Above, local civilian employees disembark a GNR train at the Gortnagallon marshaling yard, located at site 4. This railway line was purpose built for this Air Depot - LOC.
Above, at Langford Lodge, the "Nit-Wit" network - LOC.
Above, B-17's undergo service and repair work in Hangar 3 - LOC.
Assigned to undertake the former duties that L.O.C. personnel undertook, two service squadrons, the 328th and the 343rd Service Squadron, were assigned at the air depot from May 1944, attached to the 325th Service Group, these units carried out 3rd and 4th Echelon repairs on aircraft. The 5th Airdrome Squadron was also assigned to Langford Lodge for a short period at this time, undertaking similar duties to the above mentioned units, with the exception of being a 1st and 2nd Echelon unit. Additionally, a large contingent of U.S. Army personnel where already on the base, prior to the arrival of the aircraft service units, many where assigned to Headquarters Squadron, AAF Station 597, of which supplied the various sections needed to run an air depot, such as Control Tower personnel, Signal Corps Engineers and men of Quartermaster and Transportation sections.
During 2nd - 7th July 1945, with the War in Europe at a close for a number of weeks, the majority of American personnel bid farewell to Langford Lodge. The base had accomplished its task, and played its part in winning air superiority over the skies of Europe. Many of the Service Squadrons were stationed back in England, at the huge Burtonwood Base Air Depot 1, with personnel awaiting orders to return home to the Zone of Interior. At Langford Lodge, a maintenance party consisting of 145 personnel, from the Utilities Section, Quartermaster, 984th Military Police Company, Supply Section of the 325th Air Service Group and the RAF Liaison Section, would remain behind, to inventory and clean up the base, in preparation for handing the airfield over to the British Government. This was accompished on 6 August,1945.
In the Summer of 1944, the airfield was home to a large amount of aircraft that were placed in storage around the airfield. Many of these had been brought in due to overflow issues at BAD1 and BAD2, a large majority of these aircraft were categorized as War-Weary. In August, over 500 aircraft were in storage, consisting of various types such as A-20s, B-17s and B-24s of the US 8th and 9th Army Air Forces. Many of these War-Weary aircraft were either; refurbished at Langford Lodge, or broken up for salvageable parts and materials. The assigned Service Squadrons undertook these tasks.