Casement Aerodrome () or Baldonnel Aerodrome is a

military airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

to the southwest of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

situated off the N7 main road route to the south and south west. It is the headquarters and the sole airfield of the Irish Air Corps, and is also used for other government purposes. The airport is the property of the Irish Department of Defence. Baldonnel Aerodrome is also the home of the Garda Air Support Unit.

History

The airfield was first laid out in 1917 and was used by the Royal Flying Corps (soon to become the Royal Air Force). It was part of the RAF's Ireland Command. In 1919, civilian flights commenced, with a service from London. The aerodrome was originally run by two pilots from the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. The airfield was the one from which the first successful east–west

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

crossing by a Junkers W33

aeroplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

, the ''

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

'', took off on 12 April 1928 with Baron Hünefeld, Hermann Köhl and Captain James Fitzmaurice as co-pilot; and the first

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

flight took place from here on 27 May 1936. It was also the destination at which

Douglas Corrigan Douglas Corrigan (born Clyde Groce Corrigan; January 22, 1907 – December 9, 1995) was an American aviator, nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938. After a transcontinental flight in July from Long Beach, California, to New York City, he then flew from ...

landed on his famous 'wrong way' flight across the

on 18 July 1938. In February 1965 Baldonnel was renamed Casement Aerodrome in honour of the Irish nationalist Roger Casement, executed for treason by the British in 1916. In 1995 it was suggested that it be used as a second commercial

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

for Dublin, especially for low-cost carriers such as

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

. Anti-war activists have accused the government of allowing the aerodrome's use as a US military stopover hub, with protests in 2006 leading to arrests. In March 2002, Michael Smith, the Minister for Defence, confirmed that since September 2001, 22 US military aircraft had landed at the aerodrome. There has also been speculation since the early 2000s that Casement Aerodrome is used as an airport by the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) for their

extraordinary rendition Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism, euphemistically-named policy of state-sponsored abduction in a foreign jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The best-known use of extraordinary rendition is in a United States-led program during th ...

programme. Similar claims have been made with regard to Shannon Airport, but as Baldonnel is a military airport, it is impossible to verify.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

landed at Casement Aerodrome on 17 May 2011, beginning her state visit to Ireland.

Climate

References

External links

''On Golden Wings'' - YouTube video documentary history of the Air Corp
{{authority control Airports in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in South Dublin (county) Transport in South Dublin (county) Irish Air Corps bases 1917 establishments in Ireland Airports established in 1917

History

Climate

See also

References

External links