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Warton Aerodrome is an airfield located in Warton village on the Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is west of Preston, Lancashire. The eastern end of the site adjoins the village of Freckleton.
The airfield is a major assembly and testing facility of BAE Systems Military Air & Information. It is also part of the Lancashire Enterprise Zone.
Warton Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P748) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction, as authorised by the licensee (BAE Systems (Operations) Limited).
The airfield was first operated as an air depot of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during the Second World War, as thousands of aircraft were processed on their way to active service in Britain, North Africa, the Mediterranean and mainland Europe. It hosted the 402d Air Depot, later the 402d Base Air Depot, from 15 April 1943 - 24 November 1945.
On 14 August 1944 Glenn Miller, recently promoted to the rank of major, played a concert to 10,000 servicemen on a platform erected in front of No. 4 Hangar. On 23 August 1944, the accidental crash of a USAAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber caused the Freckleton Air Disaster, resulting in 61 fatalities, including 38 children and two teenagers.
It then became a Royal Air Force station.
With the merger of English Electric Aviation and the other aircraft divisions of the major British manufacturers in 1960, it became a British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) site. BAC was then nationalised and merged with Hawker Siddeley and Scottish Aviation to form British Aerospace (BAe) in 1977. British Aerospace was privatised in 1981 and was renamed BAE Systems in 1999. As such the airfield has been the flight test centre for various frontline military aircraft including the English Electric Canberra, the English Electric Lightning, the BAC TSR-2, the Sepecat Jaguar, the Panavia Tornado, the BAE Hawk (formerly the Hawker Siddeley Hawk) and most recently the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The site is not open to the public. For many years limited areas were made accessible during open days, on a four-yearly cycle alternating with Samlesbury, which the company held for the families and friends of employees and local residents. These "Families' Days" were free of charge and typically included demonstrations of activities, tours of simulation facilities and impressive flying displays. The last Families' Day was held in 2006.
This has now been withdrawn and is being covered by the National Police Air Service based at Barton.
On 29 January 2017 Rev Dan Woodhouse, a Methodist minister in Leeds and Sam Walton, a Quaker, were arrested at the site after allegedly trying to disarm warplanes bound for Saudi Arabia. Lancashire Constabulary said they were being held on suspicion of causing criminal damage. In a statement, Woodhouse said stopping warplanes "would save lives". Walton reported that the two carried one of the hammers used by the Ploughshare Four, which had since been confiscated by police. In October 2017 Walton and Woodhouse appeared at Burnley Magistrates court facing charges of criminal damage; both were found not guilty after successfully arguing that they acted for the greater good.
Enterprise zone
Since 2012, the aerodrome has provided one of the two sites of Lancashire Enterprise Zone, the other site being at BAE Systems' Samlesbury Aerodrome. The zone's site at Warton covers . BAE Systems, Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Enterprise Partnership coordinate the site's development.
See also
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Categories: Aircraft Assembly Plants In England, Airports In England, Airports In Lancashire, Aviation In Lancashire, Bae Systems Facilities, British Aircraft Corporation, Buildings And Structures In The Borough Of Fylde, English Electric, Research And Development In The United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Stations Of World War Ii In The United Kingdom
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