FACTOID #53: If you thought Antarctica was inhospitable, think again - its land area is only ninety-eight percent ice. Reassuringly, the other 2% is categorised as "barren rock".
RAF Burtonwood is the name of the Royal Air Force station that used to be situated in Warrington , Cheshire. When it was in active service it was the largest American military base in Western Europe, possibly one of the largest military bases during World War II.
The base opened in1939. During World War II it acted as a servicing centre the 8th Air Force , the 9th Air Force , the 12th Air Force and the 15th Air Force. The roar of the engines could reportably be heard from miles around. By the end of the war there were 18,000 servicemen stationed there. According to some sources Burtonwood was placed strategically so that it was out of the range of Luftwaffe bombers, however this fact is disputed by many people and historians of the area. It has been said the Burtonwood would have provided a better site for a regional airport than either of the current sites occupied by Liverpool John Lennon Airport or Manchester Airport.
Following World War II the station declined somewhat with numbers being reduced. The United States Air Force left the station in 1965, but moved back there in 1967 when the exit of France from NATO forced the withdrawal of USAF service functions from there. The base provided service functions for the 1991Gulf War, but was closed in August 1993
The main runway was converted into the new M62Motorway. At present the site is being entirely demolished to make way for a new commercial development and the building of a new village called Chapelford.
The squadron was transferred to RAF Podington until September 15 where it flew a few missions before being transferred to Twelfth Air Force for support of Allied landings in North Africa on October 15, 1942.
During 1956 the 86th Bomb Squadron from RAF Alconbury deployed to Molesworth with B-45 Tornadoes while the runway at Alconbury was being repaired and resurfaced.
In the early 1980s, RAF Moleworth was chosen to become a base for the US Air Force's mobile nuclear armed Ground Launched Cruise Missiles or GLCMs (although the majority of GLCMs were deployed at RAF Greenham Common).
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