World War II structures

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two bombing teachern blocks in a complex of eleven buildings to rear and SW of 102 Greencastle Road. These formed the instructional site of Greencastle’s WW2 Aerodrome. The largest structure is a Gunnery and Crew Procedure Centre, to the north of the site (ref HB16/04/049B). To its south, in centre of group is a double Air Ministry Laboratory (AML) bombing teacher block. South again is a similar single AML structure. The remaining buildings are single storey temporary brick structures used for various purposes (ref HB16/04/049B).

i) Double Air Ministry Laboratory (AML) bombing teacher block.

This structure is almost symmetrical and contains two identical suites.

Pitched corrugated asbestos cement roof with semicircular ridges and circular asbestos cement stops. Moulded asbestos cement bargeboards and no rainwater goods. Walls are permanent (200mm thick) red brickwork without buttresses and are smooth cement rendered.

Front elevation is SW facing and abutted to centre by a single storey lean-to shed with cement rendered chimney rising up to right where it abuts main block. It is abutted to right of centre by the unrendered chimney which rises above the eaves in brick. This elevation has a painted sheeted door to extreme left and right sides. To first floor left and right of centre is a small window opening (both blocked up), without cill. Beyond these, to either side, is a pair of sheeted timber ¾ height doors. The shed has a lean-to asbestos roof with cement rendered walls. Its front wall has a three paned steel casement window without cill. Another to its left is blocked up. Its left cheek is blank and its right cheek has a painted sheeted door.

Each gable is identical. Both are abutted to centre by 1½ storey lean-to structures. Remaining walls are blank, except for a single small window in the gable. That to NW is a 2x4 steel casement and that on SE gable has been boarded up. The lean-to has a monopitch asbestos roof and rendered walls with a single window opening at ground floor (also boarded up). Its cheeks are blank.

Rear (NE) elevation has a single sheeted half door (modern insertion) to ground floor left.

ii) Single Air Ministry Laboratory (AML) bombing teacher block.

This structure is identical to the left portion of block B.

Pitched asbestos cement roof with semicircular ridges and circular asbestos cement stops. Moulded asbestos cement bargeboards and no rainwater goods. Walls are permanent (200mm thick) red brickwork without buttresses and are smooth cement rendered.

Front elevation is SW facing and abutted at ground floor right by a single storey lean-to shed with cement rendered chimney rising up right corner where it abuts main block. It is abutted to right corner by the rendered chimney, which rises above the eaves in unrendered brick. This elevation has a blocked up doorway to ground floor extreme left. To first floor right is a small window opening (blocked up), without cill. To left is a pair of sheeted timber ¾ height doors. The lean-to has a pitched asbestos roof with cement rendered walls. Its front wall has a blocked up window opening (two casements wide) without cill. Its left cheek is blank and its right cheek has a painted sheeted door.

Left (NW) gable is abutted to centre by a 1 ½ storey lean-to structure, and to left bay by a later one storey outhouse. Remaining walls are blank except for a single 1/3 top opening casement window to centre of gable. The lean-to has a monopitched asbestos roof and rendered walls with a single three paned metal casement window at ground floor. Outhouse has a pitched corrugated metal roof, concrete block-work walls and a sheeted door on its left cheek.

Rear (NE) elevation has a single sheeted half door (modern insertion) to ground floor right of centre.
Right gable of main block (SE) is blank.

Historical information

Owner’s father had the land compulsorily purchased during WW2 and bought it back afterwards. Building A was used by DoE roads service as a depot up until August 1998 and others were used as animal houses and stores, all are now vacant.

The 1946 map of the Greencastle Aerodrome shows this group of buildings to be an ‘instructional site’. All the buildings are intact but for a picket post (type B) which was demolished to accommodate the construction of the house (102 Greencastle Road).

(i & ii) The Air Ministry laboratory (AML) blocks match Air Ministry Drawing no. 6301 / 42 (double) and no. 1739/41 (single). These were invented at Imperial College London and contained projection equipment to simulate ground conditions from the air.

The reaming blocks are recorded as HB16/04/049B

(iii) Gunnery and Crew Procedure Centre was constructed to house synthetic trainers.

(iv)Link trainer (two compartments)

(v) Latrine block.

(vi - xi) are all common structures, constructed on bases for a variety of uses. Although it is uncertain which function each performed, the following uses are listed on theMinistry site plan: lecture room, administration block, instructors block, armament classroom, intelligence & technical classroom, and latrine block.

This Combat Crew Replacement Centre (CCRC) was instigated at Greencastle on 20th December 1943. Veterans from European bombing raids would share their expertise with incoming inexperienced crews. One hundred crews are said to have passed through the CCRC every month until it was disbanded in the autumn of 1944.

There were over 600 airfields in Britain at the end of WW2, and 29 in Northern Ireland. Construction work began at Greencastle in spring 1942, the main contractor being Carmichael of Edinburgh. Kilkeel RAF Station (as it was known) was commissioned on 30th July 1942, and handed over to the United States Army Airforce (USAAF) on 3rd August 1943, becoming Station 237, one of 12 such American airfields in N. Ireland. Its principal building groups were of utility construction, and dispersed around the local area to avoid concentrated enemy bombing; its radar station being furthest away, located at Maghereagh to NE of Kilkeel. The station was a satellite to Langford Lodge (near Antrim), preparing aircraft for operational bases in East Anglia. Its second important role was as a training school for aircrews arriving from America. The base was handed back to the RAF on 31st May 1945, and decommissioned soon afterwards. The base remained in the ownership of the Air Ministry until its subdivision and sale in the early 1960s.

Primary Sources:
1. Mr E. Cromie, Ulster Aviation Society.
2. Air Ministry Map entitled; ‘Greencastle Record Site Plan’ (1946).

Secondary Sources:
1. G. B. Innes, ‘British Airfield Buildings of the Second World War’ (Leicester 1995) p. 66.67.72.
2. B. Lowery (ed.), ‘20th Century Defences in Britain, an introductory guide’ (British Council for Archaeology 1996)
3. L. Murphy, ‘Action Station: The story of Greencastle Aerodrome’, in 12 Miles of Mourne vol. 3 (Kilkeel 1989) pp. 33-50.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
D. Plan Form
E. Spatial Organisation
F. Structural System
G. Innovatory Qualities
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

Austerity architecture of the second world war attempted to simplify construction down to the minimal amount of materials and marry it with the maximum utility. These building are not architectural masterpieces. Their interest lies in the historical reasons for their construction (WW2), their short practical lifespan, and their austere ‘temporary’ construction. This site is the most intact of all the Greencastle Aerodrome. The AML blocks are of particular interest as they are believed to be the only ones of their type in the province.