Whitehead
WHITEHEAD: RNAS ‘Mooring-out’ Airship Station (Aka BENTRA)
Military users: RNAS/RAF (Royal Naval Air Service / Royal Air Force)
Note: This picture was obtained from Google Earth ©
I also have the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust to thank for helping to identify this site.
Class A Airship Station (Sub-station to LUCE BAY)
Location: Just NW of Whitehead on the A2, about 8nm S of Larne
Period of operation: 1915 to 1919 (Some say operational from 1917 - others 1915 to 1920)
NOTES: It was often felt by the crews of these airships that they had been employed on a thankless and usually fruitless task. Especially as one of their main tasks was to find and attack German submarines. As far as I am aware, very few were attacked and none were sunk?
They were surprised to find that after WW1 when German U-boat captains were interviewed that these men regarded the airships as being a very effective deterrent, and prevented a great many attacks on shipping. The reason being that the slow moving airships could usually be spotted from a considerable distance and the U-boat could submerge and move away.
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