Andreas Airfield has quietly altered both the surrounding scenery and everyday life of the local population since opening on September 1 1941. Dispersed sites in and around Andreas village emerged as Spitfire squadrons mainly arrived in turn for convoy patrol duties. No 93 notably reformed on June 1 1942 and had reached North Africa before the year ended.

Care and Maintenance reigned somewhat misleadingly from September 1942 due to an air-sea rescue detachment of No 275 Squadron keeping busy up to the spring of 1944. Long prior to then Avro Anson and Miles Martinet trainers, gradually assisted by other aircraft types, had settled in as No 11 Air Gunnery School flew out over the Irish Sea from May 1943 onwards to play its vital part in the war effort. The AGS continued to dominate at Andreas into peacetime but cutbacks slowly made their mark. Nearby Jurby lured away this unit in September 1946: by January 1947 RAF personnel had cleared out their old home, with the Manx Government declaring an interest during the autumn. Andreas seemed to quietly fade away as all eleven hangars vanished and modern housing virtually eliminated the dispersed sites. You can never keep a good British airfield down, though, and Andreas has doggedly held its place in the community by having the gymnasium act as a meeting place for the local Parish Commissioners.

Flying has returned in more recent years as light aircraft and sailplanes have operated from an enclave on the north-west side, The runways are in remarkably good condition for what is still essentially a disused airfield and hopes linger that Andreas might one day return to a more prominent aviation role.