Stanley L Kaminski - BAD1
Station 590 USAAF

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The following information and photos have been kindly sent to us by Stan Kaminski whose Dad Stanley L Kaminski served at BAD 1 Station 590 USAAF Burtonwood Warrington England. Most of Stanley's photos were taken on the East side of Burtonwood road at the [BRD] Burtonwood Repair Depot site.

"My dad, Stanley L. Kaminski, served at Burtonwood B.A.D No.1 maintenance division, Section 16, AAF 590 from July 1942 to Feb. 1946. Here are his pictures of B-17s and B-26s being scrapped at war's end and the engine shop he worked in along with engines on test stands.

Dad specialized in carburetor repairs but did some engine repairs. In regards to scrapping, he said the guy by the B-26 Marauder used an axe to cut through its fuselage. They flipped planes on their back to finish them.
The P-38 behind it was scrapped. Dad stands next to a flipped-over B-26, with Lucky Graki and Rock Hill Special on its nose.

One picture of several P 61 black widows next to their hanger with grass on the hanger roof for camouflage. Also a Newspaper article about dad serving. The colorized photo show him at the far right next to a guy who looks a lot like Radar from MASH. November 20, 1945 dad wrote that four months ago my old base at BAD no. 1 broke up and the soldiers were sent to different places but he stayed in England until February 1946.

This is the first time I’ve shared these photos online. After the war dad worked for Piper as a Line-Foreman of finished aircraft making J-3 Cubs at Lockhaven Pennsylvania—a picture of dad and mom in the Ercoupe he bought with his earnings from Piper and the war. Dad was from Nanticoke Pennsylvania."

An upside down B 26 number 'Lucky Graki'

My dad with a P 51 Mustang

but I don’t know if this was taken in England or stateside?

You may be able to identify the buildings

A B-17 being scrapped

It’s tail has been removed

A large scrap pile in front of a building ?

I can’t identify any airplanes in this scrap pile ?

A B-26 that just had its tail cut off

In the background is a P 38 lightning

My dad said it was scrapped that same day number

A large building with scrapped aircraft wings outside

A B-17 without its outer wings & tail with five guys standing around an engine mount

Looks like a B 26 in the left background?

Take note of the shadow in the lower corner of the photograph from a steel structure.

That may indicate it’s near a certain building

A B-26 upside down with three guys working on the left engine mount

Note the number 27 on a building at right

Boeing B-17 in the Early
Stages of Scrapping at
the BRD Burtonwood
Repair Depot Site

The B-17 has had its wings cut short so that it could be towed across Burtonwood road from the airfield In the background, you can see one of the depot engineering warehouse buildings.
The Air Ministry built 10 sets of this type of depot building on the BRD Site

The Cut-Down Airframes Awaiting
Transport to The Smelting Yards

An Axe is Used to Cut
Through the Outer Skin of
This Martin B-26 Marauder

In the background with the white fence posts is the link Road for sites 4 & 5 - Mary Ann plantation trees on the horizon

The rear fuselage is separated
from the main body of the
Martin B-26 Marauder

Dad next to Martin B-26
Marauder Lucky Graki - Rock
Hill Special. Some of the aircraft
were turned over to make
the scrapping easier

Martin B-26 Marauder of
the 322 bomb group 452
bomb squadron Code
Letters DR

Dad's Friend

The scrapping area is at the
North end of the BRD site
The A-type hangar is on
the top left of the photo

Overview of the scrapyard.
Complete Martin B-26s in the
background. Some with the tails
chopped off. Note invasion
stripes on some pieces.

The type A hangar on the left is the Aircraft depot paint shop. When the Americans arrived in ww2 this hangar housed 1,000 men as their living accommodation for 3 months, whilst their living sites were being built. The Burtonwood road is to the left behind the A-type hanger.

A colorized photo of the BRD
site with Dad on the far right

Northrop P-61 Black Widow
aircraft in front of one of
the L- Type hangars
at Burtonwood

6 L-Type hangars were built at Burtonwood 3 built at G-Site and 3 built at E-Site.
A layer of earth and turf on the hangar-created excellent camouflage when viewed from above.

Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania newspaper
article about my dad serving

Wright Cyclone model R-1820
1,200 horsepower Air Cooled Radial engine
as used on the Boeing B-17

Along the rear of the BRD site
were over 30 outside aircraft
engine test rigs running 24
hours a day 7 days a week
regardless of the weather

The sound of these engines
could be heard up to 2 miles away

The Engine Repair Shop at
BRD Site that Dad worked in

The group photo was taken at
the [BRD] Burtonwood Repair Depot
site - Dad is in this group somewhere
but there is no caption



Aerial photo showing the
location of the aircraft scrapping
area at the BRD Site

Aerial photo of Burtonwood
Repair Depot World War II

BRD Aero Engine
Repair workshop

Burtonwood Airfield 2 miles west of the town of Warrington was ideally suited being nearby to the industries of Manchester and Warrington & also close to Liverpool docks and the main line railway.

The site was selected in 1938 as a decision made in 1936 to build aircraft repair depots (ARD) with engine repair depots in the expansion periods of the inner war Years.

Building work began in 1938 with no 37 maintenance unit Royal Air Force moving in on the 1st of April 1940. On the 11th of June 1942, USAAF arrived. The USAAF was handed complete control of the air depot. Work began on the construction of 6 large warehouse workshops with a total of 734,000 square feet of floor space.

Work also began on an additional aircraft parking apron at a cost of approximately $2,000,000.

By 1944 18,500 US personnel were stationed on Burtonwood being the largest USAAF base in Europe. The airfield was now known as 8th USAAF base air depot 1 (BAD1) station 590, although an RAF presence continued until 1943.

BAD1 became the center for flight testing, overhaul, modification, and repair of all USAAF aircraft in Europe in World War 2.

30,386 aircraft engines were overhauled and over 11,500 aircraft were processed between 1943 and 1945.

Site 4 Dad's Communal living site

Site 4 was named 'Earhart Hall' after the famous female pilot Amelia Earhart, and is located between Bewsey Old Hall and Twigg Wood and had accommodation for 1,200 personnel in WW2 and had 146 Nissen huts.

The site could be approached by a roadway on Burtonwood Road opposite gate 12 at the North end of the BRD site, and also access could be gained from the gate at Bewsey

Plus it had a hobby shop, chapel, and main store and even had its own ice cream plant. After WW2 the site was used in the on1950 and early 1960 and then it was abandoned.

The group photo was taken at site
4 communal living site during
1944 - Dad is front row
& 2nd from the right

Dad's buddies or perhaps his
hut comrades with their names and
some address on the back of the photo

Group photo same
location at site 4

Dad standing on the right of the
accommodation huts at site 4

Dad in his work overalls at site 4

Site 4  Nissen huts

The Nissan huts
were very cold to live in
during the wintertime

Pot Belly Stoves were used
to heat the Nissen huts



Site 4 living area

Site 4 living area

Site 4 Canteen

Site 4 Record Site Plan

Aerial photo of site 4 - date 1947

Aerial photo of Burtonwood
Repair Depot - World War 2

Location of BRD Aero
Engine Repair workshop

Dad on a flight on a B-17 over London
Christ Church Spitalfields can be seen
on the top right of the bottom photo

A photo of the London
Christ Church Spitalfields

After the war Dad worked for
Piper as a Line-Foreman of finished
aircraft making J-3 Cubs at
Lockhaven Pennsylvania.

Picture of Dad and Mom in
the Ercoupe he bought with
his earnings from Piper and
the war - Dad was from
Nanticoke Pennsylvania

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