Full WW2 control tower details and photos for this wartime airfield are coming soon. Please check back later as this is work progress. If you would like to contribute information or photos please get in touch.
Overview
RAF Toome was a wartime airfield at on the northern shore of Lough Neagh, County Antrim (Northern Ireland). During the Second World War it served as a wartime airfield that became a USAAF training and storage facility, while also hosting RAF transport OTU elements. opened in 1941-43 period; handed over to USAAF control in July 1943 and used as USAAF Station 236 until late 1944.
Like most British wartime stations, RAF Toome functioned as a small, self-contained town. Beyond the runways were technical areas for maintenance and armament, dispersed hardstandings to reduce losses during raids, and domestic sites where airmen, WAAFs or naval personnel lived, trained, and waited for the next tasking. On operational nights or intensive training days the routine revolved around briefings, meteorology, aircraft servicing, and a tight rhythm of take-off and recovery windows.
Units and aircraft
Aircraft commonly associated with wartime flying here: Wellington (associated with OTU work nearby), American types passing through or stored as part of the US system (varied), Trainers and liaison aircraft used around the base.
Records for RAF Toome show a mix of operational and support activity. Some units were long-term residents with a stable identity, while others arrived as detachments – often for conversion training, gunnery work-ups, dispersal, or to cover a specific operational requirement. That pattern is typical of the RAF’s wartime system: stations were constantly re-tasked as the air war shifted from defence to offence, from the Battle of the Atlantic to the bomber offensive, and later to preparations for the invasion of Northwest Europe.
- ‘A’ Flight, No. 104 (Transport) Operational Training Unit (mid-1943)
- USAAF training and storage units under Station 236 (with additional hardstandings for large numbers of aircraft)
Key moments
Toome illustrates how Northern Ireland acted as a strategic rear area: training, staging and logistics to support the expanding Allied air effort.
The location near Lough Neagh provided space and dispersal options while keeping the station away from the heavy bombing threat faced in eastern England.
Wider context: the RAF and its Allies depended on layered infrastructure. Training stations produced crews, conversion units taught them to survive in heavier or faster aircraft, and operational bases launched combat sorties. Even a ‘quiet’ airfield could be strategically important as a diversion, a dispersal site, or a specialist hub for ferrying, target-towing, glider operations, or meteorology.
Legacy and remains
Little survives above ground, but Toome’s ‘station 236’ chapter is a reminder that not every USAAF site was a combat base – many were essential enablers.
Landscape and flying conditions: RAF Toome’s geography influenced operations. Prevailing winds dictated runway selection, while local terrain and weather shaped training and safety. In winter, short daylight and low cloud increased the workload; in summer, longer hours enabled intensive training programmes and high sortie rates. These practical factors are often reflected in accident reports and ORBs, which mention crosswinds, icing, fog, and diversion landings.