RNAS Ronaldsway (HMS Urley)

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RNAS Ronaldsway (HMS Urley), (Urley, the Manx word for eagle), was a World War II naval air station. Ronaldsway airport was the civilian airport on the Isle of Man from 1934 to 1939 when with the outbreak of hostilities it was taken over by the Royal Air Force. In 1942, it was transferred to the Fleet Air Arm and rebuilt as a training base for three Fairey Barracuda torpedo bomber squadrons. The airfield did not become operational until the summer of 1944. In 1946, the airport was returned to civilian use and eventually sold to the Isle of Man Government in 1948.