Shiskine
SHISKINE: Occasional Landing Ground, later regional airport. (Aka DONALD CURRIES FIELD)
Operated by: Northern and Scottish Airways, West of Scotland Air Services
Location: Just WSW of Ballymichael, about 1nm NNE of Shiskine village on the B880. Roughly 2nm NE of Blackwaterfoot on the A841 in the roughly central western part of the Isle of Arran
Period of operation: 1930s only?
Landing area: Rectangular. E/W 330 grass N/S 160 grass
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
In 2022 Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', kindly decided to have a look at this location.
The first Notice was published in Flight magazine on the 23rd May 1935.
The short article was published in the Wishaw Press on the 7th June 1935. The second Notice was published in the Scotsman on the 2nd April 1936.
The excerpt is from Glasgow's Airports by Dugald Cameron. The photo is of a Fly-In staged in 2010 and the area view is from my Google Earth © derived database.
NOTES: In his book Air Ambulance Iain Hutchison describes how shortly after becoming employed by Northern and Scottish Airways, Captain David Barclay was asked to fly the DH Dragon G-ACJS into Shiskine, “…a seldom used landing field….”
In his excellent book The Triple Alliance Neville Doyle reproduces an advertisement by United Airways published in ‘Popular Flying’, May 1935. This shows the United Airways route network which was Islay, CAMPBELTOWN, Arran, Glasgow (RENFREW), Carlisle (KINGSTOWN), Isle of Man (RAMSEY – HALL CAINE), Blackpool (STANLEY PARK), London (HESTON), Southampton (EASTLEIGH) –with connections to the Isle of Wight and – Jersey. So, where exactly was the ‘airport’ on Arran? Was it SHISKINE and did United Airways actually use it? Seems not?
A TRAGIC ACCIDENT
During some research into possible flying sites on the Island of Arran, the only mention I have found are the references to SHISKINE.
However, I did discover an account of the RAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator AM261 intending to fly from HEATHFIELD in AYRSHIRE, (see my listing for AYR), to Gander in Canada on the 10th August 1941. For some unknown reason, possibly a partial or total engine failure (?), it crashed into the hillside at Mullach Buide, north of Goat Fell which is 2868ft high, and all twenty-two passengers and crew perished.
I wonder if the passengers were aircrew ordered to ferry aircraft back to the UK from the USA under the 'Lend-Lease' agreement?
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