RAF Fairford
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RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England, near Fairford. It is a standby airfield, not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as a base for United States Air Force B-52s during the Gulf War in 1991, (as the 806th Bombardment Wing (Provisional)), the Kosovo War in 1999 and the 2003 campaign in Iraq.
RAF Fairford is 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 km long), it also has NASA trained fire and medical crews stationed on the base. []
RAF Fairford is host to the annual air display, the Royal International Air Tattoo. The Air Tattoo 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.
History
RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to accommodate British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. In 1950 the base was transferred to the U.S. Air Force for strategic bomber operations and a 10,000-foot runway constructed.The runway and hardstandings were completed in 1953 in time to receive the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell AFB, Texas. The base also received B-47s which were maintained in an armed and ready to deploy status because of the then increasing vulnerability from Soviet Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles.
Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British flight test center for the Concorde. Concordes used the airfield until 1978. In 1979, the U.S. Air Force returned with a squadron of KC-135 Stratotankers which played a major role in supporting the attack on Libya in 1986. KC-135s were withdrawn in 1990 and the base was reduced to a standby status.
Between 2000 and 2002 major refurbishment work was carried out on the runway, taxiways, hard standings and fuel systems. The work has ensured that RAF Fairford remains NATO's premier forward operating location in Europe.
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 bases 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 May 12, 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Mildenhall, 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 bases of Royal Air Forces Mildenhall and Lakenheath. A command staff of about 30 people are assigned.
The 420th ABG and the 424th Air Base Squadron are presently responsible for the day to day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it is provided with the resources it needs to meet command standards for mission execution.
Peace camp
A peace camp was set up in a field adjacent to RAF Fairford on 17th February 2003, protesting against the military presence.See also
External links
- [Unofficial RAF Fairford and RAF Welford websites]
- [Unofficial RAF Fairford website]
- [USAF Fairford Peace Camp]
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