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.
RAF Mullaghmore is associated with the western seaboard context of the Second World War, where the overriding strategic problem was the Atlantic lifeline. Britain’s survival and the wider Allied war effort depended on keeping shipping moving through the Western Approaches, and that required a layered system of naval escort, intelligence, coastal reporting, and air support. Along that coast, RAF stations and associated sites contributed through maritime readiness, communications, and the training and coordination functions needed for long-range flying over cold water.
Western coastal stations operated to a different rhythm from the south-east fighter battle. The work was often long, repetitive and endurance-based: patrol-related movements, routing and navigation training, and the constant maintenance of readiness so that aircraft could respond to sightings or incidents at sea. Over-water flying demanded disciplined navigation because landmarks were few and weather could change quickly. It also demanded robust safety and rescue planning. Ditching was a real risk, and survival time in cold Atlantic waters could be short. That is why coastal and western sites placed strong emphasis on procedures, communications reliability and rescue coordination.
Mullaghmore’s wartime contribution can be understood as part of that integrated maritime picture. Even when a location was not a major ‘operational squadron base’ in the way an East Anglian bomber station was, it could still matter enormously by sustaining the information-and-response chain: reporting, relaying messages, supporting movements, and providing depth and redundancy. In maritime war, gaps are dangerous. If weather closed one runway or one station’s communications failed, the system needed alternatives. Western sites provided those alternatives, strengthening resilience against both enemy action and the environment.
Local experience is also an important part of the story. Coastal wartime sites brought personnel, vehicles and building work into rural communities, and they changed daily life through noise, restrictions and the visible presence of armed services. They also shaped the landscape through buildings, roads and defensive measures. For historians and visitors, the value of studying a place like Mullaghmore is that it widens the picture of the air war beyond bombers and fighters. It highlights the persistent maritime struggle – largely fought in weather and distance – where air power was a protective tool rather than a striking weapon.
- Primary wartime role: western/coastal support function within the Atlantic and Western Approaches context.
- Typical activity: maritime readiness support, navigation and movement-related flying support, and communications/reporting functions linked to over-water operations.
- Why it mattered: strengthened resilience and continuity in the system protecting shipping routes vital to Britain and the Allies.
RAF Mullaghmore’s Second World War significance is therefore rooted in persistence. The Atlantic war was won by sustaining coverage, maintaining trained personnel, and keeping communications and response chains working. Coastal sites like this were part of that daily, unglamorous effort that underpinned victory.
A final aspect is the intelligence-and-reporting dimension. Maritime war depended on spotting, reporting and acting quickly, and that required dependable communications links. Even when an aircraft was not airborne, a functioning reporting chain could shape outcomes by guiding resources to the right place at the right time. Coastal sites were part of that chain.