RAF Fairford

RAF Fairford
Located near Fairford, Oxfordshire, England
Boeing B-52H Stratofortress taxis along the flight line at RAF Fairford
Type	Royal Air Force station
Built	1938
In use	1953--present
Current owner	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	Royal Air Force
Garrison	420th Air Base Group
Commanders	Colonel Joseph 'Camel' Dill

RAF Fairford
IATA: FFD – ICAO: EGVA
Summary
Airport type		Military
Owner		Ministry of Defence
Operator		United States Air Force
Location		Fairford
Elevation AMSL		286 ft / 87 m
Coordinates		51°40′56″N 001°47′24″W
Map
EGVA Location in Gloucestershire
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
09/27	3,046	9,993	Asphalt

USAF Convair B-36

USAF Boeing B-47E-50-LM (S/N 52-3363)

A USAF B-2 Spirit

RAF Fairford (IATA: FFD, ICAO: EGVA) is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England. It is a standby airfield, not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in 1991. It is "the USAF's main bomber airfield in the European theatre".

RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK. As well as having a sufficiently long runway for a shuttle landing (the runway is 3,046 m (9,993 ft) long), it also had NASA-trained fire and medical crews stationed on the airfield.

RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display. RIAT is one of the largest airshows in the world, with the 2003 show recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest military airshow ever, with an attendance of 535 aircraft.

USAF units

On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group (420 ABG) was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units, (GSUs), that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall. These units are assigned to airfields at RAF Fairford, RAF Croughton, RAF Alconbury, RAF Molesworth and RAF Menwith Hill. The 420 ABG reported directly to 3rd Air Force until 26 May 2004, when the 38th Combat Support Wing (38 CSW) was established at Sembach Annex, Germany to provide oversight on its behalf.

On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom. The Airmen of the 501st CSW focus on units that, by their nature, are separated from main operating stations of RAFs Mildenhall and Lakenheath. A command staff of about 30 people is assigned.

The 420th ABG and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day to day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it is provided with the resources it needs to meet standards for mission execution.

History

RAF Fairford was constructed at the height of World War II in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) would be based in the UK. Bases had already been established in East Anglia — at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath — but they were considered to be vulnerable to bomber attack and airfields further behind the RAF fighter defences were sought. Four RAF airfields were selected to receive SAC units — RAF Brize Norton, RAF Fairford, RAF Greenham Common and RAF Upper Heyford. In 1948 the Americans occupied RAF stations including Fairford, Brize Norton, Burtonwood Greenham Common, Mildenhall, Lakenheath and Woodbridge to build up a deterrent in Europe against the Soviets.

In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S. Air Force for strategic bomber operations. In order to facilitate long range bomber operations a 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway was constructed.

The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. The airfield later received B-47s which were maintained at a heightened state of alert because of increased tensions with the Soviet Union.

Following a period of transition, Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft. The Concorde was tested at RAF Fairford until 1977. The U.S. Air Force returned with KC-135 Stratotankers deployed on rotation from the many KC135 bases in the USA. These tankers, with additional KC10s deployed to Fairford would play a role in supporting the attack on Libya in 1986. The KC-135s were withdrawn in 1990 and the station was returned to standby status, later the status was upgraded to 'limited use' in the mid 1990s.

Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force. In this capacity, it was used in the first Gulf War in 1991, with B-52s and KC-135s from Eaker AFB in Arkansas Operation Allied Force in 1999, and during the 2003 Iraq War. During these three conflicts, it was the home to American B-52, B-1 Lancer, and KC-135 aircraft, and their support personnel. In recent years the airfield has been occasionally used by American B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and is frequently visited by transient U-2 aircraft.

Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a 100 million US dollar upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War. This work lasted from May 2000 through May 2002. Additional improvements continued until 2008, these included the construction of two climate controlled hangars to house the American B-2 stealth bombers and a low observability maintenance dock.

On 15 September 2009 it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis. However RAF Fairford will remain a designated standby airfield, capable of immediate reactivation within 24–48 hours as well as continuing with its role for the Royal International Air Tattoo.

RAF Fairford unit emblems

420th Air Base Group   424th Air Base Squadron   7020th Air Base Group   11th Strategic Group

See also

• List of RAF stations
• United States Air Forces in Europe
• United States Air Force in the United Kingdom
• Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ISBN 0-912799-02-1).
• Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History 1984. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• Fletcher, Harry R. (1989) Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799536

External links

• RAF Fairford at GlobalSecurity.org
• Aerial photos (July 2007) revealing forward deployment upgrades to RAF Fairford for B-2 Stealth Bomber on Part 4 of UK Secret Bases