HMS Ringtail (Burscough Airfield)

info taken from wikipedia

RNAS Burscough (HMS Ringtail) was a former Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air station which was situated 1.5 statute miles south-west of the small town of Burscough, Lancashire. The Admiralty acquired 650 acres (2.6 km2) of land in December 1942 and the airfield was built with four runways and several hangars, being commissioned on 1 September 1943.

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 period of a few weeks or few 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 which arrived from RAF Andover on 19 December 1943, remaining until it flew its aircraft aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Stalker on 29 December.

Postwar operations

RNAS Burscough closed for flying in May 1946. Thereafter, the hangars were used for the storage of aircraft engines and other FAA equipment until the airfield was disposed of in 1957.

During 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.

four naval hangars still survive in use for non-aviation purposes with the Merseyside Transport Trust. These include 'Pentad' type hangars, and are located on the western edge of the old airfield, most of which has now been turned into an industrial eatate.

a little about Merseyside Transport Trust preservation

http://www.mttrust.co.uk/RunningDay2...unningDay.html


as said in the wiki info 4 hangers remain and jam packed with relics a proper little aladdins cave of allsorts one thing in perticular was a ford prefect in mint condition except the bird crap all over it

anyway one thats been on my list for a while now and a permission granted explore through a good freind of mine with me and kevsy21 having a free run of the place for hours

most of the stuff at the back was a little hard to photograph due to most of the hangers having no electricity and bloody hard to get to but i had fun climbing in and out of various bus cab windows to get to them

i cant thank these guys enough for going out of there way for me and kev top day!!!

pics of vehicles taken in all 4 hangers...

the only remains of the runway
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4737.jpg

some of the hangers
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4677.jpg


various buildings remain onsite including an roc post but with our time running out we decided to leave it for a return explore i think this was toilets or something
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4642.jpg

on with the show....

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4584.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4579.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4589.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4587.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4592.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4598.jpg

one of the guys pulled this out to show off in all its glory
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4572.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4575.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4578.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4576.jpg

this hanger was interesting it housed liverpool football teams old open top bus last used in 2005
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4644.jpg

telecom torch
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4638.jpg

a preserved recovery wagon
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4616.jpg

up on top of the footy teams bus
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4624.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4590.jpg

another interesting hanger housed this lovely ford prefect with full leather interior
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4647.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4648.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4649.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4657.jpg

another interesting bus (check out the side indicators)
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4699.jpg

this was another cool one an old liverpool airport transporter, the guy said he wasnt sure if it was one of the buses which had the beatles in on their return to liverpool
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4686.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4703.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4708.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...h/DSCF4707.jpg

top day thanks again lads

Well I can honestly say I've had the pleasure of riding on one of these old buses,where I used ta jump off the platform at the back and go skidding down the pavement in me X Army&Navy boots.

The wing indicator,me old fellas Ford Pop used to have,however they allways seem to get stuck so me old fella used to stick his arm out the window to indicate,me Ma used to do the left turn. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GeorgePorgie

The wing indicator,me old fellas Ford Pop used to have,however they allways seem to get stuck so me old fella used to stick his arm out the window to indicate,me Ma used to do the left turn. :)

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Ha... I remember the same thing with my uncle's old Morris Minor -

Attachment 17989

Apparently, Morris called them "Trafficators"

Quote:

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Apparently, Morris called them "Trafficators"

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Me Da used call em...."Fk'in barsteward pieces of junk":)

Great to see the old Ford Prefect. My "Uncle" Bruce Williams had an old Ford Prefect in which he would drive us to the match at Anfield... that was myself, my Grandad and Grandad's brother, Billy Matchett, the veteran Liverpool comedian. Uncle Billy had swollen feet and would go to the match in carpet slippers that he had inherited from Bud Flanagan. Sometimes we would go to the match in Bruce's Bentley that he had inherited from the late Liverpool comedian Robb Wilton. Bruce, who was a funeral director along with his brother with a business off Smithdown Road west of Toxteth Park Cemetery, wrote comic songs under the name of Eddie Latta for George Formby and others.

Chris