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RAF Station Blackpool was officially opened on the 23rd of October 1939 with the Volunteer Reserve taking charge. On December 1st it became known as RAF Squires Gate. Some 235 buildings were constructed at Squires Gate for use in WW2, peaking in 1940. Most buildings were given standardised drawing numbers that were used throughout airfields in the UK. As materials began to run out most buildings were of temporary construction usually made from timber or nissen hutting, only critical buildings such blast shelters, defence posts, battle HQ and the control tower were of brick construction.
The first RAF squadrons to arrive were No63 and No75 from Oxfordshire and No215 squadron with their Wellingtons and Battles. No bombing raids were ever initiated from Squires Gate as the extra distance to travel would have vastly reduced the pay load and range the bombers could fly. However many aircraft set off from southern airfields and flew the return leg into squires gate for maintenance, extra training and general repair. Squires Gate, therefore, became a Coastal Command Centre monitoring ships in the Irish sea. 45 bombs were dropped on Blackpool and the surrounding area, 19 hitting Squires gate.
Important dates
1939 Women's Auxiliary Air Force was created
1939 1st Nov the RAF volunteer reserve take over Squires Gate.
1939 The Wood Street Mission Holiday Camp at Squires Gate was taken over by the War Department to billet troops from the Manchester Regiment.
1939 28th April F flight of NO1 anti-aircraft CoOperations unit arrive.
1939 3rd Sept war was declared
1939 A Fairey Battle crashed into the bridge near the railway station killing 3 crew
1940 Vickers began building the shadow factory in Jan with the first a/c rolling out in Sept, taking off in July 1941.(NM)
1940 A house in Church Rd St Annes was Bombed on the 1st Oct
1940 First air raid warning sounded in Blackpool on 2nd Sept, bomb fell on Farringdon Av 19th Oct.
1940 Liverpool was bombed on the 28th Nov killing 200 people
1940 Blackpool tower fitted with Radar installations
1941 Amy Johnson set off from Squires Gate on her last ever flight on the 5th Jan.
1941Liverpool and Barrow Bombed (4000 Killed)
1941 Pearl Harbour
1941 Blackpool residents raised enough money to buy 3 Spitfire aircraft name progress 1, 2 and 3.
1942 USA military arrived in England
1942 Airfield construction peaked with 3 stations a day. The total expenditure on the war was £13 million per day.
1942 In the shadow factory, Wellingtons were fitted with magnetic hoops to try and detonate sea mines
1942 After Wellingtons attacked the MAN diesel factory in Germany, the sole surviving plane landed at Squires Gate at 01:00 hrs
Regiments and aircraft
1939 the Volunteer reserve took over Squires Gate (NM)
1939 (No1 anti-aircraft CoOperations) Tiger Moth, Hawker Henley, westland Lysander and Miles Magister aircraft towed banners for target practise. They used canvas Bessonneaux hangers on the east side of the air field.
1939 No 9 Civilian Air Nav Schl - No 9 Air Obs & Nav Schl and No42 elementary and reserve flying school joined Squires Gate operating two seater Tiger Moth, Hawker Hind and Hawker Audax aircraft.
1940 No 215, No 63 and No 75 Bomber squadrons used Squires Gate
1940 Lockheed Liberators flew out of Squires Gate to Montreal as ferries.
1940 A Hurricane P3899 crashed into the sea on the 28th Decenber after taking off from Blackpool.
1940 No 1 and 3 School of General Reconnaissance plus No school of photography used Squires Gate.
1941 The Polish 307 Mosquito Squadron arrived on the 23rd Jan defending Liverpool against Luftwaffe attacks (+Polish 256 Squadron)
1941 No 96 and No 256 Fighter squadrons arrived to protect Liverpool
1941 A Botha and Defiant collided over Blackpool
1941 Brooklands Aviation came to Squires Gate after their base at Shoreham was destroyed.
1943 School of Air Sea Rescue worked through to nineteen forty five.
1944 No 10 Blind Approach Training which became No 1510 Flight squadron used Squires Gate through to nineteen forty five.
1944 An Avro Anson crashed at Warton after taking off from Squires Gate.
1945 A Wellington Bomber crashed into the sea off Fleetwood.
1946 The RAF finally leave Blackpool
Buildings
After the construction of the four Bellman hangers 3 MG posts were erected.
1939 Two VR2 hangers which still stand (as Westair) today.
Gas defence centre, operations and signal block, defence posts, cased oil store and accounts offices.
The operations and signal Block
with the grand stand behind
1940 saw Stanton air raid shelters built, school instructional centre, lecture rooms, photographic block, barrack huts and SNCO quarters.
The school instructional training centre
with lecture rooms behind (once comed)
1941 the accounts office was extended and a new admin office constructed and various sleeping shelters. The control tower was built and eight blast shelters
The control tower and shadow factory
1942 MEE workshops were built with an AA dome trainer and an RDF workshop.
VR2 Hangers, dome trainer and air raid shelters
with more training huts behind
1943 A Blind Approach Beam System (BABS) beacon was installed to assist in landing during low visibility.
No3 Flight dispersal hut, 1st aid post
with the bomb dump behind
1944 SNCO latrines were built.
1945 A signals office, a model workshop and a harwell trainer were built.
View down squires Gate looking West
During the first two years of WW2 Coastal Command stations always remained the poor relations to Bomber and Fighter command. However, late into 1940 the number of ships sunk by German U-boats became so bad the government began to invest money into Coastal Command stations. At its height RAF Squires gate had thousands of people pass through, below is the station in its prime.
As you can appreciate in this period so many changes took place, I have tried to capture the best bits and hope to fill some gaps later.
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