Tintamarre Airfield, Caribbean

[surely not]

Help requested please. I have a friend of many years who now lives with her family on St Maarten. As part of her sales pitch to get me to go and visit she has mentioned various airfields to fly to/from and mentioned Tintamarre, on Ile Tintamarre, which is now long closed.

However she and her husband were saying the their used to be Fairey Swordfish based there in WWII, which sounded unlikely but not necessarily impossible. I have failed to find any information on my searches of t'internet so far, but wondered if anyone here had information. Apparently there are several old radial engines lying in the long grass soaking up the sun and I hope to be getting photos of them soon.

Many thanks for any help

[surely not]

I forgot to mention that the local folklore is that the airfield was closed after a fatal accident involving a Nun who was insistent that she couldn't remain overnight on the Island as the airmen had 'quite a reputation ', and she persuaded someone to fly her off the island, even though the weather was terrible. Alas they didn't get very far before crashing and both died. The airfield closed not long after.

Well that is the legend that my friends husband has been told.........

[skydiver69]

Have you seen this St Martin - Tintamarre Island (http://www.stmartin-sxm.com/sxm/pages/tintamarre-island.php)

The last flurry of activity on Tintamarre was described by Georges Bourdin, a French journalist, who devoted 30 years to writing a history of St.Barth. He wrote that Remy de Haenen, who brought the age of aviation to St.Barth in 1945, a few years earlier "had decided to establish his base on Tintamarre, and other planes followed. In 1946 he founded the "Compagnie Aerienne Antillaise" or CAA. An agreement was reached to rent the island from L.C. Fleming, there being no airports on French St Martin, St Barths or Guadaloupe at that time. Tintamarre offered space for a 500 meter dirt runway, alongside a protected lagoon suitable for flying boats.

Soon Tintamarre became the operational and maintenance base of a regional airline. CAA Stinson Trimotors would fly the longer stretches to Puerto Rico and Guadaloupe, mostly from Juliana. The Sikosky S-41 flying boat, built for PAN AM anno 1930, would connect to the islands without airports, Dominica, Martinique and even as far St Lucia. From Juliana or Flat Island the small Stinson Detroiter would shuttle passengers to St Barths or Anguilla.

This was a brief golden age for this tiny island off St.Martin, with it's 20 inhabitants. On 22 March 1947 a disastrous night take-off from the unlit airstrip, killed a pilot. Shortly thereafter, on 22 May 1947, the Stinson Detroiter crashed into the sea between Flat Island and St Barths, killing two. The final blow was another fatal night take-off that killed three on 9 June 1947. Tintamarre with its 50 acres, had never known such activity, the hurricane of 1 September 1950 finally put an end to the old CAA airplanes still on the island and it reverted to its scrub growth and goats. The last traces of the airstrip were erased by the 1956 and 1960 hurricanes.

[Ian Burgess-Barber]

For what it's worth, AFAIK the only place where Fairey Swordfish were based in the Caribbean was the RN base, HMS Goshawk, at Piarco Trinidad - a long way south of St Martin - Tintamarre.

Cheers Ian BB

[surely not]

Many thanks for the responses. I think the Swordfish reference can be filed under 'Report by non aviation interested person'.

The rest of the story may or may not be true I suppose.

That link is interesting, and what a time it must have been in aviation with lots of military trained pilots trying to set up operations with cheap ex mil aeroplanes.

[l.garey]

I can't help with Tintamarre, but if you do go to St Martin there are some excellent nearby islands to fly to.

St Barth's rather hairy approach is well known, but one I visited in 1994 is Saba. There was a Twin Otter flight from St Martin at the time. Just 15 minutes and an interesting short landing on the strip right next to the sea. Take-off is in the other direction.

I wonder if the service still exists.

Laurence

[India Four Two]

I wonder if the service still exists

Laurence,

Yes, it does. Winair with five flights a day:
http://www.fly-winair.sx/destinations/saba.html

6RUbJWKzQDY

[l.garey]

Thanks I42. That video brings back memories of those two short hops I made.

Laurence