RAF Ballykelly

RAF Ballykelly opened on 1 June 1941 near Limavady in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, beginning life as a satellite landing ground before developing into a major maritime patrol base. Throughout the Second World War it served RAF Coastal Command, falling under No. 15 (General Reconnaissance) Group, and its squadrons flew long-range anti-submarine and convoy-escort sorties out over the North Atlantic during the Battle of the Atlantic. Among the aircraft operated from the airfield were the Consolidated Liberator, Boeing Fortress and other heavy patrol types, hunting the U-boats that threatened Allied shipping approaching the British Isles.

After the war the station remained firmly in the maritime-aviation role. The Joint Anti-Submarine School was established there, and from the early 1950s the Avro Shackleton became the dominant aircraft, flown by units such as No. 204 Squadron. One unusual feature of the airfield was that a runway crossed the live Belfast-to-Londonderry railway line, where trains were given priority over aircraft movements.

RAF flying duties wound down by 1971, the station closing to the Royal Air Force that year and passing to the British Army, which renamed it Shackleton Barracks in recognition of the aircraft so long associated with the site. Several structures, including hangars and the control tower, survived into later decades.