US WW1 Seaplane Base.

[Goldie fish]

While out walking near my new home recently, I spotted a plaque on a wall saying "Site of WW1 US Army Seaplane Base."
Its in Aghada, not far from the Power station, and includes the current Tennis club. Nothing spectacular there really, however up a field from the plaque, I spotted this.
It appears as if Buildings sat either on or between the concrete paths, possibly Nissin Huts?

The small house at front is a "blockhouse" design, common enough sight inWW1 battlefields of France and Belgium, where military engineers, hastily erected a concrete building, using whatever materials were available, and shored the concrete as best as possible, not wasting much time with proper settling or any luxury like that.

Does anyone know more about this base?

[Groundhog]

Google is your friend

http://www.iol.ie/~mkeniry/ooUnitedStatesNAS.htm

There's also something on an old query about Killeagh

[hptmurphy]

Have a dig around you'll find a gate post with US Navy engraved on it..I was at this place years ago..was another one in Johnstown Castle in wexford.

[The real Jack]

there's an old concrete slipway across the bridge in wexford where they used to be based. It looks identical to the one in the pictures in the link.

[Stoker]

The old Plate shop, in Rushbrooke dockyard was a wooden building, built from the hangers from the seaplane base. It was next to the drydock, on the far side as you look from the public road.When Verolme took over about 1960 they built the existing Plate shops and the Joiners shop, the Plate shop, also known as the Boilermakers shop, was then used as a Pipefitters shop.I am not sure when it was demolished about 1970 I think. The wooden building was open on one side, I expect this faced the slipway when it was used as a hanger. It was probably 50 years old when I worked in Verolme in the 60's there was always a wind blowing through, freezing in the winter. I don't have any photos but I am sure there are some about.

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi all,
Somebody wrote a book on this very topic a few years ago. It had a yellow cover and a photo of a USN flying-boat on the cover. They used to co-operate with the fleet based at Berehaven, using, I think, Felixstowe aircraft.
regards
GttC

[Aidan]

Goldie - there's a book published by a local - 'Down Paths of Gold', with a good chapter on this subject also, if you can get your hands on a copy.

The base was bigger than it appears now too - the road was significantly widened in the 1950s and again in the late 1970s (because of the Oil Refinery and Gas, respectively), taking up a lot of the previous site footprint. You can see the original line of the road on the OSI map viewer.

[na grohmiti]

Zombie Thread Alert.



Interesting overview.