RAF Stranra'er: Feb 1944
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 4:03 am
The Leininger crew was a replacement 8th USAAF B-24 crew. They had delivered a new B-24H via the southern route to Watton in Norfolk during early Feb 1944 and were ordered to N. Ireland for theater training. They and a few other crews traveled by train to S. W. Scotland to the port of Stranra'er on Loch Ryan. Night had fallen and they were taken to a "nearby RAF base" for the night. The logical choice seems Castle Kennedy, but I also see the Wig Bay Sunderland base on the northwest side of the Loch.
Q: Is RAF Castle Kennedy the best choice for the lodging of multiple 10 man crews on a winter's eve? What were the accommodations like at the time? Were any of the Castle's buildings part of the base? My info from the net is that it was used for air gunnery training although details are sparse. My dad, crew navigator, did not mention seeing any particular A/C; they arrived after dark and left in a mist the next morning.
Q: The ferry to Belfast now appears to leave from Cairnryan on the n w side of the Loch. Was this the case in 1944? I assume they left from the wharf at Stranar'er. Would that be correct?
Q: Is RAF Castle Kennedy the best choice for the lodging of multiple 10 man crews on a winter's eve? What were the accommodations like at the time? Were any of the Castle's buildings part of the base? My info from the net is that it was used for air gunnery training although details are sparse. My dad, crew navigator, did not mention seeing any particular A/C; they arrived after dark and left in a mist the next morning.
Q: The ferry to Belfast now appears to leave from Cairnryan on the n w side of the Loch. Was this the case in 1944? I assume they left from the wharf at Stranar'er. Would that be correct?