R A F Fairford - 51°40'56"N. 001°47'24"W / 51.68222°N 1.79000°W / 51.68222; -1.79000 Coordinates: 51°40'56"N. 001°47'24"W / 51.68222°N 1.79000°W / 51.68222; -1.79000
Royal Air Force Fairford or simply RAF Fairford (IATA: FFD, ICAO: EGVA) is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, currently a standby airfield and therefore not in daily use. Its most recent use has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, the 1999 Operation Allied Force, and the first Gulf War in 1991. It is the only European airfield of the US Air Force. heavy bombers.
R A F Fairford
RAF Fairford was the UK's only transoceanic abort landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle. In addition to having enough runway for shuttle landings (runway length 3,045 m (9,990 ft)), the airfield also housed NASA-trained firefighting and medical personnel.
Minot B 52s, Airmen Deploy To Raf Fairford >
u.s. Air Forces In Europe & Air Forces Africa
> Article DisplayRunways are rated with unlimited load capacity, meaning they can support any aircraft with any type of load.
RAF Fairford is also home to the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), an annual air show. RIAT is one of the largest airshows in the world, recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest military airshow in 2003 with 535 aircraft participating.
Construction began in 1943 as part of a program to open four airfields in the southern hemisphere for use by British and American troop carriers and gliders.
Originally intended to be operated by United States forces, the first occupants arrived on 18 March and No. 620 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, equipped with Short Stirling Mk.IVs, moved from RAF Leicester East and soon after on 25 March No. 2000 will be done. 190 Squadron also operated Stirling. The aircraft were used for airborne operations, airdropping troops and supplies and towing airspeed horse attack gliders.
Boeing B 52 Stratofortress Raf Fairford United States Air Force Usaf Embroidered Patch
In the early years of the Cold War, the British and American governments It was agreed which elements of the Air Force's Strategic Air Command (SAC) would be based in the UK. Bases had already been established at RAF Mildhall and RAF Lakheth in East Anglia, but they were considered vulnerable to bomber attack and airfields were sought further back for RAF fighter defence. Four RAF airfields were chosen to host the SAC units: RAF Breeze Norton, RAF Fairford, RAF Graham Common and RAF Upper Heyford. In 1948, the Americans occupied RAF stations including Fairford, Brize Norton, Burtonwood, Graham Common, Mildhall, Laketh and Woodbridge to build a countermeasure against the Soviets in Europe.
Aerial photograph of Fairford Airfield, bomb dump and ammunition dump east of the perimeter road (top), technical area and barracks to the north (bottom left), 2 December 1943.
RAF Lyneham's status as a major strategic transport base for the RAF was highlighted in February 1971, when Nos. 30 and 47 Squadrons were transferred from their old base at RAF Fairford. In 1965, RAF Fairford was the first home base of the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows aerobatic team.
In 1950, as a result of the outbreak of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the US Air Force for strategic bomber operations. A 10,000 ft (3,000 m) runway was built for long-range bomber operations.
Four Us B 52 Bombers Pictured At Raf Fairford
The runway was completed in 1953 and served as a forward air base for the first Conveyor B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
The airfield later received B-47s and was put on high alert due to increased relations with the Soviet Union.
Because of its long runway, Fairford was chosen as the British test flight site for Concorde aircraft from 1969 to 1977.
The US Air Force returned with Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers deployed on a rotational basis from multiple KC-135 bases across the US. On 15 November 1978, the 11th Strategic Group (11 SG) became operational at RAF Fairford. It was pilotless until the following February and used KC-135 aircraft and crews from SAC, Air National Guard, and AF Reserve units until the 11 SG received its own aircraft in September 1979. It soon began aerial refueling support for all USAF operations. Deployment and redeployment, as well as participation in NATO exercises.
Raf Fairford Btf Deployment
Operational staff and technical staff were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrew and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to Strategic Group 11 for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation. Aircraft and crew operated from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Keflavik, Iceland; Zaragoza, Spain; Ledges Field, Azores; Sigonella NAS, Italy; and Helicon, Greece. The unit retained the designation 11th Tactical Group, but was inactivated on 7 August 1990.
KC-135 and KC-10 tankers at Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986. The KC-135s and KC-10s were withdrawn in 1990 and the station returned to standby status, which was upgraded to 'restricted 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 1991, it was used in the first Gulf War with B-52s and KC-135s from Eaker AFB, Arkansas. It was later used during Operation Allied Force in 1999, involving B-52s from Barksdale AFB, B-1Bs from Ellsworth AFB, and KC-135s from Mountain Home AFB.
In the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Iraqi Freedom involved B-52s based at Minot AFB but flying out of Fairford. In recent years, the airfield has been used by American B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and is frequently visited by U-2 aircraft.
Raf Fairford 2nd Bomb Wing B 52 Deployment
Due to deteriorating airfield facilities and NATO's unique heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of runways and fuel systems in the largest NATO-funded airfield construction project in a NATO country since the Cold War. This work lasted from May 2000 to May 2002.
Further improvements continued through 2008, including the construction of two climate-controlled hangars for B-2 stealth bombers and a low-observability maintenance dock.
On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group (420 ABG) was established at RAF Fairford to improve control of its geographically separated units (GSU) based with the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildhall. These units were assigned to airfields at RAF Fairford, RAF Crowton, RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth. The 420th ABG reported directly to Third Air Force until 26 May 2004, when the 38th Combat Support Wing (38 CSW) was established at Sembach Annex, Germany.
On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing in the United Kingdom to support its GSU, headquartered at RAF Alconbury.
F 4e Phantom Just After Landing At Raf Fairford Editorial Photography
In 2010, the USAF withdrew all uniformed personnel from the station by September 2010, leaving a civilian operations unit to maintain the base on a "care and maintenance" basis. However, the base is a designated standby airfield for heavy bomber operations that can be immediately reactivated within 24 to 48 hours, and continues to host the Royal International Air Tattoo each July.
In September 2014, Fairford was used as a staging base for US President Obama's visit to a NATO conference in Newport, Wales. A VC-25A Air Force One (AF1) carrying the President and his tour and support aircraft arrived on September 3, as did US Secretary of State John Kerry in his own USAF C-32. Stonehenge left for Washington on September 5 after Air Force One returned to RAF Fairford from Newport with President Obama.
Since June 2014, RAF Fairford has conducted regular heavy bomber training with the B-52H, B-2A, and in September 2016, B-1B aircraft from Global Strike Command and the US Air Force Reserve for short-term exercises from Barksdale, Minot. Whiteman and Dyce Air Force Bases. These exercises include participation in NATO's Baltops, Saber Strike and Ample Strike exercises. Baltops, primarily a naval exercise, takes place off the coast of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, while the Saber Strike sees B-52s flying close air support missions over Poland. In 2014, there were two flights of two B-2 Spirits using B-52s that made short trips to Fairford as part of Global Power training flights. In September 2016, the Ample Strike exercise was conducted for the first time by the US. The Air Force Reserve deployed two types of heavy bombers (B-1B and B-52H) under the same unit operating the wing (307BW).
In March 2019, RAF Fairford saw the largest B-52H deployment since Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, when six bombers from the 2nd Bomb Wing arrived.
U.s. Air Force B 52 Bombers Have Been Deployed To Raf Fairford
In November 2018, it was announced that 95 Reconnaissance Squadron and 488 Reconnaissance Squadron would be based at Fairford until 2024. Based at RAF Mildhall in Suffolk, the squadron is both part of the 55th Operations Group and supports Boeing RC-135 surveillance aircraft. Forwarded from the United States to the United Kingdom on temporary duty. The move was expected to move 500 personnel and RC-135 operations to Fairford as part of the US Department of Defense's European Infrastructure Consolidation Program.
But in December the offer was canceled and it was confirmed that Mildhall's RC-135 would be retained as UK.
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