Badly damaged B-17s – RAF Burtonwood?

Another question for the experts.
In the course of research for the book (A Bomber Crew Mystery), I found many references to damaged bombers limping home to their bases in East Anglia. Some badly damaged only made it to the south coast, others diverted to find a field as convenient as possible. In a number of cases a pilot would instruct the crew to bail over the airfield to avoid casualties in a crash landing. Knettishall, home of the 388th, was similar to many, they performed significant repairs with limited hangarage.

Now, here’s the question. My father (born in 1930, so a teenager in WW2 with his wits about him) lived near RAF Burtonwood in Lancashire which was called Base Air Depot 1 (BAD 1) to the Americans. BAD 1 repaired and re-equipped damaged aircraft as well as other duties. My Dad remembers B-17s and B-24 coming in with all sorts of serious battle damage. Often two engined flying, large holes in wing or fuselage and landings made with only one wheel down – or perhaps more likely, one wheel jammed down. He assumed that these planes returned directly from raids and were directed straight to Burtonwood. However, Burtonwood was about 180 miles extra for the crews to fly, which seems a big risk with badly holed planes. The other option is Bomb Groups requiring significant repairs ferried their aircraft on to Burtonwood, as one would expect. However, the damage my Dad witnessed was so significant that it would seem strange that a bomber would risk taking off again on a ferry route. One explanation would be that the planes suffered mechanical failure en route to Burtonwood, but again, in the case of two turning – two burning it seems strange.

Any enlightenment? I’ll see if any of the vets know too.

David Price
author
A Bomber Crew Mystery
The Forgotten Heroes of 388th Bombardment Group