The history of an airbase

RAF Lyneham is known as the home of the Hercules

For what became the RAF's largest operational base, they were humble beginnings: a few huts and hangars, 20 staff - and no planes.

It was 18 May 1940 - eight days earlier Germany had invaded France, and Winston Churchill had become Prime Minister.

In a quiet corner of rural Wiltshire, RAF Lyneham - then known as Number 33 Maintenance Unit - opened with no pomp, no ceremony, and no special guests.

It was small and very basic - the two planes which arrived by the end of the month had to land on a grass airstrip as there was no concrete runway.

The base began life during the second world war

But over the next few months, as the fighting intensified, the unit was swelled by the addition of more officers, airmen and civilian staff.

In September, with the Battle of Britain raging across southern England, the war itself came to Lyneham: an enemy aircraft dropped three bombs on the airfield, killing five workers and destroying part of the hangar they were building.

The day-to-day business of the base during the war was the storage and modification of aircraft before their issue to front-line units, and a brief period as a flight training school.

When the war ended, Lyneham's role as a transport and storage centre continued, and the base was inundated with so many planes that large numbers of them had to be stored tipped up onto their noses, or out in the open air.

Former hostage John McCarthy was brought home via Lyneham

In 1949, work began on replacing the basic huts which had housed staff with proper brick-built barracks.

Over the next 25 years, the base's importance continued, with flights from Lyneham helping to deal with problems in Korea, Egypt, Kenya, the Congo and Belize.

Expansion continued, and in the 1970s, RAF Lyneham became the RAF's largest operational base with the arrival of 70 Squadron and its Hercules aircraft.

Lyneham hit the headlines again in the 1990s, when Terry Waite, John McCarthy and Jackie Mann - hostages who had been held in The Lebanon - were flown home via the base, where they were debriefed.

During both Gulf Wars, in 1991 and 2003, Lyneham was of major importance to the British forces, with stores and supplies being flown from Wiltshire to the Middle East around the clock.

Despite this rich history, more than 60 years service has not been enough to save RAF Lyneham, and the base will be closed by 2012.