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RAF Upper Heyford
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RAF Upper Heyford
Royal Air Force Upper Heyford or more simply RAF Upper Heyford is a former Royal Air Force station located 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. In the Second World War the airfield was used by RAF Bomber Command. During the Cold War, Upper Heyford was one of the former RAF bases chosen to house the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) nuclear-capable bombers on 90-day TDY (Temporary Duty) deployments until 1959, SAC Operation Reflex deployments from 1959 until 1965, from 1966 United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) tactical reconnaissance aircraft, and from 1970 General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark strike aircraft.
Work on clearing the site began on 1 June 1918 when a detachment of the Canadian Forestry Corps arrived after completing similar work at RAF Hooton Park, near Ellesmere Port. The station was opened in July 1918 by the Royal Air Force. In November the Canadian Air Force was formed at Upper Heyford, by renumbering two RAF squadrons and posting in Canadian pilots and observers, and groundcrew trained at RAF Halton. After the British government cut funding for the squadrons in June 1919, the Canadian government decided that a permanent peacetime air force was not needed and so both squadrons ceased operations. Consequently by mid-1920 the aerodrome had closed, and the land returned to the owners, New College, Oxford, to lease out for agricultural use.
In 1923 there were concerns over the French occupation of the Rhineland after Germany had defaulted on the payment of war reparations. Upper Heyford was one of the sites chosen for a new strategic bomber force capable of attacking targets in France. Upper Heyford was intended to be the blueprint for the other bases. Land for the new airfield and technical site was purchased in 1924, and for the domestic site in 1925. Rising costs and delays mean that the first aircraft (the Oxford University Air Squadron) did not arrive until October 1927. In January 1928 No. 99 Squadron RAF arrived from RAF Bircham Newton with their Handley Page Hyderabad bombers. These were replaced, firstly by Handley Page Hinaidi, and later by Handley Page Heyford bombers. In November 1934 the Heyfords of No. 99 squadron departed RAF Upper Heyford.
In October 1931 No. 18 Squadron RAF was reformed at RAF Upper Heyford, equipped with Hawker Hart light bombers. On 5 September 1932 they were joined by No. 57 Squadron RAF also with Hawker Harts. Both squadrons later received Hawker Hind biplane bombers, before joining No.2 Group on 1 January 1939, and re-equipping with Bristol Blenheim I monoplane twin-engined bombers in March 1938/May 1939.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, both Bristol Blenheim squadrons were deployed to France with the B.E.F., but on their return after the fall of France they were relocated to other bases.
The rearmament of Germany in the 1930s led to a change in primary role for Upper Heyford, as German targets were beyond the range of RAF bombers then in service. As a result, Upper Heyford became a base to train newly formed squadrons or for squadrons re-equipping with new aircraft types. Upper Heyford trained bomber crews on Handley Page Hampdens and Vickers Wellingtons, supported by Avro Ansons, switching to de Havilland Mosquitos in 1945.
No. 1 Parachute Training School RAF arrived from RAF Ringway (Manchester Airport) in March 1946, expanding later to include glider training, and moving to RAF Abingdon in 1950. The airfield was used by many units of the Royal Air Force (RAF), mainly as a training facility between 1918 and 1950.
The following units have also been stationed at RAF Upper Heyford at some point (note that units moved out, from March to December 1942, while new runways were laid):
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RAF Upper Heyford
Royal Air Force Upper Heyford or more simply RAF Upper Heyford is a former Royal Air Force station located 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. In the Second World War the airfield was used by RAF Bomber Command. During the Cold War, Upper Heyford was one of the former RAF bases chosen to house the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) nuclear-capable bombers on 90-day TDY (Temporary Duty) deployments until 1959, SAC Operation Reflex deployments from 1959 until 1965, from 1966 United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) tactical reconnaissance aircraft, and from 1970 General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark strike aircraft.
Work on clearing the site began on 1 June 1918 when a detachment of the Canadian Forestry Corps arrived after completing similar work at RAF Hooton Park, near Ellesmere Port. The station was opened in July 1918 by the Royal Air Force. In November the Canadian Air Force was formed at Upper Heyford, by renumbering two RAF squadrons and posting in Canadian pilots and observers, and groundcrew trained at RAF Halton. After the British government cut funding for the squadrons in June 1919, the Canadian government decided that a permanent peacetime air force was not needed and so both squadrons ceased operations. Consequently by mid-1920 the aerodrome had closed, and the land returned to the owners, New College, Oxford, to lease out for agricultural use.
In 1923 there were concerns over the French occupation of the Rhineland after Germany had defaulted on the payment of war reparations. Upper Heyford was one of the sites chosen for a new strategic bomber force capable of attacking targets in France. Upper Heyford was intended to be the blueprint for the other bases. Land for the new airfield and technical site was purchased in 1924, and for the domestic site in 1925. Rising costs and delays mean that the first aircraft (the Oxford University Air Squadron) did not arrive until October 1927. In January 1928 No. 99 Squadron RAF arrived from RAF Bircham Newton with their Handley Page Hyderabad bombers. These were replaced, firstly by Handley Page Hinaidi, and later by Handley Page Heyford bombers. In November 1934 the Heyfords of No. 99 squadron departed RAF Upper Heyford.
In October 1931 No. 18 Squadron RAF was reformed at RAF Upper Heyford, equipped with Hawker Hart light bombers. On 5 September 1932 they were joined by No. 57 Squadron RAF also with Hawker Harts. Both squadrons later received Hawker Hind biplane bombers, before joining No.2 Group on 1 January 1939, and re-equipping with Bristol Blenheim I monoplane twin-engined bombers in March 1938/May 1939.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, both Bristol Blenheim squadrons were deployed to France with the B.E.F., but on their return after the fall of France they were relocated to other bases.
The rearmament of Germany in the 1930s led to a change in primary role for Upper Heyford, as German targets were beyond the range of RAF bombers then in service. As a result, Upper Heyford became a base to train newly formed squadrons or for squadrons re-equipping with new aircraft types. Upper Heyford trained bomber crews on Handley Page Hampdens and Vickers Wellingtons, supported by Avro Ansons, switching to de Havilland Mosquitos in 1945.
No. 1 Parachute Training School RAF arrived from RAF Ringway (Manchester Airport) in March 1946, expanding later to include glider training, and moving to RAF Abingdon in 1950. The airfield was used by many units of the Royal Air Force (RAF), mainly as a training facility between 1918 and 1950.
The following units have also been stationed at RAF Upper Heyford at some point (note that units moved out, from March to December 1942, while new runways were laid):
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