Under USAAF control, an additional facility, called Troston, was constructed to the west of the main airfield as a specialized air depot for the repair of badly-damaged B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and supporting the 3d Bomb Division located in the area. Badly damaged Fortresses were often instructed to crash land at Honington on return from operations, particularly if their landing gear could not be lowered, as this avoided the necessity to dismantle and transport the aircraft from its home base for repair.