Former USAF Base Burtonwood. When developer's get things wrong

**Gunny Hartmann** · 11-28-2012, 05:58 PM

The stupidity of youth, it's a wonder i'm still here!...

**Alexander** · 11-28-2012, 06:03 PM

Don't worry, I know the feeling. We didn't set off ammo, but boy did we enjoy life in other ways!!!!!

**big ned** · 11-28-2012, 06:08 PM

by Alexander

I like the name Dakota Park, it sounds American. If I recall rightly from my high school days, Dakotas were part of the Sioux Native Americans. It implies that American Romance many Europeans have. Keeps that US link alive.

Anyhow, Thunderbolts have a different canopy to the planes on the mural.

Shows our different upbringings, Gunny. I was a 'army brat', we were taught never to mess with live ammo. In all my years as a brat I never heard of any kid hurting themselves with live ammo. On the other hand, when I was back in 'the world' there were three civilian kids who found a 155mm shell on a range. They took it home and drilled into it. It exploded, killing all three and left three devastated families. Sorry, setting off .50 cal ammo with a hammer is just plain dumb. I could have told you that aged eight or nine!

The murals do actually show 'Razor Backed' Republic P-47 D Thunderbolts. You are obviously thinking of the later bubble canopied P-47 D-5 of 1943 that was copied from the British designed Malcolm Hood that was originally fitted to the P-51 Mustang and Hawker Typhoon/Tempest.

**Steve T** · 11-28-2012, 06:12 PM

Look like razorbacks to me.

**HARRY THE MOLE** · 11-28-2012, 07:45 PM

They are indeed P47's. When the site was being cleared up there were several finds of .50 cal machine guns which had been chopped in half. When work began on a new pub they unearthed a few crates that had .50 cal guns still wrapped up in grease. I recall bits of aircraft sticking out of the ground near a pond close to the old engine testing facility. That was back in the 80's/90's. Some of the chopped guns are on display in the RAF Burtonwood Museum at the local theme park. All sorts of rumours did the rounds about big pits being dug alongside the main runway at the end of the war(now the M62 motorway) and stuff just being bulldozed in. They reckon stuff was even thrown in the ponds that surround the site. There was a B17 fuselage in a local scrapyard for many years as well.

**Totenhead** · 11-28-2012, 08:04 PM

Wasn't Burtonwood used by the USAAF as a maintenance base during the war for lots of different aircraft? I assume Dakota's and Thunderbolts would have been flown from there. I have driven past it many times on the M62. I've been told by my mother that my grandmother’s sister and her friends used to go up there quite often trying to see the glamorous yanks!

I think they could have done alot worse

**Woolgar** · 11-28-2012, 08:05 PM

Hi Harry

I spent 2 happy years in Cheshire and I often passed the hangers and that iconic pub!!

Shame it has all gone

Nick

**Gunny Hartmann** · 11-28-2012, 08:15 PM

by Totenhead

Wasn't Burtonwood used by the USAAF as a maintenance base during the war for lots of different aircraft? I assume Dakota's and Thunderbolts would have been flown from there. I have driven past it many times on the M62. I've been told by my mother that my grandmother’s sister and her friends used to go up there quite often trying to see the glamorous yanks!

I think they could have done alot worse

Every type of US aircraft used in the European theatre would have been at Burtonwood, from Piper cubs to B 17s and B 24s and after the war there were B29s being maintained.

Steve Corbett: Have you heard the legend that there are about 50 Harley Davidson WLAs buried on the camp somewhere?..

**Totenhead** · 11-28-2012, 08:26 PM

Must have been cool growing up around there seeing all the different aircraft. I think the developers have done ok; perhaps they should have had a picture of both a Dakota and a Thunderbolt.
A Dakota doesn't really do a lot for me, not sure why they have one in the BBMF to be honest.
Annoyed me quite a lot in 2009 when it was the 70th anniversary of the Broughton Factory where i grew up, and have worked in the past, they had a flypast of the BBMF with a Dakota, the Lancaster that actually left the Broughton production line in April 1945 was not even there. Think it was a political decision by Airbus really; they did not want to upset the shareholders!!