City Of Derry Airport

As part of the national defences during World War 2 various military bases were founded throughout Northern Ireland. Along the eastern coast of Lough Foyle the government situated three air bases at Ballykelly, Maydown and Eglinton. The Eglinton air base was a Fleet Air Arm base named HMS Gannet and was primarily used to supply convoy air cover for the North Atlantic Fleet. After the war the base remained a military establishment into the 1950's at which time the Ministry of defence returned much of the land in and around the base to the original landowners.