RAF Hooton Park

RAF Hooton Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, was a Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in World War I. During the early/mid 1930s, it was one of the two airfields (with Liverpool Speke) handling scheduled services for the Merseyside region. Hooton Park was home to No. 610 (County of Chester) Squadron and, post World War II, to No. 611 (West Lancashire) and No. 663 (AOP) Squadron.

The airfield closed in 1957 after the disbandment of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, but the three pairs of Belfast Truss hangars, erected in 1917, survived the closure. The site was bought by Vauxhall Motors, who developed their Vauxhall Ellesmere Port plant, which today produces the Vauxhall Astra. The small remaining section of the airfield site is now owned and managed by The Hooton Park Trust. The hangars are also home to The Griffin Trust, 610 (County of Chester) Squadron Association, and an aircraft preservation society named The Aeroplane Collection.

Read more about RAF Hooton Park:  After Closure By The RAF, Hooton Park Trust, Surviving Airfield Facilities

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