By the end of the Second World War, 29 airfields had seen use by British and American forces in Northern Ireland, welcoming crew members from across the globe.
During the Second World War, the construction of airfields boomed in Northern Ireland. Throughout the conflict, a total of 29 sites served as airfields for the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and United States Army Air Force. The size of sites and their functions varied across Ulster at different periods of the conflict. Some sites served only as satellite landing grounds while others were operational aerodromes. One airfield never made it past the construction stage, and some still remain in use today.
Following the outbreak of war in 1939, authorities earmarked Northern Ireland as a good site for aviation training. The landscape offered large areas of flat land, and crews would be far from the frontlines in Europe. Around the north coast, airfields offered easy access to the north Atlantic, aiding the search for U-Boats and the covering of convoys.
