RAF Castlebar

53°51'09"N 009°16'41"W

runway: n/a - n/a - grass

RAF Castlebar airfield (also known as Drumconlan airfield) was an airfield 200 kilometers west-northwest of Dublin.
The airfield was built by the RAF and opened in May 1918.
It operated Bristol F.2b fighters of detachments of 2 Sqn and 105 Sqn of the Royal Air Force.
The airfield remained opereational until Irish independence in 1921.

In the 1930s the site was surveyed serveral times for use as an airfield by the Irish Flying Corps.
Although the Flying Corps ultimately did not use it, it was used as an airfield again.
In September 1933 Sir Alan Cobham's Flying circus operated from the airfield.
He returned a year and a half later, in mAy 1935.

The airfield is (still) often confused with Castlebar airfield.
This is however a completely different airfield, although they were located in almost the same location.
The RAF airfield was located north of Breaffy Rd, the later airfield was located south of the road.
Today the site is occupied by the Baxter plant.
Nothing of the airfield is known to have survived.


1990's photo showing the Baxter factory covering the area used as the RAF airfield, situated North across the R60,
(Breaffy Road) from Castlebar Airfield, which can be seen in the top R/H corner of the photo.
(Hugo Wilhare, on irishavsites.com)