Talk:RAF St Angelo

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Bismarck

It might be best if we leave the Bismarck off the pages for both Castle Archdale and St Angelo. I haven't found a definitive source for either, other than what seem to be anecdotes on the BBC page (which suggest the Catalina that found the ship came from either[1]) or vague references to a Catalina from Lough Erne or Costal Command. I originally searched for cites on Castle Archdale as I remember the museum there had a display on WWII activities and took it from there.Alastairward (talk) 15:02, 18 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Before I entered the information I checked that the Catalina took off from St Angelo. It was me who swapped the two about - Castle Archdale/St Angelo. In my mind it was so strongly associated with St Angelo that an inline citation wasn't necessary. I'm sure I can find them again though if you give me a couple of days?The Thunderer (talk) 16:18, 18 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't mind knowing for sure, when I was younger I was into the air wars of WWII a lot more, thanks to my Grandfather. We hopped down to see a Catalina landing down on Lough Erne back in the 80s, I'd never heard of the flying boats operating from land strips before when Lough Erne was so close by. Alastairward (talk) 18:29, 18 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Give me a couple of days on it. I have to act as mein host for some visiting relatives but I will find the requisite links before the end of the week if my memory is correct and there is actually a definitive source.The Thunderer (talk) 18:32, 18 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A quick google search returns a wealth of results for 'Bismarck Castle Archdale', and similarly googlebooks returns a number of results. There is nothing related in either though for 'Bismarck St Angelo'. If anything the evidence seems to suggest it was Archdale ([2], [3], [4], [5], [6]) - the pilot in question was Dennis Briggs of 209 Squadron. Perhaps if we could find out where 209 Squadron was based at that time, that would clear up the matter? Benea (talk) 22:47, 19 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The RAF page on the squadron history [7] simply says that the squadron flew Catalinas from Lough Erne. That would suggest to me Castle Archdale, it is beside a lakeside after all, but I'd be willing to come up with something more authoritative.Alastairward (talk) 11:18, 20 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

St Angelo is also beside Lough Erne, approximately ten miles away to the south, closer to Enniskillen.The Thunderer (talk) 13:01, 21 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I know the area, I was down there for so many weekends as a kid. Castle Archdale is actually on the lakeside, the concrete aprons for planes are at the water's edge. Alastairward (talk) 14:03, 21 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The evidence I'm finding is that it was Sunderlands which were based at Castle Archdale and Catalinas at St Angelo and RAF Killadeas. here but 209 Sqn seem to have had detachments all over the place. According to this list it wasn't at St Angelo but rather at Castle Archdale. Similarly this listing for St Angelo makes no mention of 209 sqn. an enthusiatic amateur here makes the assertion that Castle Archdale was where the aircraft were kept but that admin and accomodation were at Killeadas - so what was at St Angelo, apart from a runway? Archdale/ this link says that Castle Archdale had been renamed RAF Lough Erne for most of 1942 (it would appear). What was the function of St Angelo then. Is it possible it was a subsidiary base of Castle Archdale and the aircraft took off from there? Is that why we have confusion?The Thunderer (talk) 13:57, 22 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This [8] article about plaques to crashed aircraft and their crews notes that Sunderlands flew from 202 Sqn Killadeas. A follow on link at the bottom of the page [9] notes that the crew of the Catalina from 201 Squadron were helped "back to Castle Archdale". Alastairward (talk) 15:38, 22 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm really starting to feel like Killeadas and St Angelo were satellite bases of Castle Archdale and it was the combination of the three which was RAF Lough Erne. This would explain why each base had specific admin/accom responsibilities.The Thunderer (talk) 16:35, 22 August 2008 (UTC) This would also seem to be borne out by this.The Thunderer (talk) 16:46, 22 August 2008 (UTC) More information is coming to light. Apart from discovering that the FAA also had HMS Pintail at St Angelo, I can confirm from here that it definitely was a satellite base of Killeadas. I've also dicovered that it was called St Angelo after the nearby Bishop's residence. Can I claim my brownie points now?The Thunderer (talk) 16:55, 22 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I think you've earned them, this research is interesting all by itself. There seems to be a wealth of information online, but it doesn't quite seem authoritative enough. If the stations were related in that way, it would certainly be worth mentioning on the main article pages. Alastairward (talk) 18:48, 22 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It would certainly explain something too. If the Catalina which spotted the Bismarck actually flew from RAF Lough Erne it could have taken off from the Lough itself or from one of the three bases.The Thunderer (talk) 10:34, 23 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Can't beleive it's been so long since we last discussed this. I happened to be down in Castle Archdale with my daughter and my parents, I hopped into their museum to see if I could find anything more. There was scare enough material on the Bismarck, the old display with a recording of someone from the Catalina that spotted it wasn't working (you could turn on a light to spy a model of the Bismarck though!) Other than that the only mention was in a leaflet that states "she was spotted by Catalina Z of 209 Squadron from Castle Archdale who shadowed the German Warship until she was relieved by Catalina M of 240 Squadron." I did spot a book on display, behind glass so I couldn't take a flick through. It was by Breege McCusker and was dedicated to the war effort. I didn't remember the name of it, but I'm sure we might find a copy in a library somewhere. Alastairward (talk) 17:29, 22 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Error

Admin appear to have deleted the wrong page. Can we strive to have this corrected please?The Thunderer (talk) 12:49, 21 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Admin did not delete any pages, let alone the wrong page. Admin just fixed a cut-n-paste move. Now that the article histories are merged, the article may be moved to any location an editor may want. --Kralizec! (talk) 22:22, 21 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]