| RAF Limavady RNAS Limavady | |
| Location: | Limavady, County Londonderry |
| Country: | Northern Ireland |
| Type: | Royal Air Force satellite station |
| Coordinates: | 55.0731°N -6.9375°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Northern Ireland#UK |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Shown within Northern Ireland |
| Pushpin Label: | RAF Limavady |
| Ownership: | Air Ministry Admiralty |
| Operator: | Royal Air Force Royal Navy |
| Controlledby: | RAF Coastal Command |
| Used: | 1940 - August |
| Battles: | European theatre of World War II Cold War |
| Elevation: | 20m (70feet) |
| R1-Number: | 00/00 |
| R1-Surface: | Concrete/Tarmac |
| R2-Number: | 00/00 |
| R2-Surface: | Concrete/Tarmac |
| R3-Number: | 00/00 |
| R3-Surface: | Concrete/Tarmac |
Royal Air Force Limavady, or more simply RAF Limavady, is a former Royal Air Force satellite station, also known as Aghanloo airfield, near the city of Derry, Northern Ireland.
The station was built in 1940 during the Second World War. The airfield was part of RAF Coastal Command and was important in the fight against U-boats in the Atlantic Ocean.[1]
| Sqn | Aircraft | Joined | Departed | From → To | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avro Anson I Bristol Beaufort I Lockheed Hudson V/III | 16 July 1940 | 20 October 1941 | On detachment initially from RAF Hooton Park then squadron moved to RAF Stornoway then on to RAF Skitten. | |||
| Lockheed Hudson V | July 1941 | February 1942 | On detachment then squadron moved to RAF St Eval and continued its detachment. | |||
| Bristol Blenheim IV | 23 April 1942 | 11 June 1942 | Squadron move. | |||
| Boulton Paul Defiant I Bristol Beaufighter IF | October 1941 | December 1942 | On detachment. | |||
| Vickers Wellington XIV | 1 September 1944 | 4 June 1945 | RAF Chivenor → DB | Squadron disbanded. | ||
| Vickers Wellington IC | November 1940 | 25 December 1941 | On detachment from RAF Bircham Newton then from RAF Reykjavik. | |||
| Lockheed Hudson II | 15 April 1941 | 20 December 1941 | Squadron move. | |||
| Hawker Hurricane I | 20 July 1940 | 1 September 1941 | On detachment. | |||
| 31 March 1941 | 13 August 1945 | Squadron move. | ||||
| Vickers Wellington XIII | 21 September 1944 | 6 March 1945 | On detachment. | |||
| Vickers Wellington XI | 29 January 1944 | 28 April 1944 | Squadron move. | |||
| Bristol Blenheim IV | 30 May 1941 | 22 March 1942 | On detachment then squadron move. | |||
| Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V | 27 January 1941 | 10 January 1942 | Squadron move. | |||
| Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V | 1 April 1941 | 15 December 1941 | On detachment then squadron move. | |||
| 1944 | 1944 | [2] | ||||
| 1944 | 1944 | |||||
| 1944 | 1944 | |||||
| 1944 | 1944 |
The following units were also here at some point:
During the Second World War the airfield was further used by the Fleet Air Arm when it was known as RNAS Limavady until 1958 when it was finally sold off.
After it was vacated by the military, the site was partly converted into an industrial estate with the rest returning to agricultural purposes. The runways and taxiways can still be seen from aerial imagery.[3] [4]