the
water, just 321 men were rescued and only 317 ultimately survived the ordeal.
It was and remains the worst naval disaster in United States history.
On 19 August 2017, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen led a team
which found the USS Indianapolis. The exact location remains classified
because it is an official war grave at sea and is the property of the U.S.
government.
The Gold Medal will be displayed at the Indiana War Memorial
Museum in Indianapolis.
In this July 10, 1945, photo provided by U.S. Navy media content operations, USS Indianapolis (CA 35) is shown off the Mare Island Navy Yard, in northern California, after her final overhaul and repair of combat damage. (U.S. Navy via AP)
On this Day
Lt Thomas Conway U.S. Navy Chaplain – USS Indianapolis
Updated on 2 August 2020
Father Thomas Conway, (Photo: Diocese of Buffalo Archives)
Fr. Conway was born on 5 April 1908 and died 2 August 1945. He
was the oldest of three children born to Irish immigrants, Thomas F. Conway and
Margaret Conway (Meade) in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Fr. Conway attended Lasalette Junior Seminary, in Hartford, Connecticut.
In 1928, he enrolled at Niagara University (New York) and received an A.B.
degree in 1930. On 8 June 1931, Conway enrolled in Our Lady of Angels Seminary,
on the campus of Niagara University and on 26 May 1934, he was ordained to the
priesthood for the diocese of Buffalo, New York, in St. Michael’s Cathedral,
Springfield, Massachusetts.
On 17 September 1942, Fr. Conway enlisted in the U.S. Navy; subsequently
commissioned a chaplain. He served at naval stations along the East Coast and
in 1943 was transferred to the Pacific. For several months he served on the USS
Medusa and on 25 August 1944, Fr. Conway was assigned to the USS
Indianapolis.
The Chaplain was a popular member of the crew amongst all
faiths and was kept busy with prayer and counselling services for the men. The Indianapolis was sent on a secret
mission to deliver components of the atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ to the island of
Tinian. After discharging its top-secret cargo, the ship left for Guam and then
Leyte in the Philippines. It was to join the American invasion fleet bound for
Japan. It was struck by two torpedoes from Japanese Submarine I-58. Over
four days later when rescued there was only 316 crewmen left. Sharks killed
many of the men. Fr. Conway stayed in the water for three days before he died.
Survivors have credited Fr. Conway with directly saving 67 men’s lives.
One survivor Frank J. Centazzo wrote: ‘Father Conway was in
every way a messenger of our Lord. He loved his work no matter what the
challenge. He was respected and loved by all his shipmates. I was in the group
with Father Conway. … I saw him go from one small group to another. Getting the
shipmates to join in prayer and asking them not to give up hope of being
rescued. He kept working until he was exhausted. I remember on the third day
late in the afternoon when he approached me and Paul McGiness. He was thrashing
the water and Paul and I held him so he could rest a few hours. Later, he
managed to get away from us and we never saw him again. Father Conway was
successful in his mission to provide spiritual strength to all of us. He made
us believe that we would be rescued. He gave us hope and the will to endure.
His work was exhausting, he finally succumbed in the evening of the third day.
He will be remembered by all of the survivors for all of his work while on
board the ‘Indy’ and especially three days in the ocean.’
Fr. M. Thomas Conway was the last chaplain to die in combat
in World War II. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. The city of
Buffalo, New York was, and remains the location of veteran and citizen attempts
to preserve the memory of the heroic, compassionate and selfless ministry of
Fr. Conway. A park was named in his honour in the city.
There is also a campaign by a veteran’s group in Waterbury
with the support of some U.S. Senators to have Fr. Conway awarded the Navy
Cross for his heroism in saving so many of his crewmates in the water.
You can read a detailed account of this amazing Irish American’s life in Bill Milhomme’s blog post here.
Today we were honoured to attend Glasnevin Cemetery for a very special event: The 2019 Observance of America’s Memorial Day and Ceremonies Decorating the Graves of Irish Veterans of the Military Services of the United States. George Dodd, resident historian at Glasnevin, brought everyone around the cemetery to the known graves of US service personnel.
In attendance: Chargé d’Affaires Reece Smyth, U.S. Embassy Dublin; John Green Chairman, Glasnevin Cemetery Museum; John Kennedy, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; Veterans of the US Armed Forces and members of the American Legion Post IR-01 Dublin. Standard bearers Michael Collins and George McSheffrey American Legion.
Photos by Ken Mooney and courtesy of Ulster Aviation Society
Published: Winter 2017 edition
Keeping in line with our Royal Air Force theme we decided to
pay a visit to the largest collection of aircraft on the island of Ireland –
the Ulster Aviation Collection. Housed within an ex-Second World War hangar at
Maze Long Kesh, outside Lisburn, Co. Antrim, this collection of 36 aircraft, aviation
artefacts, complemented with several historical collections, tells the story of
aviation in Ireland. Resident historian, Ernie Cromie, was there to greet us
and take us around.
I have to admit I am an aviation buff, so this visit was a
treat for me. I’ve been to the Irish Air Corps Museum and to several aviation
museums abroad, I was not expecting to find such a collection on our own
doorstep. Ernie explained that the collection was started back in 1984, by the
Ulster Aviation Society who were then based at Castlereagh College in East
Belfast. The Society is made up of volunteers who research, restore, educate
and fund raise to keep aviation history alive.
Aviation in Ireland dates right back to the early days of
flight when inventor Harry Ferguson took to the air in 1909. Since that time
both military and civilian aviation has made a huge impact on the island. From
a military point of view, Ireland’s geographical position placed it in a
significant strategic location during the First and Second World Wars, and the
Cold War. This strategic position has ensured a unique aviation history. During
the First World War both British and United States aircraft operated from all around
Ireland. Again, during the Second World War and the Cold War Royal Air Force,
Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and United States aircraft operated in and out of
Northern Ireland, while the Irish Air Corps patrolled the airspace of southern Ireland.
Internationally Northern Ireland is well known in the aviation world. The aviation
giant Shorts Bombardier needs no introduction. Their aircraft designs have put
Belfast and Northern Ireland on the world’s aviation map. Northern Ireland is
further known as the birthplace of the ejection seat pioneer, James (later, Sir
James) Martin. Martin-Barker Ltd has a test facility at the former RAF Langford
Lodge near Crumlin in Co. Antrim. It is used for testing, and houses a 6,200
feet (1,900 m) high-speed rocket sled track.
The Collection
There is no escaping the aircraft collection. You are simply
gobsmacked from the minute you enter the hangar. On entering you are met by a
Blackburn Buccaneer. Beside it is a replica of the Second World War ‘Down’
Spitfire. Two aircraft from two different eras. The replica of the Rolls Royce Merlin
piston driven Spitfire stands elegantly by the side of its larger Cold War jet
cousin. The Buccaneer was a British carrier-borne attack aircraft designed in
the 1950’s for the Royal Navy. With a crew of 2 (Pilot and Observer) it stands
at 63 ft 5 in (19.33 m) in length and has a wingspan of 44 ft (13.41m). Powered
by 2 × Rolls-Royce Spey Mk 101 turbofans, it could reach a top speed of 667 mph
(580 kn, 1,074 km/h) at 200 ft (60 m). The engines on display alongside the
Buccaneer are huge compared to that of Rolls Royce Merlin engine of the
Spitfire. I asked Ernie why is the aircraft lifted off the ground. ‘When we
received the Buccaneer at Langford Lodge our former site, it was flown in in
excellent condition. Which means everything still works. We have her off the
ground so we can raise and lower the undercarriage, the air brake and fold and
unfold the wings, which keeps the hydraulics in working order. To get her flying
again would cost huge funding. Our aim is to get her to a condition whereby she
can taxi out onto the ramp’.
Each aircraft has a story to tell. The English Electric
Canberra B.2 for example became the first jet to make a nonstop unrefuelled
transatlantic crossing. The flight covered almost 1,800 miles in 4h 37 min.
Originally conceived as a high-altitude unarmed bomber, the Canberra first flew
on 13 May 1949, and entered service with the RAF two years later as the PR.3.
In Jan 1960, the Canberra PR.9 entered service with No. 58 Squadron at RAF
Wyton and the first operational sortie was flown three months later. The
Canberra could reach a ceiling of some 60,000 ft. The PR.9 was the
photo-reconnaissance version with fuselage stretched to 68 ft (27.72 m), and a
wingspan increased by 4 ft (1.22 m). The PR.9 has a hinged nose to allow
fitment of an ejection seat for the navigator. A total of 23 of this variant
were built by Short Brothers & Harland. During 1962, PR.9s were used to
photograph Russian shipping movements during the Cuban crisis. Throughout the
Cold War the PR.9 flew missions when and where surveillance was called for with
in more recent years the aircraft being deployed for operations over Rwanda,
Kosovo the 2003 Gulf conflict and Afghanistan in 2006. XH131 was the third aircraft
from the PR.9 production line at Belfast and is the oldest surviving example of
the type. The aircraft was purchased with the assistance of the Heritage
Lottery Fund, and transported to Northern Ireland to join the collection during
December 2010. ‘The last pilot to fly XH131 in Afghanistan in 2006, was Flight
Lieutenant Leckey from Northern Ireland’.
Another example is the Westland Wessex, the British version
of the Sikorsky S-58 ‘Choctaw’, developed under license by Westland Aircraft
(later Westland Helicopters). An American-built Sikorsky HSS-1 was shipped to
Westland in 1956, to act as a pattern aircraft. The example on display in the
collection, XR517, first flew in January 1964, and was stationed with No. 18
Squadron and coded G. In 1968, it was transferred to No. 72 Squadron and from
1971 until 1992, was based at RAF Aldergrove initially carrying the code AN. For
32 years, from 1969, Wessex helicopters of No. 72 Squadron assisted the civil
power and supported the security forces during the ‘Troubles’. In addition, it
had a search and rescue function. It could carry 16 fully-armed troops or lift
a 4-ton underslung load. After its service in Northern Ireland it returned to
England with No. 60 Squadron at RAF Benson. It was acquired by the Society in
2004, from Dick Everett of Shoreham and trucked from there to its original home
at Langford Lodge.
De Havilland Vampire T.11 — WZ549
There are certain aircraft in the collection that you can’t
help but go ‘WOW’. Aircraft such as the Spitfire are simply aviation legends.
Stephen Riley tells us more on the ‘Down’ Spitfire in our Quartermaster’s store.
Others such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II are simply the last aircraft
you would expect to see in Ireland. The Society’s Phantom is currently being repainted.
But even under all the protective sheeting you can make out the slick design of
this Cold War jet. The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm employed
the Phantom for air defence, close air support, low-level strike and tactical
reconnaissance. Ernie explained that the British version of the Phantom were
assembled in the United States, but fitted with British avionics and 2 x
Rolls-Royce Spey Mk.203 engines. These engines could produce 12,140 lbf (54.0
kN) (dry thrust) and 20,515 lbf (91.26 kN) (with afterburner). A formidable
defence against any incoming Soviet aircraft. Entering service in 1969, the
aircraft was a very familiar sight over Western Germany and in the latter years
patrolling the South Atlantic from the Falklands. ‘The reason why we got one for
the collection was that virtually all the Phantoms for British service were
flown across the Atlantic into the RAF maintenance unit at RAF Aldergrove in
Antrim. The unit prepared the Phantoms for military service’. Three Phantom
variants were built for the United Kingdom: The F-4K variant was designed as an
air defence interceptor to be operated by the Fleet Air Arm from the Royal
Navy’s aircraft carriers; the F-4M version was produced for the RAF to serve in
the tactical strike and reconnaissance roles. In the mid-1980’s, the third
Phantom variant was obtained when a quantity of second-hand F-4J aircraft were
purchased to augment the United Kingdom’s air defences following the Falklands
War with Argentina. The first batch of Phantoms produced for the United Kingdom
received serials in the XT range. The Phantom in the collection is XT864 and it
had spent its latter years guarding a gate at Leuchars in Scotland.
Irish Air Corps Alouette III (SA 316B Mark III) — 202
There are certain aircraft in the collection thatyou can’t help but go ‘WOW’. Aircraft suchas the Spitfire are simply aviation legends.
Another aircraft that has to get special mention is that of
the famous Irish designer, Henry George ‘Harry’ Ferguson. Born in 1884, at
Growell, near Hillsborough, in Co. Down, Harry became gripped by the exploits
of the Wright Brothers and the new flying machines of the early 20th century.
With the help of his brother Harry designed and built the Ferguson monoplane.
The Irish aircraft took off from Hillsborough on 31 December 1909. He became
the first Irishman to fly and the first Irishman to build and fly his own
aeroplane. In the collection is a flying replica of the Ferguson Flyer 1911. You
may have seen it in flight on Dick Strawbridge’s BBC programme earlier this year.
For the programme members of the Ulster Aviation Society built this flying replica.
Dwarfed by a Shorts SD-330, it is baffling how this vintage design could possibly
fly. Ernie could see the question in my face. ‘Yes, it flew. The Society’s own William
McMinn, took it into the air last May at Magilligan Point, near Limavady for
BBC. He said it was a bit hairy,’ Ernie laughed.
Canberra PR.9 — XH131 with its nose open for the navigator to get in and out.
Restoration
One hangar is dedicated to the several aircraft under
restoration. All the work is done by the volunteers. The aircraft come to the
Society in varying conditions. Some aircraft such as the Fairchild 24W-41A
Argus needed a lot of work. This was a four-seater light
transport/communications aircraft used by the RAF and the Air Transport Auxiliary
(ATA). It last flew in 1967, after having a bad crash in Cork. ‘We were given her
five years ago and have done extensive work on her. We have a big job to get an
engine as this model used a rare Scarab engine. We’ve covered her in linen,
whereas she originally was covered in cotton’. During the Second World War
Argus aircraft were based at what is now Belfast City airport with the ATA.
The Grumman F4F Wildcat — JV482 is a long-term project.
Originally, she was stationed on HMS Searcher (D40) in 1943. In 1944,
the aircraft carrier was in port and the aircraft were flown to Long Kesh. ‘The
reason she’s still here is because on Christmas Eve 1944, JV482 was last flown by
a 19-year-old pilot by the name of Peter Lock, who only died earlier this year
and who was ordered to take her up for an air test. She got to about 800 feet
and the engine went on fire. He managed to ditch her in Portmore Lough, near
Lough Neagh. It never sank below the surface as it was in shallow waters’. When
you see the original images of the aircraft as it was taken out of the water,
it is unconceivable that it could be brought back to life at all. Ernie told us
that souvenir hunters had picked at the fuselage and wings. The Society
recovered the aircraft in 1984, the first aircraft in the collection. Bit by
bit the volunteers have begun to rebuild this World War II naval fighter.
‘There is a lot of work still to be done, all the skinning is brand new’.
A very unique aircraft currently being restored is the
Fairey Gannet, a British carrier-borne aircraft from the Cold War. With a crew
of three, it was developed for the Fleet Air Arm for anti-submarine warfare and
strike attack requirements. It had two distinct features: double folding wings
and its double turboprop engine driving two contra-rotating propellers. The
Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba ASMD 1 turboprop engine drove contra-rotating
propellers through a combining gearbox.
Grumman F4F Wildcat — JV482 (currently being restored)
Fairchild 24W-41A Argus — HB612 (currently being restored)
Shorts Bombardier
Shorts SD-330 — G-BDBS
Shorts Tucano — G-BTUC
Shorts Tucano Prototype — ZF167 (currently being restored)
Shorts Sherpa SB.4 — G-14.1 (currently being restored)
Light Transport Turboprop
Percival P.57 Sea Prince T.1 — WF122 (Needs restoration)
Miscellaneous
Air & Space 18A Gyroplane — EI-CNG
V-1 flying bomb Replica
Quicksilver Ultralight
Rotec Rally 2B Microlight — G-MBJV
Himax R-1700 — G-MZHM
Aerosport Scamp
Clutton-Tabenor Fred Series 2 — G-BNZR
Evans VP-2 — G-BEHX
Pitts Special S-1A — N80BA (Needs restoration)
Sea Hawker EI-BUO
Vintage
Ferguson Flyer 1911 Flying Replica
Helicopters
Puma HC1 — XW222
Westland Wessex HC2 — XR517
Westland Scout — XV136
Alouette III (SA 316B Mark III) — 202
Robinson R-22 — G-RENT
Support Vehicles
Bedford QL Fuel Bowser — RAF 206180 (Reg. 53 GPP)
Amazon Thorneycroft Crane (currently being restored)
Ferguson Mk3 Tractor (on temporary loan only)
Post War
Fairey Gannet AS4 — XA460 (currently being restored)
Cockpit Noses
Canberra B2 Nose — WF911 (currently being restored)
Devon C2 Nose — VP957 (currently being restored)
Phantom F-4 — XT864
Shorts Tucano — G-BTUC
The Exhibitions
The Collection is complemented by several collections. One
currently being put together is on Ireland during the First World War. Ernie
showed us a map of Ireland detailing all the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force
bases and United States Naval Air Stations around the island. It seemed like they
were everywhere: from Lough Foyle to Castlebar and from Tallaght to Waterford.
Two images caught my eye. A Handley Page V/1500 and an image of Women’s Royal
Air Force. Handley Page V/1500 were a World War I bomber. As it turns out
several were built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast. The image of the ladies in
uniform is captioned WRAF Dublin circa 1918/1919. An incredibly rare image.
V-1 flying bomb Replica
The Aldergrove Room for example tells the story of the war
over the Atlantic during World War II. People often forget that Derry was the
largest naval base in the British Isles during the Second World War. At the
time it was home to a broad range of Allied aircraft and ships including: the
Canadians, Danish, Dutch, Polish and the United States. A picture of a
Swordfish shows it was flown by pilots of the Royal Netherlands Navy who
operated out of Maydown, in Co Derry. Other exhibit rooms tell the personal
stories of famous Irish pilots from World War II such as Royal Canadian Air
Force pilot, Flight Lieutenant Frank Rush. Born in Canada, his parents were from
the Falls Road. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bar while flying
with the No. 502 ‘Ulster’ Squadron Coastal Command.
This article is only an insight into the vast stories that
are housed in the hangars of the Ulster Aviation Society. If you become a
member you will have access to their regularly journal which has endless
articles on Irish aviation history. You can also keep an eye out for in your
local bookstore for titles by the Societies members such as Guy Warner, Ernie Cromie
and Joe Gleeson.
The Ulster Aviation Society turns 50 next year. Keep an eye
out for celebration events. All visits from the public are organised by prior
arrangement. We cater for group visits, school trips (children’s groups should
be around 30 max.) and tour groups.
