RAF Locking was opened as a training unit in 1939 as No.5 School of Technical Training. Its role was to train new entrants in the trades of aircraft mechanics, airframes, carpentry, fabric working and parachute packing. Training was also provided for marine craft personnel. Within three years 30,682 personnel had been trained. By the end of WW2 the station had developed into a huge settlement comprising hutted accommodation, classrooms and offices, workshops and hangars. Aircraft used for training included Avro Ansons, Gloster Meteors, Hawker Hunters and a Handley Page Victor. Thousands of personnel were trained in support of the war effort. Training was gradually reduced in line with the numbers in the forces and No.5 School of Technical Training closed in 1950.
