RAF Burtonwood Airfield Guide

The first proposal for RAF Burtonwood came in September 1937, when the Air Ministry Director of Organisation recommended the formation of an RAF command to control the maintenance of aircraft in preparation for the expected outbreak of World War ll. RAF Burtonwood was one of three civilian repair depots which, between them, would take on around 75% of the aircraft repairs required during the war.

However, the Burtonwood Repair Depot was still under construction when war broke out in September 1939. The main site and auxiliary area – known as the Mary Ann Site – was occupied by the RAF 37 Maintenance Unit when it opened in March 1940, and was controlled by the Air Ministry, operating as a ‘shadow factory’. The management of Burtonwood was a collaboration between the Nuffield Organisation, Rolls Royce Ltd, Bristol Engines and Rootes Securities. At the start, the airfield employed nearly 5000 men and women, including 2785 production staff.

In September 1940 the Fairey Aviation Company were appointed as the parent company of the Burtonwood Repair Depot. The site was enlarged and the existing repair facilities re-designed to make a more efficient use of space. The business hired more civilian employees to keep pace with the demand that the war was generating. At this time the unit modified a number of well-known aircraft including Maryland Bombers, Brewster Buffalos, Curtiss Mohawks and Douglas Bostons. In May 1941 the unit quickly modified twenty B-17s which were hastily required for warfare. The unit had various technicians from the aircraft manufacturers stationed at the depot to advise.

By 1942, Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of Aircraft Production, wanted to increase the repair facilities for US-type of aircraft, because there were increasing numbers in the UK, and he started negotiations for the use of the Burtonwood Repair Depot to be transferred to the US through the USAAF authorities. This transfer of ownership took place from July to September 1943.

The business enlisted 1200 men from various USAAF depots in the US to run the factory, and only retained 777 of the existing British staff for maintenance, fire staff, canteen staff, office staff and purchasing staff. No technical staff were retained and in total, 4102 local people were made redundant.

Burtonwood was massively expanded during the war years with accommodation added for 12000 personnel, new messes, workshops, hangars and hardstandings plus a new control tower. Several satellite bases were pressed into action and the USAAF patent unit at Burtonwood, Base Air Depot Area, commanded over 30 sub bases. Over 15,500 US aircraft passed through Burtonwood from 1942 to 1945 including 4243 B-17s and 1004 P-38 Lightnings.

Burtonwood was the last British USAAF base to close in June 1946, when control returned to the RAF. No 37 MU moved back as an aircraft storage unit, holding hundreds of surplus airframes including Mosquitoes, Harvards, Lancasters, and more. No 276 MU also moved in as a storage deport for parts for US aircraft operated by the RAF.

This activity was abruptly ended when the Soviets blockaded Berlin and the Air Lift started. Burtonwood was requested back by the newly formed USAF in 1948 and became the support and maintenance base for the C-54 Skymaster aircraft involved in the lift. Over 1500 200-hour maintenance checks were carried out during the lift in 1948-49.

After this activity, the base remained in USAF hands as the main support and maintenance base for the USAF in Britain, Europe and North Africa. A huge expansion programme included a warehouse known as Header House which was over 2 million sq ft, a new passenger and freight terminal and control building, runway extension and new base family housing. Trooping flights for Europe transited via Burtonwood and it became known as ‘The Gateway to Europe’. Maintenance and modification to all contemporary aircraft types were undertaken here.

With the drawdown of US forces in Europe the USAF ran down and vacated in 1965. The base did not stay empty for long. De Gaulle of France asked the US forces in France to vacate in 1967 and the US Army moved from France back into Burtonwood. The role was storage of war supplies in the event of war in Europe. It comprised, four 200-bed mobile hospitals, massive medical supplies, NBC (Nuclear, Bacteria and Chemical) suits, food rations (MRE’s), thousands of vehicles, prefabricated bridges etc.

This intensive use by the US Army terminated with the end of the Cold War in 1990 and much of the material was used in Operation Desert Storm and other Middle East operations. The US Army vacated the site and handed it back to the RAF in June 1993 and it never reopened.