Baldonnell- Baldonnel is the local version Baldonnell
officially renamed Casement Aerodrome in 1966- but still referred to as Baldonnell
Clondalkin
6.5k SSE of Weston Airfield
Co Dublin
RAF/
IAAS/ IAAC/ IAC Clondalkin 22 Co Dublin
IAC 01-4592493
1918-1955 Grass Landing Area’s
IAC
01-8046514/5
no set r/w headings - into wind T/o
and Landing
work started on 01.02.1954 Runway 11/29 1829m concrete
00.00.1955 Runway 05/23 1463m concrete info below from Kevin Glynn’s excellent flight guide 2006 page 28 within the R15 and R16 restricted flight zones military trafic only.
Baldonnell reopened in 1922 and in 1928 it was the departure point for the first successful East-West crossing of the Atlantic by Comdt
James Fitzmaurice and crew.
Strictly PPR at all times Proir permission in writing must be obtained from the Minister of Defence/Department of Defence before you can use the airfield and only then can you file a flight plan.
Tower frequency 123.50mHz Approach 120.0mHz The Flight of the Bremen D1167 on 28.04.1928
After the First World War- the ambition of all aviators was to make the first crossing of the vast Atlantic Ocean by aircraft. Nowadays- flying to America is a fairly comfortable experience and pilots have an abundance of power and navigational aids upon which they can rely- but in the 1920s this was the greatest test of man and machine. The first transatlantic flights were made in the West-East direction but to make the flight from Europe to North America was far more dangerous because of prevailing winds and the greater flight time.
The First Aeroplane to make the Trans-Atlantic Hop from East to West In 1927 ten were unsuccessful East-West transatlantic attempts were made and seven lives were lost. Any subsequent attempts were discouraged but for many aviators- the unsuccessful flights only intensified their intentions to try again. The Atlantic airspace was finally conquered in April of 1928 and Ireland played a large part in the historic achievement. The Bremen departed from Baldonnell Aerodrome on Thursday 12.04.1928 at 05:38 and landed on Greenly Island in Labrador
the following day. One of the crew of three was an Irishman- Captain James C.
Fitzmaurice. In 2003 the 75th Anniversary of 'The Flight of the Bremen' was marked.
The information below was taken directly from “A history of the ROYAL AIR FORCE and UNITED STATES NAVAL
AIR SERVICE in IRELAND 1913-1923” publised by Karl E.Hayes and the Irish Air Letter 1988 (excellent publication
on the early years of military aviation in Ireland) ISBN 0 9508231 1 2
The Royal Air Force established the airfield at Baldonnell in 1918- designated as a Training Depot Station (TDS).
The normal method of establishing a TDS was to create three nucleus flights at existing Training Squadrons
and then to move them to a new aerodrome to form a TDS equivalent in size to three Training Squadrons.
In July 1918- nearly all the Training Squadrons in the United Kingdom disappeared as separate entities
on grouping into Training Depot Stations.
On 01.04.1918- (a significant date in aviation history- the day on which the Royal Naval Air Service and the
Royal Flying Corps were amalgamated to form the Royal Air Force)- Baldonnell was 25% built and was expected to
be compleated on 01.06.1918- although this estimate proved somewhat optimistic and the base was not ready
for occupation until 00.09.1918 and even then construction works continued well into 1919 to finish it off.
The four Irish bases came out of the re-organisation which had taken place in the training programme- the object
of which was to economise on personnel and transport- and to minimise the use of agricultural land for aerodromes.
Baldonnell was 203 acres in size and was 10 miles W of the city- with Cookstown (see Tallaght 1 1291) seven miles
SW of the city and only 3 miles E of Baldonnell. The four training bases were located quite close to each to the other
and near to Dublin- the capital city. With Collinstown only six miles to the N of the capital and Gormanston 24 miles
N of the city.
Each of the four Irish TDS’s were built to exactly the same specifications- and were intended to have a complement
of seventy-two based aircraft - 36 Avro 504s for basic flying training and 36 DH9s for Day Bombing training.
The layout of the four stations was the same. There were six aeroplane hangars (or sheds- as they were then known)
each 170 feet x 100 feet- built in three pairs- and one Aeroplane Repair Section shed of similar size- standing on its
own. Other technical buildings included a salvage shed- motor transport shed- work-shops (wood and metal)- oil and
petrols stores- technical stores- instructional huts (general lecture hut- gunnery instruction hut- gunnery workshop-
photographic hut- wireless and bombing hut- buzzing and picture-target hut) offices- power house- guard house-
compass platform- machine gun range and explosive store.
Regimental buildings included the officers mess- officers quarters (staff and pupils)- officers baths and latrines-
similar separate facilities for sergeants and for enlisted personnel- reception station- drying room- coal yard and
womens hostel.
The railways were used to move material and equipment to the sites. In the case of Baldonnell a special line
was run to the site for this purpose in 1917 when construction commenced. The main Dublin to Cork line of what
was then the Great Southern and Western railway Company passed some 2.5 miles N of the aerodrome- the
nearest station being at Clondalkin. From here to the airfield- a 24” guage railway was built by J. & R. Thompson
(Dublin) Ltd- the contractors who were building the aerodrome under the supervision of the Corps of Engineers.
Two small locomotives- which arrived in February 1918- plied the route between Clondalkin and Baldonnell bringing
in tons of sand- gravel- lengths of timber etc which went into the construction of the hangars and buildings. The
trains also brought in the workmen each morning- and home again in the evening- as well as supplies for the camp.
This railway continued in use until 1919.
The Establishment at each station was as follows: 52 Officers- 90 Officers under instruction; 90 NCOs under
instruction-49 WOs and NCOs above the rank of corporal- 26 Corporals- 336 Rank and File- 7 Forewomen- 154 Women
54 Women (household)- Total 858.
Transport comprised: 1 Touring car- 10 Light tenders- 10 Heavy tenders- 8 Motor Cycles- 8 Sidecars- and 5 Trailers.
On 6th July 1918- the scheme for the new Irish Training Depot Stations was finalised-as follows- although finalised-as records
of the actual day to day activities have not survived and as the Armistice intervened before the bases were at full
strength- it is not known if this scheme was fully implemented:
23 Training Depot Station: 00.09.1918 to 00.02.1919.
141 Sqn arr 00.09.1919 from Tallaght with Bristol Fighters and was disbanded at Baldonnell 31.01.1920- its cadre having merged with 117 Sqn to form 100 Squadron at Baldonnell 01.02.1920.
100 Squadron re-formed at Baldonnell 01.02.1920 by the merger of the cadres of 141 Squadron- Baldonnell and117 Squadron- Gormanston. Initially equipped with the DH9A Bomber (but with
Bristol Fighters for its Castlebar flight)- Full Sqn re-equipping with Bristol Fighters during 04/06.1921. Departed 01/02.1922 to Spittlegate- Lincs.
4 Sqn in Ireland 09.1920 to 01.1922 'A' Flight
4 Sqn Detached A Flight- ex Farnborough arrived 04.05.1921 from Aldergrove with Bristol Fighters. Departed 18.01.1922 to Farnborough.
Irish Flight formed at Baldonnell with Bristol Fighters 04.1922. Moved to Collinstown 01.05.1922.
23 TDS Baldonnell. This was to form on 00.01.1918 by the movement of 31TS from Wyton (Hunts) and 51TS from Waddington (Lincs) to Baldonnel to form 135 Squadron B Flight to become
operational on 21.09.1918
164 Squadron A Flight- to become operational on 25.10.1918.
also based at Baldonnell were American personnel belonging to the United States Air Service- they manned the Aeroplane Repair Section and also had a flight for pilot instruction.
The Armistice represented a high point for numbers of aircraft in Ireland. Including RAF training and operational types- at that time there were more than 300 military aircraft in Ireland- a number which has not been equalled since! Indeed it is only in relatively recent years that a similar amount civilian aircraft have been based in this country. During 10.1918- there
were 184 Avro 504s and 41 DH9s stationed in Ireland- the DH9s not yet having achieved their full complement. It was intended that the training squadrons withdraw from the TDS in
accordance with the following arrangement:
Flights withdrawn from 23 TDS Baldonnell 135 Sqn B Fight to Bicester (Oxon) on 21.11.1918 164 Sqn A Fight to Fowlmere (Cambs) on 25.12.1918.
The intention was that on arrival at their new bases the training units would re-equip with DH9As. However- it is doubtful if any of them ever did so. With the ending of the war- there was no
longer any need for training on such a massive scale. The Baldonnell training unit was disbanded during 1919 as demobilisation proceeded apace.The main period of training activity at the
four Irish TDS was relatively brief- from 08.1918 to 12.1918. Thereafter the four TDS remained as training bases- with reduced flying training continuing into 1919. In 01.1919- there were still
41 pilots and one observer with 23TDS Baldonnell. There then followed a
consolidation of the flying training programme. In 02.1919- training ceased at Baldonnell and 23 TDS transferred to
Collinstown-
By October 1919- the run down of the RAF in Ireland was almost complete and the HQ at Merrion Square advised that Baldonnell was to become the headquarters of all RAF units stationed
in Ireland. The construction of Baldonnell had not been in vain- however- and it continued to be put to use. In fact- even more bases were commissioned as although the training function had
ended- 1919 saw the commencement in earnest of the IRA campaign against the British forces- and aerodromes were required to counter this threat.
In 1919 a very successful night flight made from the Navigation School at Andover to Baldonnell (Dublin). The night was intensely dark and it was practically impossible to pick up land
marks. Accordingly the flight was done on compass bearings — due allowance being made for drift. The calculations had been so accurately worked out and the course so skilfully set that
the navigator brought the machine out directly over Dublin- a remarkable
achievement considering that 75 miles was an oversea passage. The entire journey was completed in 6.5 hours.
Thereafter Baldonnell continued to be used as a transit point for these navigation flights. One such flight- en route to Baldonnell on Friday 17.12.1920- came to grief. The 0/400- serial J2259-
developed engine trouble over the Irish Sea- 15 miles from Holyhead- and ditched successfully into the sea. Before the bomber came down- an SOS had been sent out on the aircraft’s CW
radio and after sitting on the wings of the 0/400 for four hours- the crew of seven were rescued by a boat lowered from the Elder Dempster Line steamer ‘Itajahy’ and taken to Liverpool.
The rescuers were only just in time- as fifteen minutes later the aircraft disappeared beneath the waves.
The de Havilland DH9B K-109- Baldonnell’s first civilian visitor on the 25.06.1919- reregistered as G-EAAC when the permanent register was introduced and continued to fly for AT&T- who
were one of the most important operators of the time. The company operated no less than sixteen DH9s in pioneer air services between London- Paris and Amsterdam- in addition to charter
work. Some of the Amsterdam services were flown under contract to KLM- the Royal Dutch Airline- which at the time had no aircraft of its own. The company also operated some DH4s and
eight DH16s- but ran into financial difficulties and went into liquidation during 12.1920. The DH4s were scrapped- the DH9s sold off (some to KLM) and the DH16s put into storage in a hangar
at Croydon. The Baldonnell visitor- DH9B G-EAAC- was acquired a few months later- in 03.1921- the first aircraft for a new charter company- the deHavilland Aeroplane Hire Service- which
was to make a number of visits to Dublin during 1922. That company also acquired two of the DH16s stored at Croydon- both of which were also destined to become visitors to Ireland in 1922.
The aerodrome was formally handed over to the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State on 04.05.1922.
Was a grass field until the mid-1950- when the concrete runways were laid. Work commenced on 01.02.1954 on runway 11/29 and the cross runway 05/23 had been completed the following
year. This was in preperation for the arrival of the Vampires.
GoneToTheCanner Baldonnell 11.01.2011
The 1st Apprentice Class- during their term as Aptces.- were marched to the dump-
which ran from Heli Flight's hangar-side office to the windsock at the corner of the hedge (which was well over
a hundred yards- so you can imagine the amount of stuff that was there)- were handed picks- shovels- sledgehammers and cutting tools and ordered to reduce the derelict aircraft- especially the
Hurricanes and any other aircraft capable of carrying a gun or bomb- to pieces- which they duly did. They were not allowed off site until the aircraft were completely demolished and reduced to
scrap. This included the deliberate smashing of every instrument- windscreen- engine parts- gun mountings- gun sights- propellors and so on. The whole lot was then driven over. A lot of stuff was
also set alight- to assure destruction. Source: RSM Bobby Gallagher- who was one of the wreckers.
GttC
PS: that whole area has been dug up and redeveloped several times and many tons of concrete poured on. Where the new hangar stands- would have been the centre of the dumping area. There
were also lesser dumps- such as a small one which stood near the Engine Test Cell-up by Stores and other units- such as Transport- also had their own dumps.
Last edited by GoneToTheCanner; 11th January 2011 at 12:32. Irish Military Online hptmurphy
I was with a group who took a Provost and the Pod from a vampire from the fire dump in 1987...there was literally nothing esle intact and the remenants of the airframes had been 'vandalised
beyond economic repair. 11.01.2011
Renamed Casement in 1966 when Roger Casements remains were flown in for re-interment- but to this day generally still refered to as Baldonnell. Casement was and is still used in official
documents and nearly always when named in government papers.
VOR/DME was installed 1980 & flight tested by the FAA 08.08.1980.
First new hangar completed summer 1988. replaces one of the RFC/RAF hangars.
Ref; History. Ulster Air Mail 07.2000 p.159.
Work began on resurfacing the runways at Baldonnell 01.07.2002. completed 00.12.2002
With the changes made in 2002- the Cessnas moved from Gormanston to Baldonnel