WW II Structures, South Side of Greencastle Road/ Kittys Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4EJ

Two World War II structures stand in a field on the southern side of the Kitty's Road and Greencastle Road junction near Kilkeel, representing the austerity architecture typical of wartime construction—a period that demanded simplification of building methods and materials while maximising practical utility.

Building A is a single-storey structure comprising six structural bays, aligned north-west to south-east and built on a concrete plinth. It has a pitched corrugated asbestos cement roof with a semi-circular ridge and circular asbestos cement panels at either end (the northern panel is missing). The roof is much damaged. The barge boards are moulded asbestos cement, and there are no rainwater goods. The temporary brick walls are 100 millimetres thick, constructed in red brick and cement rendered with buttresses at intervals that form the bays. Each gable has three bays with no openings.

The south-west elevation contains a window in the centre of each bay, comprising a pair of four-paned steel casements without a cill; these are now partially infilled and have lost their glazing. The window to the fifth bay is positioned to the left and is only a single casement wide. The north-east elevation, reading left to right, comprises: first bay with a paired four-paned casement window partially infilled; second bay with a single casement infilled window and wide door openings; third bay with a paired casement window infilled; fourth bay with a sheeted door (rotten and off its hinges) and a single casement window infilled; fifth bay with two single casement windows; and sixth bay with a paired casement window partially infilled.

Building B, positioned to the south-west of Building A, is a single-storey two-bay garage with a roof and walls matching the main structure. The north-west gable contains a large vehicle doorway filling the width of the elevation. The south-east elevation has a paired casement window with each light two-paned and no cill. The side walls are blank except for a single buttress. A concrete driveway links the garage to the road, and a similar path connects it to the main building.

Although the precise use of these buildings is unknown, their construction materials and detailing are identical to other airfield buildings hastily erected on temporary airfields during World War II. However, the 1946 Air Ministry map of Greencastle Aerodrome does not depict this group, suggesting they may have been constructed for dispersed operations or remained undocumented. Over 600 airfields existed in Britain by the end of the war, with 29 located in Northern Ireland.

Construction work at Greencastle Aerodrome began in spring 1942, with the main contractor being Carmichael of Edinburgh. Kilkeel RAF Station was commissioned on 30th July 1942 and handed over to the United States Army Air Force on 3rd August 1943, becoming Station 237, one of twelve American airfields in Northern Ireland. Its principal buildings were of utility construction and dispersed throughout the local area to minimise the risk of concentrated enemy bombing; the radar station was located furthest away at Maghereagh, north-east of Kilkeel. The station served as a satellite to Langford Lodge near Antrim, preparing aircraft for operational bases in East Anglia. Its second major function began on 20th December 1943 as a Combat Crew Replacement Centre (CCRC) for training American aircrews, which was disbanded in autumn 1944. The base was handed back to the RAF on 31st May 1945 and decommissioned shortly afterwards. The sites remained in Air Ministry ownership until the early 1960s, when they were sold back to local owners. These structures are now recorded as derelict and are of industrial archaeological interest.