RAF St Angelo

RAF St Angelo No. 18 SLG
Catalina flying boat of the type based at St Angelo during the Second World War
IATA: none ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Air Force Fleet Air Arm British Army
Location	Trory, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh
Built	April 1941
In use	55 years
Elevation AMSL	155 ft / 47 m
Coordinates	54°23′55″N 007°39′07″W / 54.39861°N 7.65194°W / 54.39861; -7.65194Coordinates: 54°23′55″N 007°39′07″W / 54.39861°N 7.65194°W / 54.39861; -7.65194
Map
RAF St Angelo Location in Northern Ireland
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 15/33 4,350 1,326 Concrete 04/22 4,350 1,326 Concrete
Statistics
Battles/Conflicts Second World War
The airfield is now under civilian ownership. Only one runway (15/33) remains in use.

RAF St Angelo is a former Royal Air Force station during the Second World War, located near the village of Trory on the southern tip of Lower Lough Erne, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; also used by the Fleet Air Arm. The name St Angelo is believed to be taken from the nearby Bishop’s house (named after the saint), which was commandeered during the war as the Station Commander's residence; the name also became attached to the airfield.

The airfield was later renamed as St Angelo Barracks from the 1970s and utilised as an accommodation barracks and a centre of helicopter operations over the province, by the British Army and Ulster Defence Regiment during The Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The airfield remains in existence under civilian ownership, reduced to a single runway, with a range of private flying ventures but with no commercial airline services.

Established in April 1941 as a satellite landing ground for RAF Aldergrove, RAF St Angelo opened on 15 September 1941 as a fighter sector station in its own right as home to No. 133 Squadron RAF operating Supermarine Spitfires and No. 134 Squadron RAF flying Hawker Hurricanes to intercept enemy reconnaissance aircraft off the west coast of Ireland and in the air defence role over Belfast.

After a perceived threat of German paratroopers landing on British airfields it is thought that RAF St Angelo was the very first RAF station to have its pill boxes installed with the gunports facing inwards towards the runways.