A Royal Malaysian Air Force airfield - RMAF Butterworth - is located to the north of Butterworth proper.
Completed by the British in 1941 just prior to the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the airfield  served both the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force squadrons tasked with defending the airspace over Penang.
However, the Japanese immediately gained air superiority, damaging the Butterworth airfield in the process.
 The station was then captured by the Imperial Japanese 25th Army on 20 December 1941.

During the post-war period, the Butterworth airfield was put to use by the Royal Air Force, and subsequently, the Royal Australian Air Force, to combat the communist threat in Malaya at the time.
 The Australian squadrons based in Butterworth also saw action during the Indonesian Confrontation in the 1960s.

In 1988, the Butterworth airfield was handed over to the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
 Now renamed as RMAF Butterworth, the airfield housed the headquarters of the Integrated Area Defence System that covers both Malaysia and Singapore under the Five Power Defence Arrangements.
A Royal Malaysian Air Force airfield - RMAF Butterworth - is located to the north of Butterworth proper. Completed by the British in 1941 just prior to the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the airfield  served both the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force squadrons tasked with defending the airspace over Penang. However, the Japanese immediately gained air superiority, damaging the Butterworth airfield in the process.  The station was then captured by the Imperial Japanese 25th Army on 20 December 1941.
During the post-war period, the Butterworth airfield was put to use by the Royal Air Force, and subsequently, the Royal Australian Air Force, to combat the communist threat in Malaya at the time.  The Australian squadrons based in Butterworth also saw action during the Indonesian Confrontation in the 1960s.
In 1988, the Butterworth airfield was handed over to the Royal Malaysian Air Force.  Now renamed as RMAF Butterworth, the airfield housed the headquarters of the Integrated Area Defence System that covers both Malaysia and Singapore under the Five Power Defence Arrangements.
Butterworth, Seberang Perai