Burtonwood, the USAF Armed Forces Days 1954-1958, and more!

[steven]

Wondered if someone might be interested in this Burtonwood book from 1958

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272482538676 (NB no longer links August 2021)

[planemike]

Interesting to see if it sells.......?!!!!

[viscount]

Just a note to say that I attended the third and final Burtonwood talk given by Aldon Ferguson last Monday evening. Well organised, highly informative and some superb images.

As all three were fully subscribed, and then some, he intends to revise his material and do them all over again in the Autumn. Anyone with an interest in Burtonwood from the aviation angle, or the effect of such a major base on the local area really must make an effort to get along next time.

My very big thanks to Aldon for bringing the '50s era at Burtonwood alive to someone who missed it all.

[andyc]

A YouTube video worth watching of a restored B29, the sound must have been very familiar with the locals of 1950's Great Sankey/Burtonwood
youtu.be/cN588tjeRpE

[viscount]

ANOTHER 'DISTRACTION' POST!

These shots were sent to me in 2013 by Mark Williams as potential Burtonwood images. They are not, which begs the question where are they? Hope Mark doesn't mind me actually posting these a fair few years on, but it does seem a shame not to use them, although the quality varies someone might even have an answer.



While not a Burtonwood AFD, it certainly looks like an AFD somewhere, with a C-124 Cargomaster, C-47 Skytrain and a C-119 Flying Boxcar.



A Douglas B-66, 40440.



What would we give to see an air display flypast from those aircraft today? A KC-29 Stratofortress tanker being closely followed by a F-101 Voodoo, F-100 Super Sabre and a B-66 Destroyer.



A USAF Lockheed C-130A Hercules 60545. This not the aircraft seen at the 1958 Burtonwood AFD though.



HP.67 Hastings TG501 (the 01 is on the underwing) at a RAF or USAF Air Day. The 5 letter radio call-sign is across the nose raydome.



Not an airshow, but these CT-133A Silver Stars are Royal Canadian Air Force machines.

[jbmack]

Further note of interest for the few who are not already aware the Avion video "Ringway Vintage Manchester Airport" includes a short section of colour cine from 1956/57 AFD days at Burtonwood.

[viscount]

I'll hopefully start to have a go at getting the images back clearly in view and inline with the captions and sorted into the correct posts later this week. Partly as a homage to the late Don Stephens who sourced many of the images for me and provided much of information in the Air Show lists from his spotter Log Books.

Patience please. It will be a slow job with some 115 images to identify, find the caption for, create new BB image code for and replace into the correct place. Gradually though viewable images will appear throughout this thread.

Come back in a week and progress should be obvious, although unlikely in a sequential post order! I may well combine some of the later photo posts into the correct earlier AFD year photo post and possibly delete some of the 'conversational posts' to shorten the thread back to the topic of AFDs, USAF activity and the Burtonwood Museum.

[viscount]

BURTONWOOD THE 1950's ARMED FORCES DAY DISPLAYS (and more)

Despite my optimism in the post above, I never got around to replacing the images deleted by Photobucket as my replacement as an image host googleimages/gdurl then played the same despicable trick of deleting all images as incentive to pay them money. The Photobucket codes that I hadn't removed were then returned to view distorted with a watermark which took pressure off getting around to the job. No photos have actually been 'lost' in the deletion by image hosts.

It is only in August 2021 that I have finally got around to the task of replacing some 115 or so images, plus adding in 35 or so more. Initially on page 1, I had all the air display lists followed by all the images I then had. I've taken the opportunity in 2021 of reorganising many posts, moving some around in the sequence to keep the whole thread in something of a logical sequence. It has taken around a week of several hours a day to complete the matching of image and caption, weaving in new images and moving things around. In the process I've deleted a couple posts which had become irrelevant although leaving others which although out of date, may be of interest.

WHAT'S NEW?

On page 1 all the AFD air display lists remain, as do the spotter's logs of daily activity at Burtonwood. The pages from the A.F.D. programmes have been moved forward. I've moved out the complete collections of Peter Quaile and Alan Pritchard, and moved in one (sometimes two) representative photos of each and every aircraft that I have images for, into the appropriate year post to follow the Log of the aircraft present. So the much altered page 1 is mostly a Log and illustrative photo of the aircraft there for each year.

Page 2 is now massively image heavy. For each of photographer who has supplied photos, there is a dedicated post with all their AFD images including those already used on page 1 (and few that aren't even Burtonwood AFDs too) in date sequence. Alan Prichard, Peter Quaile, Don Stephens, Richard Ward and James MacKenzie all have their own dedicated image posts.

Page 3 has some photos via Mark Williams that proved not to be Burtonwood at all, but as most are '50s USAF, why not share them? Plus comment that will doubtless follow on from the restoration of the thread. Added since are some images provided by Aldon Ferguson which are worth scrolling onto as a few of the images in in colour, then a post gathering together from 'zombie threads' some images by "Beemer" of the demolition of USAF Burtonwood and the establishment of the current trading estate.

You are invited to go back to page 1 and work your way through what are long pages of details and images, then a few days later return to start at a different point and look in detail at more of this now significant collection of Burtonwood in the '50s photographs. Just hope that in a few years time my current image host doesn't play the same game as Photobucket and again ruin what is one of the most viewed threads in the Nostalgia Section of NWAN forum, clocking up a whopping 23,000 'hits' since February 2013, despite nearly 2 years of missing and watermark spoilt images.

Even if they simply repeat what I already have, I'll be delighted to share any more photographs of post War Burtonwood - I'd just love a few in colour, especially of the 'Weather' WB-50Ds. Sorry I have taken so long to get around to sorting this thread out, hope you are pleased with the re-vamp now that it is completed. Brian.

[viscount]

NWAN member Mike Allen has sent me these of him getting "bitten" by the aviation bug while still rather young, but old enough to wear his oversized School uniform when he needed to look smart on a day out. Just as kids had to in the '50s, indeed just as I had to too, but my parents had no camera to record the event, so no embarrassing photos to post 63 years later! These are at the final AFD in 1958.

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Look how small I am compared to a huge B-45 bomber.



Now, in the future I'll know exactly what a 47th BW badge looked like and the weight of a Douglas B-66.



Looking at the 'hot' end of a Vampire T.11, getting into places grown-ups can't.

Sorry for the tongue-in-cheek captions - they are really well produced, sharp, delightful images. Many thanks for sharing these with us.

Mike suspects his father, once a keen photographer and home processor could have many more images stored away, but fears he will have to wait for the eventual, inevitable house clearance until he can find out. The conundrum is, as I found out, by then the very person who could tell where events, places and who people are will no longer be around to do so.

[viscount]

BURTONWOOD AFD IMAGES via ALDON FERGUSON

Aldon Ferguson has forwarded me some of the images he has of AFDs at Burtonwood, with permission for me to share these on NWAN. Some are delightful, a couple not conventional, but impressively some are in colour. I know that Aldon uses some of these images in his presentations, so I feel quite honoured to be able to share them with you. Presented here in date sequence.

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1956. TG525/JAV HP.67 Hastings C.1, 511 Sqdn (511 on yellow diamond on fin) from RAF Lyneham

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A copy of the account of Armed Forces Day 1957 that appeared in the Burtonwood base newspaper "The NAMAE Beacon". May need judicial use of 'expand' in order to read the text. One thing it does comfirm is that the many images of a wet and dismal day posted here were taken by enthusiasts arriving early in the morning. The weather changed dramatically at midday, so by mid afternoon images show dry ground along with lots of visiting public. NAMAE = Northern Air Materiel Area Europe.



1957. The static display line-up of some of the USAF aircraft present.



1957. WB-50D 90302. If ever there was an aircraft/markings pairing that would get me to rekindle my plastic modeling skills, then a 53rd WRS WB-50D model would be the one!



1957. Douglas R6D-1 (or in layman terms a Douglas DC-6) of the United States Navy



1957. Douglas RB-66B



1957. C-124 30010



1957. F-86 210028



1957. Line up of Royal Air Force aircraft in the static display, 1957.







1957. The all natural metal Vickers Valiant B(PR)1 WZ405. Why, though, it is not overall 'anti-flash' white?



1957. Blackburn Beverley C.1, XB285/J of 47 Sqdn.



1957. WR783/A DH.112 Venom NF.2 in 3 Sqdn markings.





1957. Gloster Javelin FAW.4, XA731 of 23 Squadron, with no badge, and although not so clear on these shots, the serial is in black on the engine nacelle.

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1958. Two 1958 images, both of Javelin FAW.4, XA631, this aircraft wearing a 23 Squadron badge on the fin and with the engine nacelle serial in white.

[ronturner]

Fabulous memento of wonderful days. Note always the close proximity of people and 'planes: the norm for us; extraordinary now. This was in an age when the jet engine was promising exciting opportunities, yet what would we give now to be in close proximity of a P&W starting up and running? Thanks to the authors of these photos and Brian for manipulating them and posting.

[Beemer]

On the 15th of May 2006 we were on an easyJet on right base for 27 at LJLA flying over the last remaining buildings at Burtonwood so I grabbed a photo before they disappeared. I heard
a while later that the hangars were to be demolished to build a new prison on the site but that never happened but the hangars still came down..


Burtonwood hangars from ott 15-05-2006 by Beemer328i, on Flickr

As I delivered in the area I decided to take some photos of the hangars before they were turned to rubble. This photo taken taken from the bridge at Junction 8 showing
all that was left of runway 27. That bridge went and was replaced by two.


Junction 8 M62 Burtonwood by Beemer328i, on Flickr

There was a security man on the gate at the hangars so I asked if I could go in to take photos and said yes but don't go in side them.


Burtonwood Hangar 1A west end 2007 by Beemer328i, on Flickr

I parked my truck next to this one and visualized aircraft taxying by.


Burtonwood Hangar 1A 2008 by Beemer328i, on Flickr


Burtonwood concrete blister hangar 2007 by Beemer328i, on Flickr

Then the hangars were demolished one by one. Damn shame as the were supposed the keeping one for a museum.


Hangarup-date 2008 by Beemer328i, on Flickr


Hangarsend 2008 by Beemer328i, on Flickr

Diggers moved in.


Diggers moving in 11-12-2012 by Beemer328i, on Flickr


Groundwork started on site of Hangar 1A 2013 by Beemer328i, on Flickr


Showing proximity to M62 and new site ring road 2013. The big mound in the distance is the slag heaps at Sutton Manor Colliery where the Dream stands. by Beemer328i, on Flickr

...and this is how this particular site looks to-day plus many more.


Hangarup-date 2014 by Beemer328i, on Flickr

Some of the dates may be out a bit as old cameras didn't display Exif.

[ronturner]

Very interesting photos Beemer. I lived at Lyme Cross, not far from Prescot and itself not too far from Burton wood when you are young and energetic. We cycled frequently up to Burtonwood to catch a glimpse of something. I was not actually into spotting or aviation at the time, although the sight of these machines what what we went for. It was fun to cycle up to one of the minor entry points to the security gate and engage with the US airmen who usually kind enough ( not always) to let us stand inside and look at things. I guess I was about 9 at the time.

The M62 road is one of the the few, perhaps only, road in UK which is actually built on the line of an aerodrome runway. Not so much as to save money in construction of the surface but really because it was big and long and saved a lot in preparation and demolition costs. Later in Life ( 1969) I lived at Golborne. By this time, the base was well closed, but the once closed public road across the airfield was once again opened and the only aviation I ever saw were gliders.

[Beemer]

When I was younger they always said English girls shouldn't go out with the Yanks as they were only after what they could get. My Auntie Jean (Travis) lived in Gartons Lane, Clock Face and ignored the advice and went out with one.
She has never looked back since she married Simon Barth affectionately known as Fred who was from New England, USA. Fred worked in the pay office on the Burtonwood Air Base. They went out for a while and eventually got married
in the Site 2 Chapel on the base 24th February 1951 (which I attended) before departing to the States, Fred taking the Pay Office sign with him as a souvenir, where they have lived happily in North Dakota bringing up many children and Grand children. They still both survive Jean being 92 years of age and Fred is 93 yrs old. They are not in the best of health but glad they took no notice of the Yank's warning.


Marriage Notice by Beemer328i, on Flickr


Barth Wedding by Beemer328i, on Flickr

[Beemer]

Sadly Uncle Fred passed away on Saturday 4th March aged 93 leaving behind his wife aged 92 who also is not in the best of health.