Their side of the airfield was to become known as RAF Speke. By the late 1930s, it grew largely because of increased traffic across the Irish sea. During this time it's iconic station building was built (1939), along with its control tower (1937) and two hangars (1937 and 1939 respectively).

The Merchant Ship Fighter Unit (MSFU) was a Royal Air Force operational aircraft unit based at RAF Speke, in south Liverpool, now Liverpool John Lennon Airport during World War II.

The squadron set up its permanent base at RAF Speke (now Liverpool John Lennon Airport) on 6 May and began recruiting personnel from Liverpool and the surrounding area. Its first Hawker Hart light bombers arrived in June, being replaced by Hawker Hinds from April 1938.

Want to know more about RAF Speke? These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. AC1. Carman Frank 229 Squadron. In 1939 my Dad, Frank Carman, age 18, volunteered with the Royal Air Force, in Manchester, on the 22 of July 1939.

SPEKE: Civil regional airport later a partly RAF aerodrome in WW2. Note: The first rare picture from a postcard was kindly provided by Mike Charlton in August 2020, and shows a de Havilland DH84 Dragon of Railway Air Sevices making the inaugural air mail delivery. A bit of research appears to show that this was possibly in October 1934?

Speke served as a reception centre for the assembly of Lockheed aircraft types from USA 1938-44, and as despatch centre for the return from UK of Eighth Air Force and Ninth Air Force fighters in 1945.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=RAF_Speke&oldid=833078851" Category : Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom

This book tells the story of one of the leading WWII RAF fighter squadrons in great detail from its infancy at Liverpool (Speke) airport in 1936 to its final disbandment with all the Auxiliary forces in 1957. 611 Squadron started as a light bomber squadron but soon reformed to a fighter squadron and was one of the first to receive the ...

Among the best known is No. 611 (West Lancashire) Squadron RAUXAF, its training role extensive: air and space operations, intelligence, ground engineering, logistics, human resources, media, and not forgetting chaplaincy services.

Personnel Movements: Aug - Dec 1939. Until 24 August 1939, Speke was home to No 611 (West Lancashire) Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force, but the unit was away at Duxford on its annual training when it was mobilised and embodied, with a separate Station HQ being established at Speke on a Care and Maintenance basis. Source - RAF Speke ORB.