Royal Naval Air Station Burscough History (HMS Ringtail)

Royal Naval Air Station Burscough was built in the Lancashire potato fields on 650 acres of land acquired by the admiralty using compulsory purchase on the 12^th December 1942, the land was originally intended for the RAF. Six farmers had their land requisitioned along with Lordsgates Township School in Lordsgate Lane which was demolished during April 1943.

The layout was a typical Admiralty airfield of mid war design consisting of four runways, a standard three story watch tower was provided along with 32 Mainhill hangers and two Callender hangers. The Fleet Air Arm Camp was built along Higgins Lane and also occupied part of the Vicarage field adjacent to Trevor Road, The accommodation consisted of Nissan type hutting with the main communal site being across the A59.

Four runways were laid down by the time the station was commissioned as HMS Ringtail on the 1^st September 1943. Royal Naval Air Station Burscough was earmarked for fighter squadrons but this had grown to include night fighter, torpedo fighter, radar training and a fleet requirements unit. About forty squadrons were attached for short periods of working up, conversion or disembarkation from carriers in the Mersey

RAF Woodvale became a Tender in April 1945 and was known as HMS Ringtail II.

On the 3^rd of May 1946 the last flying units departed and the airfield was closed to flying apart from the occasional communications flight and reduced to care and maintenance on the 15^th June 1946. Royal Naval Air Burscough was taken over Royal Naval Air Station as a sub storage site known as the Naval Engine Holding Unit, Royal Naval Air  Burscough was at one time on the books of Royal Naval Air Station Inskip. The Navy finally paid of Burscough in 1957 and its grass areas reverted to farming and its buildings to industry.

After the war was over the camp was invaded by squatters in 1946, fifteen families took position of some of the huts. More people came from Liverpool and many of the huts were converted and improved by the occupants, during the fifties council houses were erected on the site and the remaining huts were gradually taken down and the squatters re-housed. The plan of the roads has changed very little and today Trunscot Road follows the same route as Nelson Road did when it was the Fleet Air Arm camp.

Outline permission had been made by the old Liverpool Corporation in 1967 for a remand home to be built on the camp off High Lane but had lapsed.

A Royal Observer Corps Master Post was established on the side of the airfield bordering Pippin Lane in April 1962 until the Royal Observer Corps was disbanded in September 1991. There were also at one stage some air traffic control /beacons known as “Ormskirk” behind the tower.

In the sixties the runways were used by crop spraying aircraft, and during the eighties the control tower was used by the Barracuda Parachute Display Team as their head quarters, they also had an aircraft based here.

During 1991-92 a new access road was built across the airfield utilising one of the taxi ways to link the two half’s of the estate together, the estate was also updated and incorporated some links with the past in the street names: Ringtail Road, Ringtail Court, and Ringtail Place. A modern housing development at the Lordsgate Lane entrance is called “Admiralty Close”

There was a regular car boot sale on the airfield until it moved to another location, motor sport activities also occur during the year on some of the remains of the runways and tracks. Early in 2003 a new area of industrial units was opened up on the land after it was cleared of various small buildings behind the control tower, which is still hanging on in a dilapidated state, many of the hangers still remain although some of them have move location. The operations room, Battle HQ and a few other buildings remain.

No 816 squadron at Burscough October 1944 (John Dickson)

No 816 squadron at Burscough October/November 1944 (HMS Vengeance website)

Below follows a list of squadron movements through Burscough.

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