Royal Air Force Alconbury, or more simply RAF Alconbury, is an active

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

station near

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, that for many years was used by the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. The airfield is in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of Great Stukeley, Little Stukeley, and Alconbury. Flying operations are no longer based at the site, with most of the land, including the runway, having been sold in 2009 to become the new settlement of Alconbury Weald.

History

Opened in 1938 for use by

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...

, the station was used from 1942 to 1945 by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. It was occupied by the 93rd Bomb Group of the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

; visitors included

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

, who visited the site and saw the

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

es there on 13 November 1942. It was announced by

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

on 8 January 2015 that RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth would be closing by 2020. Most of the units at Alconbury and Molesworth were to be moved to RAF Croughton in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, along with the personnel. The decision was later reverted on the grounds of cost-effectiveness, with RAF Alconbury remaining as a support base for the

Joint Analysis Center The Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe (JIOCEUR) Analytic Center (JAC), formerly known as the Joint Analysis Center, is a Joint Intelligence Center serving as a military intelligence analysis centre for the United States European Command l ...

Royal Air Force use

* 15 Squadron from 15 April 1940 to 15 May 1940 operating the

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...

IV - temporary move from

RAF Wyton Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and the station is now under the comm ...

. * 40 Squadron from 2 February 1941 to 31 October 1941 operating the Vickers Wellington IC - moved to RAF Luqa, Malta. * 52 Squadron detachments from RAF Upwood during 1939 with the

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Ha ...

and

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), R ...

. * 156 Squadron formed at Alconbury on 14 February 1942 from elements of 40 Squadron with the Vickers Wellington, moved to RAF Warboys in August 1942. * A Detachment from No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF (April 1985) * No. 3 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF (1941) * No. XV Conversion Flight (January 1942 - May 1942) * Sub site of No. 264 Maintenance Unit RAF (November 1945 - September 1948)

USAAF use

United States Air Force use

McDonnell Douglas RF-4C-37-MC Phantom 68-0555

Three F-5E agressors from Alconbury 1983

* 85th Bombardment Squadron (1955-59) ** North American B-45 Tornado ** Douglas B-66 Destroyer * 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (1959-87) ** Douglas RB-66 Destroyer ** McDonnell Douglas RF-4C * 527th Tactical Fighter Training Aggressor Squadron (1976-88) ** Northrop F-5E Tiger II * 10th Tactical Fighter Wing (1988-94) **

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 19 ...

Based units

Units based at RAF Alconbury. ; United States Air Force United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) * 501st Combat Support Wing ** Headquarters 501st Combat Support Wing ** 423rd Air Base Group *** 423rd Civil Engineer Squadron *** 423rd Communications Squadron *** 423rd Force Support Squadron *** 423rd Medical Squadron *** 423rd Security Forces Squadron

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

501st Combat Support Wing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alconbury Royal Air Force stations in Huntingdonshire Royal Air Force stations in Cambridgeshire 1938 establishments in England Installations of the United States Air Force in the United Kingdom Airfields of the VIII Bomber Command in Cambridgeshire Military airbases established in 1938 Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom