The western end of the channel between Boaz and Watford was blocked by the isthmus, creating a camber that opens to the Great Sound.

The Clarence Barracks were built on Boaz in the middle of the 19th century to house convict labourers who had formerly been accommodated aboard Prison hulks.

When the Convict Establishment was withdrawn in the 1860s, both islands were transferred to the British Army, and the bridge between was replaced with the man-made isthmus.

The primary role of the air station was the servicing, repair and replacement of spotter floatplanes and flying boats belonging to naval vessels.

Subsequently, target tugs were based at the air station to service the Allied naval vessels working-up on Bermuda's waters.