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7. The Irish Bases
- University Press of Florida
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7 The Irish Bases You’ve heard about the men who fought And broke the Kaiser’s line! You’ve heard about destroyers Shielding ships from sub and mine; But who has heard in poem or prose, in sermon or oration, a single word to praise the work Of “IRISH AVIATION”? In the early years of World War I the lengthy Irish coast constituted an enormous gap in Britain’s aerial antisubmarine defenses. Shortages of aircraft and pilots and Sinn Fein agitation dissuaded the Royal Navy from establishing patrol stations, despite vast quantities of shipping passing along these shores. Losses proved heavy, the most infamous being the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915. A program to erect dirigible stations eventually resulted, but only in December 1916 did the Admiralty create an antisubmarine division in Ireland to coordinate all antisubmarine warfare (ASW) efforts and devise new strategies to combat the underwater enemy. This group soon developed the concepts of destroyer hunting patrols, aerial surveillance along the coast, and convoys. Implementing air patrols required construction of bases, however , and in early 1917 surveyors began identifying sites for seaplane and kite balloon stations. Shortly after Congress declared war in April 1917, American destroyers sailed to Queenstown (now Cobh) where they operated under Adm. Lewis Bayly, RN, Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland. In the following months additional fleet units arrived, and by September the Queens town-based American armada contained dozens of vessels and the destroyer tender Melville, Admiral Sims’s titular flagship. In fact, Queenstown quickly mushroomed into the largest Navy outpost in Europe.1 As early as midsummer 1917, Sims recognized the value of antisubmarine aviation patrols. A communication to Washington on August 3 tallied hundreds of thousands of over-water miles flown by French and British aircraft. He also described various types of bombing, patrol, and convoy duties. “In establishing the work to be done around the British coast,” Sims recommended that the Navy follow The Irish Bases 209 his earlier suggestion of July 3 in which he identified the Admiralty’s need for seaplane carriers, seaplane tenders, kite balloons, seaplane squadrons, powerful engines, trained pilots, and mechanics. Such units as the United States provided should be used to take over specific sectors and would be of “great importance to the limits of available construction and training facilities .” American observers believed such a policy was necessary because the Royal Navy could not adequately patrol the coasts, nor had operating stations yet been established in Ireland or Scotland. In April alone, U-boats sank 100 ships in those waters.2 The Navy responded slowly, however, particularly compared to developments in France, and throughout the summer no officer on Sims’s staff assumed direct control of aviation affairs. Hutch Cone’s arrival in late September changed that. He met with Whiting and Conger and then in October sat down with Commodore Godfrey Paine, the Admiralty’s newly created Fifth Sea Lord (aviation). During their meeting Cone expressed a desire to cooperate with the British and asked for suggestions. As American destroyers already patrolled the south coast of Ireland, Paine recommended that the Navy operate seaplane and kite balloon stations planned there. The same proposition had been made to Adm. Henry Mayo during his recent September visit. Paine’s plan also included one station on the northern Irish coast (Lough Foyle) and another on the west coast of Scotland (Sleat Sound), each to be equipped with “Large America” flying boats. Cone endorsed the overall concept, if proper sites could be found, and suggested an inspection tour to include himself, Whiting, and a few others. The Admiralty detailed three officers, headed by LCdr. F. R. E. Davis, a construction expert, to accompany the Americans. It turned out to be a very comprehensive tour. The party departed London on October 8 and visited Queenstown, Whiddy Island, Lough Foyle, Berehaven, Waterford, and Wexford in Ireland and then crossed back to Sleat Sound/Arisaig and Stranraer in Scotland. In Scotland, the Navy party also inspected the RFC gunnery school at Turnberry and an operating seaplane base at Dundee, finally returning to London on October 21. At a conference held upon his return (his third conference in as many weeks) Cone agreed to establish stations at Lough Foyle in the north of Ireland , and Queenstown, Whiddy Island, and Wexford, in the south. Lough Foyle commanded the North Channel approach to the Irish Sea and would work in conjunction with RNAS seaplane bases on the west coast of...