Battlebags and Blimps

The airship station site at Bentra was a small but important link in a chain of naval and aviation bases all around the coast of Ireland, which were instrumental in winning the First World War. The Royal Naval Air Service airships operating from here carried out their roles of surveillance and deterrence, that helped combat the deadly German U-Boat menace. To raise awareness and appreciation of this almost forgotten aspect of local heritage, a Heritage Lottery funded community engagement programme was delivered by Carrickfergus Museum in partnership with Living Legacies 1914-1918, supported by History Hub Ulster. As part of the project, the field which contained the airship hangar was surveyed by project participants using laptops with maps and aerial imagery, metal detecting and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) kit.