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Report - - Shackleton Barracks - Northern Ireland - September 2017 | Military Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Shackleton Barracks - Northern Ireland - September 2017

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Krypton

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Shackleton Barracks was a former British Army base which closed in 2008. From it's conception in 1971, it served as the HQ of the 5th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment until 1992. In 2003 it became the HQ of the 8th Infantry Brigade until it was disbanded and merged with another regiment. Latterly it was home to the 2nd Battalion, Princess of Wales Regiment until the base was closed.

Formerly known as RAF Ballykelly, served as the location for the Vulcan Bombers in Northern Ireland. The large hanger, complete with underfloor heating, was built and designed to house the Vulcans - with a nearby V Bomber Dispersal Point designed so that the planes could take off together with very short notice. At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 it was reported that the bombers sat on the edge of the runway with their engines running ready to take off with a minutes notice.

We were't too sure what to expect from this site. Military installations in Northern Ireland are heavily fortified and sites are graced with exceptionally high fences. However, I was pleased we persevered with getting to see inside. I'd say this was probably only a 1/4 of the place. The main site is over 700 acres and we simply ran out of time. Hopefully we could have another go at some of the other parts.

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Entrance to the Main Stores

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Map of Northern Ireland

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Main Store

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Additional Stores

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Offices

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It was nice to see things still in situ and things not smashed.

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Toilets

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Radio Equipment Stores

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Cinema Projector Room

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Sauna

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Every building had at least 1 bar

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Store for Radioactive Material

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Mouldy Corridor

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Classroom

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Map Room

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Armoury

Continued..
 

Krypton

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
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Vulcan Hangar

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Vulcan Hangar

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Inside the Vulcan Hangar

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WW2 Building inside the more modern Hangar

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Staircase

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Some parts had been fitted with more modern air heating to replace the old fashioned and costly underfloor system.

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Keys

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Secure Doors

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Other end of the Hangar most recently used for vehicle storage and repair

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Hangar Bar

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Dog Section

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Dog Section

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There was a lot of dogs kept here!

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Special Unit

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Covert CCTV Monitoring Huts

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CCTV Station

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Parachute Drying Room

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Looking into Land Rover Store

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Horse Training Area

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Stables

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Drying Room

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Feed Store

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Home Time

Krypton :)
 

mw0sec

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Ha! Loved the 'Stationary' store - I guess they must have had some that moved around!
 

messym

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Shame you didn't make it to the buildings at the northern end of the runways! very out of bounds to ordinary squaddies
 

Krypton

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Shame you didn't make it to the buildings at the northern end of the runways! very out of bounds to ordinary squaddies

I know which buildings you mean - we would have hit them next if we hadn't ran out of time. They certainly looked interesting with another high fence around.. Do you know what they were used for?
 

Belfastexplorer

Banned
Banned
Is this site still untouched not vandalised , those Vulcan hangars are amazing, things like this should be museums for sure , if this site is still there I'm going definitely
 

Kenopsia NI

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Is this site still untouched not vandalised , those Vulcan hangars are amazing, things like this should be museums for sure , if this site is still there I'm going definitely[/QUOs
Is this site still untouched not vandalised , those Vulcan hangars are amazing, things like this should be museums for sure , if this site is still there I'm going definitely
Site is sold but still accessable, was there a few weeks back for the second time but security are starting to patch holes etc. Planning a third visit within the next few months. The hangar is used by farmers but possibly still accessable but I can't say what condition the rest of the buildings are in
 

Colin430

28DL Member
28DL Member
Slightly inaccurate as the V bombers were never stationed there, although the runway was lengthened to accommodate them. The RAF operated Shackleton maritime surveillance aircraft from there as RAF Ballykelly until they were withdrawn from service, hence the name Shackleton Barracks when the Army took the airfield over in the ‘70’s. 655 Sqn AAC operated Scout, Gazelle and Lynx helicopters from there between ‘82 & ‘93.
 

messym

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
The buildings at the end of the runway, adjacent to a private farm, was the “Royal Signals Special Communications Troop” compound, the “North Det” for JCU(NI) (now the SRR) which went by previous names such as 14 Intelligence Company, Intelligence and Security Group etc. “Charlie One” by Sean Hartnett has more about it all.

Quite an interesting part of military history in Northern Ireland.
 

A man called Martyn

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Slightly inaccurate as the V bombers were never stationed there, although the runway was lengthened to accommodate them. The RAF operated Shackleton maritime surveillance aircraft from there as RAF Ballykelly until they were withdrawn from service, hence the name Shackleton Barracks when the Army took the airfield over in the ‘70’s. 655 Sqn AAC operated Scout, Gazelle and Lynx helicopters from there between ‘82 & ‘93.
As the so called " Vulcan Hangar" is similar to the example at St Mawgan, It does suggest that the building was originally built with a view to Ballykelly becoming a Nimrod base.
 

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