Burtonwood Royal Air Force Station - Yearbook (Burtonwood, England)

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. :7 A m..n'iz;3 ',i;' ii' iW'kg'lWiy 'A;4Vm.n- i th 4 Commanderls Message It is a pleasure to record in the year book, my appreciation to each member of every unit at Burtonwood for his contribution towards making Burtonwood one of the best known military air bases in the world. The ten years since the Americans returned to this giant Lancashire air base have been colorful and eventful. From the early mud and water days to the present, the United States Air Force has marked its short history at Burtonwood with magnificent achievements. Burtonwood played an important part in the Berlin Air Lift and later in the support of SAC rotational B-29 Bombers in the United Kingdom. In its prime, the Burtonwood Depot furnished all types of supplies to United States Forces in the United Kingdom, including medical and subsistence items. In the field of athletics, Burtonwood has won the UK and USAFE championships in baseball, the UK championship three times in football, and the UK championship twice in basketball. Last year the United States Ambassador to England established an award for Anglo-American Community Relations. Burtonwood was the First to receive this award and again this year received honors for placing third in Anglo-American Community Relations. . We can look back with pride on these achievements. We can also look back with pride on some of the things we take for granted. For example, despite an average of 30000 landings and take-offs annually at Burtonwood, there has been only one fatal aircraft accident here in the last ten years. Each individual stationed here, no matter how insignificant his job may seem, has played an important role in the success of the USAF at Burtonwood. I am proud to have been associated with Burtonwood for the past two years. It has been gratifying to serve with such a dedicated and loyal group. We will remember what we did here and think ofour Burtonwood frinds whenever we reach for this book and then turn back the pages on time. I hope this year book will help you to recall friendships made here and remind you of a job well done. My thanks to you and good luck. EDWIN J. HAMILTON Colonel, USAF Commander

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WXW $wa WW N COLONEL EDWIN J. HAMILTON Base Commander Colonel Edwin J. Hamilton, ENDTF Co Task Force on January I, I958. On July I, rn Disposition mmander, assumed command of the European Northe the Northern Air Material Area, Europe, w k over from I958, he also assumed command of Burtonwood as ENDTF too hich was deactivated on that date. Th are . ' Jul I956. leY Born in Delta, Iowa, in l9l4, Colonel Hamilton and his wife Betty arrived aeBurtohwsizgeln'lentg, Califorma- accomPanied by their children Gayle and Cheryl. Stateside address for the Hamiltons IS . He. - - . Administration. . Colonel Hamilton graduated from Iowa Weslyan College in I937 With a degree 1h Bysmgsssecond Lieutenant m Entered the service on New Year's Day, I94l and was commISSIone August that year. ' - t P'lOt m AuguS as awarded his wings in July I946 and named to Command l I956. In I954 he also qualified as Aircraft Observer. . dal. . . s n VICtOrY Me HIS decorations include: American Defense Service Medal, American Campalgn Medlal. NW Y Occupation Uapany Commendation Ribbon, and the National Defense Servuce Meda. r of ' . as DirectO Before coming to Burtonwood Colonel Hamilton was stationed at Dayton AFD, Ohlov Wheairzesrsposition Tas Supply and Services. He held that post here prior to assuming command of the European N0 orce. . Arm

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M- A Decade at B 1948 U.S. ' 0 this month the first group .of EDlTOR S NOTE-l-tltganllEthilogn Burtonwood. Tlhgillg-SIIAl-Zlggalslt CIOJES . . . - n I urmg WW ll, departing lllrtonwood. The following mCl C y h g .I' v of what transpired during the past ten years. The Announcement ' h' was bein echoed throughout The Yanks are coming, tthelssummer ofgl948. The giant RAF h Lancashire countryside'in. . . S tStzlietion Burtonwood was flinging open Its doors to the American ' fover two years. once a am after an absence 0' u - Canarary to general belief, Burtonwood was re opened ' ' ' i t i.e. 'Ie material In support of Proieet Skincoa , , goplagctlhp;upply SAC rotational units when in this part of El? world; therefore Burtonwood was not re-establlshed spec: I- f r the Berlin Airlift. n ca'lllhe Xirlift, known as Operation Vittles, had started on .June 26, I948, as a response to ground blockade imposed by. RUSSIa on Berlin. The first contingent of Americans came here In August, l948. 3!? 9S Ill: AN EARLY news story carried the following account of activities at Burtonwood: The ranks of the 25-strong advance party of American Gls who arrived at Burtonwood, near Warrington, last week-end, will be swelled today by a much bigger party of their comrades. i llNinety-five men and three officers of the USAAF are due this afternoon. RAF transport will come down to meet the men when they arrive at Bank Quay Station, Warrington. Burtonwood houses several RAF units, and at the moment British airmen are evacuating one of their living sites, which will be taken over by the new comers. Today's party, it is understood, will be followed by others at intervals until there are 300 men at Burtonwood. tilt was announced in Washington last week that the Americans - are maintenance and service personnel for the two groups of 8-29 bombers-the Super Forts-recently sent to England. This story was dated August 7, I948. 3k IX! is THE UNIT headed for Burtonwood, designated the 59th Air Depot, arrived from Rome, N;Y., on September l2, l948. Hardly gad the mung :egun tc:j unpack when maintenance officers from ermany ew ere to iscuss transfer of 200- ' ' Berlin Airlift G-54 llSkymasters. hour In5pectlons on Who would have thought that onl . y a few short ears I t that the number of American troops would have Zlimbe: f; a peak strength of some l3,000-a far cry from the total 300 thsalt1 wa's efxpected in the early days. ort y a ter the arrival of the advance part i . . . y three full Eegjegodngsv griufps, cbonSIsting of ninety long-range borhlfelrilphigl . n a our ases in eastern En land for h ,. described as Hroutine trainin m' ' g w at was offiCIalIy been moved to the UK f g ISSIOnS. Two of these groups had in from the United StaLtesrom Germany While the third had flown at :x: 3X: The New York Times on Au . ust 29th, statement 0f Mngt. TheodoEe Richard temeered little topkick of the outfi was not too bad a deal' . ' We got yanked out of airfi this lob. Most of us only got t enoigal: tohstraighten out our personal affairs , e continued, Hl fi ur ' ' i . dut . ' g e It is onl for bilthsanblulttxl: nfot too bad. We draw RAll-I ratitsal:stlarlldllssl temporary non-ration de ave our own cooks, who su plement th efep m RAF which S e stuff, and we make out OK. hose ' e OOdS Wlth ergeant Richardson was spe someSDrjity days about ne years ago. carried the following son, the cocky, even- t, who said Burtonwood aking were a-awa-.a:.:.:..,r..,wkaa$ ..-. Readying the Base When the 59th Air Depot arrived at Burtonwood, it found the remnants of what had been a thriving wartime depot. Quarters Were broken-down, offering little protection against the elements. Heat was lacking and the weather damp and cold. Mail flowed at asnail's pace, sometimes requiring five weeks to arrive from the States There were no recreational facilities and few of the necessities It frequently required more than an hour for a man to travel from. his quarters to work or to the mess hall where he then had to wait up to 40 minutes in the mess queue. This then was Burtonwood l948 Progress seemed slow-the base was big, and men lived in deplorable conditions. The higherups had taken a great interest in Burtonwood-it was to be a vital installation during the Airlift. On December 28, I948, progress was expedited When the Hon- orable Stuart W. Symington, Secretary of the Air Force, and his party, inspected the base. Mr. Symington noted the need for improvement and assured the Commanding General, Major General Fred S. Borum, that improvement was to be hurried along. Shortly afterwards, the late General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, paid a visit to the giant Lancashire base. Improve- ments were on the way. ell: :X: :X! ALMOST I,000 Nissen huts were remodeled and equipped with light fixtures, wall plugs and pitchmastic flooring. Six mess halls were either constructed or rehabilitated. Snack bars, two PX,s, a chapel and bus terminal were remodeled for use. On March 2nd. a highly efficient, well-stocked commissary was opened. At the end of March i49 the base had five chapels, six theaters, a Service Club, an NCO Club and an Officers' Club. Morale had improved, families of the men were making their appearance for the first time. Twenty-five converted Nissen huts, l0 old BOX's and 50 British-type trailers were used as Burtonwoodis first families quarter units. The station allowance was ujust over $7 a day and the pound cost $4.05. The pound was revalued to $2.80 and the station allow- ance came down to $5.75. The first group of wives to arrive came in early December, l948. Housing was next to impossible to find and rents, though reasonable in the early days, became somewhat higher as the years passed. Burtonwood was not forgotten by the folks back home. World famous entertainers soon appeared at the gates 0f the big base-ready to entertain the boys from home. :it! 3X: 3X: AMONG the first to show their talents at the mudjf'dde hase was one Robert Hope. The December 30. I948 Daily Mall,5 heidlme; read, HHoPe Comes to the Gl's in Mudhole. The Daily .Dlspglc headlines read, U.S. Stars Invade Burtonwood, and the Na ers captured the hearts of all GI Joes at Burtonwood. . l'ttle First arrivals were Mr. Stuart Symington, General Jimmy Doc;1 Kl Technical Adviser and famed Tokyo raider, Lt. Gen. Josep - Cannon, Commander USAFE. and two star General . Leon Johnson, CO 3rd Air Division, Headquarters, South Runsllp. After them, delayed five hours by icy weather I. Germanygerlin four Skymasters bearing Bob Hope, Jinx Falkenbefg. erIng l a 28-Piece GI Band and New Yorkls prettiest damng girls' nd an In a huge hangar comfortably holding 2,000 GI s roglow by improvised stage, the U.S. Air Secretary StOle the? tailed announcing that 2,000 additional stoves woqld be '5 tha from next week in the CPS mud-encircled Nissen hutszover 56,000 square yards of linoleum was being ordered :0 eight the concrete floors of the huts, that there would euld be lights to a hut instead of two, and that all mess halls wo centrally heated. F ChThflS Was the second visit to the base in three daYS by the A ie . came