RNAS Burscough (HMS Ringtail)
RNAS Burscough, also known as HMS Ringtail, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air station which was 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of Burscough, Lancashire. The Admiralty acquired 650 acres (2.6 km2) of land in December 1942 and the airfield was built with four narrow runways and several hangars, being commissioned on 1 September 1943.[1]
RNAS Burscough  | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Admiralty | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Fleet Air Arm | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Burscough, West Lancashire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Built | 1943 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| In use | 1943-1957 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53.596°N 2.843°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||||||
  RNAS Burscough Shown within West Lancashire  RNAS Burscough RNAS Burscough (England) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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It was used to train for landing aircraft on aircraft carriers. Specifically, according to Aldon P. Ferguson's book Lancashire Airfields in the Second World War: "it was constructed to the normal Navy plan with four runways instead of three, all of which were only 30 yards wide instead of the RAF standard 50 yards. The extra runway allowed the aircraft to land and take off as close as possible into the wind, with eight directions to choose from. The narrower landing strips also simulated take off and landing on aircraft carriers."[2]
The name HMS Ringtail was as for a ship because it was a Naval airfield, rather than a Royal Air Force one, and it was named was for a bird.[2] (Note: "Ring-tail" is an informal term used by birders for juveniles of several harrier species when seen in the field and not identifiable to an exact species.)
Wartime operational history
The air station was planned to accommodate FAA day, night and torpedo fighter squadrons for their formation, training and working-up. Many FAA squadrons were based at Burscough for a period of a few weeks or months, before moving to front-line FAA bases or on to aircraft carriers for deployment in action in the European or Far Eastern war fronts.
One of the first FAA units to operate from HMS Ringtail was 809 Squadron FAA, equipped with Supermarine Seafires, it arrived from RAF Andover on 19 December 1943, then departed on 29 December when it flew its aircraft aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Stalker.[3]
Units
The following units were here at some point:
- 3rd Naval Fighter Wing[4]
- 4th Naval Fighter Wing[4]
- 6th Naval Fighter Wing[4]
- 707 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 735 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 737 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 758 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 772 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 776 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 784 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 787 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 798 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 802 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 807 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 808 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 810 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 812 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 813 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 822 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 823 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 824 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 825 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 829 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 831 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 835 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 846 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 850 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 879 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 881 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 886 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 887 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 888 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 894 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 896 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 897 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1770 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1771 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1772 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1790 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1791 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1820 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1836 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1837 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1838 Naval Air Squadron[5]
- 1840 Naval Air Squadron[5]
Post-war naval operations
RNAS Burscough closed for flying in May 1946. Thereafter, the hangars were used for the storage of aircraft engines and other FAA equipment, under the direction of RNAS Stretton (a.k.a. HMS Blackcap), until both airfields were disposed of in 1957.[6]
Civil aviation
In the 1960s, civil cropduster agricultural aircraft, both fixed wing and helicopters, used the now otherwise inactive airfield as an operating base for refuelling and filling the aircraft's spray tanks.
Non-aviation use
As of early 2009, four naval hangars still survive in use for non-aviation purposes, and were used by the Merseyside Transport Trust, from the late 1970s until January 2012, when the charity moved to new premises within the industrial estate. The four hangars now stand empty and unused. These four hangars include 'Pentad' type hangars, and are on the western edge of the old airfield.
The site is now being developed with a large supermarket. Several historic photographs and maps of the wartime site are on display in its café.
References
Citations
- Smith 1981, p. 52.
- The Brothers B. "HMS Ringtail - World War Two airfield at Burscough, near Ormskirk". Lancashire At War.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
- Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 158.
- "Burscough". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- Sturtivant & Ballance 1994.
- Smith 1981, p. 54.
Bibliography
- Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
- Sturtivant, Ray; Burrow, Mick (1995). Fleet Air Arm Aircraft 1939 to 1945. Tonbridge: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-232-7.
- Smith, David J (1981). Action Stations. Vol. 3 – Wales and the North West. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-485-5.