Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom

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Bases of the United States Air Force
Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom
Part of the Cold War
Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom is located in England
Alconbury
Alconbury
Brize Norton
Brize Norton
Bruntingthorpe
Bruntingthorpe
Burtonwood
Burtonwood
Chelveston
Chelveston
East Kirkby
East Kirkby
Fairford
Fairford
Greenham Common
Greenham Common
High Wycombe
High Wycombe
Lakenheath
Lakenheath
Lindholme
Lindholme
Manston
Manston
Marham
Marham
Mildenhall
Mildenhall
Scampton
Scampton
Sculthorpe
Sculthorpe
South Ruislip
South Ruislip
Upper Heyford
Upper Heyford
Waddington
Waddington
West Drayton
West Drayton
class=notpageimage|
Royal Air Force Stations used by the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (red) and 7th Air Division headquarters (blue)
Date1948–1992
Location
United Kingdom

Between 1948 and 1992, personnel and aircraft of the United States Air Force (USAF)

RAF Sculthorpe. These were airbases that had been extended during World War II when there were plans to use B-29s against Germany. When the Berlin Blockade began in June 1948, two B-29 groups deployed to the UK, but neither was equipped with Silverplate bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Nuclear-capable Boeing B-50 Superfortress
bombers began deploying in 1949, and nuclear bombs followed in 1950.

The original bases in

Offtackle war plan, and there were concerns that they were exposed to a surprise attack from the North Sea. New bases were developed at RAF Brize Norton, RAF Upper Heyford, RAF Fairford and RAF Greenham Common were therefore developed as bases, which began to be used in 1952. The bases were initially manned by the RAF, were handed over to the USAF in 1951. They continued to be known as RAF stations, and the Royal Air Force Ensign was flown alongside the flag of the United States. The B-29 groups on the UK and the depot at RAF Burtonwood were placed under the 3rd Air Division. It became the Third Air Force in 1951, and SAC activated the 7th Air Division
to control SAC forces in the UK.

In 1953 the propeller-driven B-29s and B-50s were replaced with

dual key
system.

With the introduction of

Operation Desert Storm
in 1991.

Early Cold War tensions

During

American isolationism. Wartime plans called for a worldwide network of 90 bases, but were cut back in 1944 when it was realised that the resources to support them would be lacking. These were intended to contain Germany and Japan, and enforce the peace settlement, not for a war with the Soviet Union.[3] As early as May 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had calculated that the war would leave the Soviet Union as a leading global power, and an assessment of its post-war capabilities was made in October 1945. It was not expected that the Soviet Union would resort to war with the United States, but war plans were drawn up for the possibility that such a war might occur as a result of a miscalculation.[4]

State Department were not.[9]

Major General Carl Spaatz
in Algiers in February 1943.

In August 1946,

atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, arrived in the UK to discuss the requirements.[8] The B-29 was a large and underpowered aircraft. It needed a runway at least 50 metres (150 ft) wide and 2,100 metres (7,000 ft) long, with at least 300 metres (1,000 ft) of clearance at both ends, and strong enough to bear the load of a 54,000-kilogram (120,000 lb) aircraft with a Fat Man atomic bomb in the forward bomb bay, which required a concrete slab at least 40 centimetres (15 in) thick. The Fat Man also required special storage facilities and assembly workshops, as the bombs could only be assembled shortly before a mission. This required a specialised Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) team to be deployed from Sandia Base. Since there was insufficient clearance for a Fat Man under a B-29, loading was accomplished by driving the B-29 over a pit.[10]

In 1946, there were three bases in the UK that met these requirements:

YB-29, Hobo Queen (41-36963) was deployed to the UK on 6 March 1944. It tested US and British airbases for suitability for the B-29, and was shown off to distinguished visitors, including Tedder and Spaatz, before continuing on to India on 1 April.[11] After the war three B-29s were stationed at RAF Mildenhall from March to October 1946 as part of Project Ruby, an evaluation of whether the B-29 could be modified to use the British Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs.[12]

A survey of 105 airfields in the UK found another 23 suitable to be extended for use with the B-29.

Kirtland Army Air Field in September.[13]

Two incidents in August 1946, in which one USAAF

Roswell Army Airfield in New Mexico.[15]

The US

Clayton Bissell, the US air attaché in the UK. Three of the bombers had been modified to carry Tallboys, which entered US service as the M-121. This revealed that despite the work carried out thus far, the air bases in the UK were ill-prepared to conduct B-29 operations.[18][7]

B-29 deployments

Berlin Blockade

When the

307th Bombardment Group from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida deployed to RAF Marham and RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. Each group had three squadrons of ten B-29s. The first B-29 touched down on 17 July, piloted by Colonel John B. Henry Jr., the commander of the 28th Bombardment Group, who was greeted by Air Vice-Marshal Charles Guest, the Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group RAF.[20] The RAF granted permission, on the usual informal basis, for the USAF to reopen the wartime USAAF depot at RAF Burtonwood, and soon 2,500 USAF personnel were stationed there.[22]

28th Bombardment Group at RAF Scampton
in 1948

The presence of B-29s in the prompted members of the House of Commons, notably John Platts-Mills, to ask the

Paul W. Tibbets of Hiroshima fame.[26]

The B-29 groups in the UK and the depot at RAF Burtonwood were placed under the newly formed B-29 Task Force at RAF Marham on 2 July. On 16 July, this became the 3rd Air Division (Provisional), under the command of Colonel Stanley T. Wray. Major General Leon W. Johnson assumed command on 23 August. He moved his headquarters to Bushy Park on 8 September, and then to Victoria Park Estate (later, USAF Station) at RAF South Ruislip on 15 April 1949.[25][27]

The B-29s deployed during the Berlin Blockade conducted intensive training.

British Joint Staff Mission in Washington, D.C. British bombs could be used as the shackle fittings were interchangeable. This was soon superseded by an order for 47,000 tonnes (52,000 short tons) of bombs, and seven million rounds of ammunition. Four million rounds of ammunition was brought in from Germany. At least one B-29 shot itself down during live firing practice.[29]

Base development

The bases in the UK were still considered inadequate for the deployment of three groups, much less the six called for in the

Offtackle war plan. In particular, there were concerns about and the lack of dispersed hardstands,[27] and the location of the bases in East Anglia, which SAC felt were exposed to a surprise attack from the North Sea. It wanted bases further west, where they would be batter protected by the existing radar and fighter defences. The Air Ministry and the 3rd Air Division conducted a search for available sites, and identified RAF Brize Norton and RAF Upper Heyford in Oxfordshire, RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, and RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire as suitable.[30] Moreover, the RAF now wanted the existing bases back, as it needed bases for its own eight squadrons of B-29s, the first of which was delivered in March 1950, and was known in British service as the Washington B.1. SAC therefore relinquished RAF Marham back to RAF control.[31]

Berlin Airlift

The Air Ministry estimated the cost of construction at the four airbases at £7.717 million (equivalent to £241 million in 2021), and asked for £1.8 million in the budget for

Lewis Douglas, and Aidan Crawley, the Under-Secretary of State for Air, reached an agreement in March and April 1950. The planned number of aircraft to be deployed rose inexorably, to 670 in peace and 1,800 in war, and by April 1952, the projected cost had risen from £35 million to over £70 million (equivalent to £1.89 billion in 2021), and the British government sought to limit its contribution to £17.5 million (equivalent to £472 million in 2021). In September 1953, the Secretary of State for Air, Lord De L'Isle, and the US Ambassador, Winthrop W. Aldrich, agreed that the US would pay all the costs of construction beyond the four original bases.[32]

To make the bases capable of handling the larger Convair B-36 Peacemaker and Boeing B-47 Stratojet, then under development, the runways at Upper Heyford and Greenham Common were extended to 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) by building on the overshoot areas, thereby minimising the loss of agricultural land but eroding the safety margin. In addition to extending the runways, infrastructure added included control towers, communications, runway lights, radio beacons, and ground-controlled approach (GCA) equipment.[32] Works were carried out by both the United States Army Corps of Engineers and British firms. The different voltage used by the mains electricity supply in the UK meant that all equipment brought from the US required large transformers. Cold weather hampered construction, as did interruptions to the electricity supply caused by a national coal shortage. There were also shortages of aviation spirit due to inefficient deliveries. Personnel found the accommodation provided austere, with no hot water, only pot bellied stoves for heat, dim light bulbs, and few or no recreational facilities.[31]

B-50 deployments

Nuclear weapons

In February 1949, the

jet age.[34] Neither group deployed with nuclear weapons,[33] but they practised atomic missions using M-107 Pumpkin bombs, which had the same ballistic characteristics as Fat Man bombs. Loading pits were only dug at Sculthorpe and Lakenheath; the technique was discarded in favour of jacking up the front of the aircraft height enough to allow the dolly with the bomb to be placed under the bomb bay.[35]

93d Bombardment Group at RAF St Eval
in 1950

On 3 September 1949, a WB-29 over the north Pacific Ocean detected a large radiation cloud. Analysis showed that this cloud was from an atomic explosion on the Asian mainland sometime between 26 and 29 August. The Soviet Union had an atomic bomb earlier than the US expected it.

Curtis Le May ordered that personnel be equipped with sidearms in case of sabotage or armed intervention by local Communists.[38]

An act of sabotage did occur. On 23 July 1950, four B-29s of the 301st Bombardment Group at RAF Lakenheath were damaged by their British Army guards, who damaged plexiglas panels and wing flaps, and punctured the tyres with their bayonets. Three soldiers were arraigned before secret courts martial. Johnson reported to Le May that the men were draftees who were resentful at being ordered overseas, and that they did not appear to be Communists. Two were found guilty of

malicious damage, and sentenced to terms of imprisonment and discharge with ignominy. The British Army guards were replaced by US airmen, but the commander of the 301st Bombardment Group, Colonel Thomas W. Steed, protested that their use as airbase guards hampered his group's training and effectiveness. The 3rd Air Division instituted more security measures, including fencing, guard dogs and restrictions on civilian access. Agriculture continued at RAF Lakenheath, which necessitated public access roads.[39]

Command arrangements

43d Bombardment Wing at Leeds Bradford Airport
in 1953

SAC units remained under Johnson's command, and he was the main point of contact between the USAF and the British government. He was not answerable to Le May, but to General

French Morocco assumed temporary command of the 7th Air Division until Major General John P. McConnell, Johnson's deputy, took over on 24 May, and Old moved on to Morocco.[40][41][42] 7th Air Division headquarters was located at RAF South Ruislip until 1 July 1958, when it moved to RAF High Wycombe.[40]

The 3rd Air Division became the

Roscoe C. Wilson, a former commander of the AFSWP, on 30 April 1954.[43][44] Third Air Force personnel were stationed in the UK on long-term tours of duty, normally three years, and therefore could bring their families with them, whereas the 7th Air Division personnel were deployed for ninety day rotations, and could not.[45] On 16 May 1951, the Third Air Force transferred jurisdiction over RAF Bassingbourn, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Lindholme, RAF Manston, RAF Marham, RAF Mildenheall, RAF Sculthorpe, RAF West Drayton and RAF Waddington to the 7th Air Division. Six more air bases, RAF Upper Heyford, RAF Brize Norton, RAF Fairford, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Woodbridge and RAF Carnaley, were transferred as they became available.[46]

The bases used by the USAF were initially manned by the RAF, but by the early 1950s it was facing severe financial and personnel shortages.

Air Chief Marshal Sir George Pirie approached Johnson asking if the USAF could take over manning of the bases, thereby saving the RAF 1,000 personnel. Johnson agreed to do so, and in 1951 seven stations were handed over to the USAF. The bases continued to be known as RAF stations, and the senior RAF officer present was known as the "RAF commander and senior liaison officer". While the title to the land remained with the Air Ministry, the USAF had unlimited tenure so long as its presence was desirable.[47] Johnson's deft touch in dealing with the British was perhaps exemplified by his order that the Royal Air Force Ensign be flown over the US bases in the UK alongside the flag of the United States.[41]

Aerial refuelling and reconnaissance

Boeing KB-29P Superfortress
(44–83951), with the refuelling boom.

Neither the B-29 nor the B-50 had the range to reach distant targets in the Soviet Union, so

509th Air Refueling Squadron, were formed in 1948, and in May 1949 eleven KB-29Ms of the 509th Air Refueling Squadron were the first to deploy to the UK. They were replaced by tankers of the 43rd Air Refueling Squadron in August and September. In May 1950, the 301st Air Refueling Squadron became the first tanker squadron to deploy all sixteen of its aircraft.[48][49]

SAC developed a new method of refuelling, the flying boom, and 116 B-29s were converted to the KB-29P configuration that employed it. A pair of KB-29Ps from the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron deployed to the UK in June 1951. Although SAC continued to use the KB-29P until 1957, the last KB-29P deployment to the UK was of the 2nd Air Refueling Squadron, which was at RAF Lakenheath from September to December 1952. The final KB-29M deployment was of the 43rd Air Refueling Squadron, which deployed to RAF Lakenheath from March to June 1953. The KB-29Ms were scrapped soon after.[48][49]

Four SAC RB-29As of the

72d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, which arrived there in May 1950. In response to the outbreak of the Korean War, it conducted a search for indications of an imminent Soviet attack on Western Europe, but found none. Two of the aircraft were lost in crashes. [50]
The
43rd Bombardment Wing. Its departure in June marked the final deployment of that aircraft as well.[51]

B-36 deployments

7th Bombardment Wing. B-36s such as this made routine visits to RAF Lakenheath
during the 1950s.

The Convair B-36 Peacemaker had its origins in wartime plans to bomb

11th Bombardment Groups which arrived at RAF Lakenheath on 16 January 1951, along with three C-124s carrying spare parts and 195 support personnel. Another six B-36Ds had set out from Carswell Air Force Base in Texas but had been forced to return due to bad weather.[53]

Over the next six years, B-36s made several visits to the UK for short periods of time. On 7 February 1953, dense fog and inadequate GCA at RAF Fairford caused the crew of a B-36H from the

11th Bombardment Wing deployed to RAF Burtonwood for a week. This was the final B-36 deployment.[54][55]

B-47 deployments

Wing deployments

The B-47 jet bomber had been under development since 1944, and in the stringent financial situation of the early post-war years the USAF decided to prioritise development of the B-47 rather than purchase more B-50s.[56] Experience in the Korean War amply demonstrated what the SAC planners had long suspected: that propeller-driven bombers were no match for Soviet jet fighters, even at night,[57] and the B-29, B36 and B-50 bomber force was fast losing credibility as a deterrent.[58] Rushing the B-47 into service entailed a series of costly and extensive modifications,[56] and the aircraft had a frightful safety record; over its lifetime there were 203 crashes, representing a loss rate of around 10 per cent,[59] resulting in 242 fatalities.[60] In May 1952, in preparation for the arrival of B-47s in the UK, SAC ruled that all runways had to be at least 3,400 metres (11,300 ft) long to permit operations in the heat of the English summer. This entailed the acquisition of private land and re-routing of roads. In the face of strong opposition from local residents, SAC backed down, and acquiesced to 3,000-metre (10,000 ft) runways with 3,000-metre (10,000 ft) overruns, and B-47 operations would cease when it became too hot. As it was, only RAF Fairford and RAF Greenham Common had 3,000-metre (10,000 ft) runways, although RAF Bruntingthorpe and RAF Chelveston could be extended. RAF Brize Norton had a 3,000-metre (10,000 ft) runway but no overruns, RAF Upper Heyford was limited to 2,900 metres (9,600 ft) with no overruns, and RAF Sculthorpe, RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall could not be extended to more than 2,700-metre (9,000 ft).[61][62]

Boeing B-47E Stratojet (53–1904) on SAC Reflex alert pad at RAF Brize Norton
in 1954

In 1953 the 7th Air Division began a system of B-47 Stratojet deployments to English bases. These temporary duty postings (TDY) generally involved an entire

Limestone Air Force Base in Maine. After a short visit, they returned to MacDill Air Force Base. The 306th Bomb Wing was the first SAC unit to equip with the B-47B and was the first unit to deploy to the UK for a ninety-day tour of duty. The Wing arrived at RAF Fairford on 4 June 1953 accompanied by 14 aircraft. A further fifteen B-47s followed over the next three days, bringing the Wing up to its full strength of 45 aircraft. One B-47 crashed at RAF Upper Heyford on 2 July. The wing returned to the US in September 1953.[66][67]

The

March Air Force Base in California on 3 December, but on arrival at Limestone Air Force Base they found that RAF Upper Heyford was fogbound. They remained there until 11 December, when eight flew on to the UK. Five managed to land at RAF Upper Heyford. The other three had to divert to RAF Mildenhall or RAF Brize Norton. That day the remaining 30 aircraft arrived at Limestone, where they were again delayed by fog at RAF Upper Heyford. Twenty of the 37 aircraft prepared to fly to the UK on 19 December, but suffered icing, and the lone de-icing truck was able to de-ice only five in time. On 21 December, 20 B-47s set out for the UK, leaving 32 at Limestone with mechanical problems. The last aircraft reached RAF Heyford on 25 December, having taken over three weeks to get there. The return trip in March 1954 was much less eventful.[68]

When the

303rd Bombardment Wing deployed to RAF Greenham Common in March 1954, the runway failed, forcing the group to relocate to RAF Fairford. RAF Mildenhall was also closed for repairs until June 1956.[61][62] In October 1955, SAC identified main bases from which B-47s would launch attacks, post-strike bases to which they would return to re-arm and re-fuel, and emergency bases, to be used in case other bases were unavailable. The designated main bases were RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Lakenheath and RAF Upper Heyford; the post-strike bases were RAF Chelveston, RAF Fairford and RAF Mildenhall; and the emergency bases were RAF Homewood Park (Heathrow Airport), RAF Lindholme and RAF Full Sutton. Each main and post-strike base would be visited by B-47 wings at least twice each year.[61]

Reflex deployments

100th Bombardment Wing at RAF Bruntingthorpe
in 1958.

In 1958 TDY postings were replaced by a new system of overseas deployments called Reflex. A permanent SAC presence was established,

100th Bombardment Wing at RAF Brize Norton between December 1957 and April 1958.[84]

In July 1959,

gold reserves caused by payments to foreign countries in exchange for basing rights. It was therefore decided that the B-47 would be phased out.[86] The British government saw things differently; the USAF presence in the UK was estimated to be worth £55 million (equivalent to £1.29 billion in 2021) to the British economy.[69]
The retirement of the B-47s was halted by the Berlin Crisis of 1961, when 48 B-47 bombers and 20 EB-47 electronic warfare stood alert in the UK, and the Cuban Missile Crisis the following year, which saw 56 B-47s and 22 EB-47s on alert in the UK, but it was only a temporary reprieve.[87] Reflex was terminated at RAF Fairford and RAF Greenham Common on 1 July 1964, and the two bases reverted to RAF control. In April 1965, Reflex ceased at RAF Brize Norton, which reverted to the RAF, and RAF Upper Heyford, which was transferred to the USAFE.[86] The 7th Air Division was inactivated on 30 June 1965.[40]

Reconnaissance deployments

Besides B-47 bombers, English bases also played host to RB-47s, and EB-47s reconnaissance aircraft. During the 1950s and 1960s, aircraft became reliant on radars to track and intercept bombers. Penetrating these defences required knowledge of them, and

55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing specially configured for ELINT arrived at RAF Mildenhall for the first of a series of deployments that continued for the next eleven years. The detachment at RAF Mildenhall closed on 1 February 1958, but a detachment was established at RAF Brize Norton in January 1959.[88]

These units performed some of the most sensitive reconnaissance missions of the Cold War. On 1 July 1960, an RB-47H from RAF Brize Norton was

Lubyanka prison in Moscow with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) pilot Francis Gary Powers, who had been shot down in the 1960 U-2 incident in May. They were released in January 1961. This resulted in a change of procedure: henceforth, reconnaissance flights had to be approved by the British Prime Minister.[89][90] The final RB-47H mission from the UK was flown on 18 May 1967.[91]

Cooperation with the RAF

Anglo-American nuclear cooperation soon grew beyond basing.

RAF Wethersfield were equipped with nuclear weapons and given the task of neutralising Soviet airbases that could threaten the UK.[95]

The RAF started to acquire its own nuclear weapons, and these were supplemented with US nuclear weapons acquired under

V-bombers on order on the basis that 150 needed to be neutralised. Mills argued that in view of the devastation that thermonuclear weapons could cause in the UK, that this was insufficient, and that policy needed to switch to one of deterrence. Instead of targeting airfields, the RAF should target the civilian population. Thus, the RAF and USAF were operating under different doctrines, but the value of coordinating strategic air forces in reducing expense and duplication was recognised.[96]

A conference codenamed "Encircle" was held in London from 15 to 17 August 1956 to discuss a joint plan. The British delegate was headed by the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff,

Air Marshal Geoffrey Tuttle; the American by the USAF Director of Plans, Major General Richard C. Lindsay. The British were concerned to retain their independence in the event that the UK became involved in a nuclear war without the United States, and the Americans adopted a conciliatory tone. Despite Anglo-American relations falling to a low ebb due to the Suez Crisis, further talks were held in December.[97] The next meeting took place in Washington, DC, on 21 May 1957. The USAF position was that since it was supplying the weapons, it could determine the arrangements under which they could be used, which included targeting. The British sought to decouple targeting from supply, and insisted that targets had to be approved by the British government. In the end, the US agreed to supply plenty of nuclear weapons, and the RAF became resigned to playing a subordinate role.[98]

The Commander in Chief of RAF Bomber Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir

intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) sites, in line with the enunciated policy the new US Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, of not targeting cities. [99]

Thor missile deployments

Main article: Project Emily

During the 1950s, SAC pursued the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as a supplement to its bombers. Delays in the development of the ICBM, and political anxiety over the Soviet Union's deployment of IRBM systems, led the United States Secretary of Defense, Charles E. Wilson, to order the USAF to develop an IRBM as a stopgap or fallback. This resulted in the development of the Thor missile.[100] Implicit in the decision to develop an IRBM was that it would be based overseas, as its 2,800-kilometre; 1,700-mile (1,500 nmi) range was insufficient to reach targets in the Soviet Union or China from the US.[101] The UK appeared to be the best prospect, both politically and strategically.[100] The United States Secretary of the Air Force, Donald A. Quarles, officially raised the matter with the British Minister of Defence, Sir Walter Monckton, and his Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Frederick Brundrett, in July 1956.[102] The October 1957 Sputnik crisis made the missile gap a hot political issue. Wilson's successor, Neil H. McElroy, ordered that Thor be rushed into production despite SAC's concerns about its vulnerability and impended obsolescence when ICBMs became available.[100]

Thor missiles
were stored horizontally in covered shelters, and elevated to a vertical position before launch.

The first Thor missile arrived at RAF Lakenheath on a C-124 Globemaster II on 29 August 1958, and was delivered to RAF Feltwell on 19 September. Fourteen were received by 23 December 1958.[103] The deployment involved the transport of 8,200 tonnes (18,000,000 lb) of equipment by sea, 10,000 to 11,000 tonnes (23,000,000 to 25,000,000 lb) by air in 600 flights by C-124 Globemaster IIs, and 77 by Douglas C-133 Cargomasters of the 1607th Air Transport Wing.[104] Thor was declared operational on 1 November 1959,[105] under an agreement that the USAF paid the cost of maintenance of the missiles for five years.[106] The 705th Strategic Missile Wing, which was activated at RAF Lakenheath on 20 February 1958, and moved to RAF South Ruislip on 15 March,[107] provided technical support to the RAF Thor squadrons.[108]

It was agreed that the missiles would be under British control, that target assignment would be a British responsibility in conjunction with the 7th Air Division,

dual key system was therefore devised. The RAF key started the missile and the USAF authorisation officer's key armed the warhead. This reduced the launch time to fifteen minutes.[112][113]

The deployment of Jupiter IRBMs to Italy and Turkey in 1961 prompted the Soviet Union to respond by attempting to deploy IRBMs in Cuba.[114] In turn, their discovery by the United States led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. SAC was placed on DEFCON 3 on 22 October 1962, and DEFCON 2 on 24 October. RAF Bomber Command moved to Alert Condition 3, equivalent to DEFCON 3, on 27 October. Normally between 45 and 50 Thor missiles were ready to fire in 15 minutes. Without altering the alert condition, the number of missiles ready to fire in 15 minutes was increased to 59. The dual key system was thereby put under strain due to the RAF and USAF personnel being on different states of readiness.[115][116] The crisis passed, and SAC reverted to DEFCON 3 on 21 November and DEFCON 4 on 24 November.[115][116]

With ICBMs becoming available, SAC did not foresee the Thor missiles making a substantial contribution to the nuclear deterrent after 1965. On 1 May 1962, McNamara informed the British Minister of Defence, Harold Watkinson, that the US would not pay the maintenance support for Thor after 31 October 1964. Watkinson then informed him that the system would be phased out.[106] The last Thor missile departed the UK on 1 September 1963.[108]

Post Reflex era

B-1, B-52 and FB-111 deployments

2nd Bombardment Wing, at RAF Fairford
in 2002.

It was never intended that the

93rd Bombardment Wing at Castle Air Force Base in California attempted the first non-stop jet flight around the world. Three aircraft completed the 23,574 miles trip in an average time of 45.19 hours. Two aircraft diverted, with one landing at CFB Goose Bay in Newfoundland and the other at RAF Brize Norton. This aircraft, a B-52B (53–395) named City of Turlock became the first B-52 to land in the UK, and the first to land outside North America.[117][118]

During the later Cold War years, B-52s became regular visitors to the United Kingdom, turning up at bases such as RAF Greenham Common and also taking part in RAF Bomber competitions, but were deployed to NATO on an individual basis, not as groups or wings. In 1962 there were one or two visits each month.[117] Convair B-58 Hustlers also visited several times, the first occasion being a Hustler from the 305th Bombardment Wing on 16 October 1963. The last visit was a lone Hustler from the 43rd Bombardment Wing on 16 May 1969, not long before the last of the Hustlers was retired in January 1970. Two General Dynamics FB-111As visited RAF Marham in March and April 1971 for an RAF bombing competition, and two visited for a NATO exercise in July and August 1986. The following month a lone FB-111A paid a visit to RAF Fairford for the Royal International Air Tattoo. There were also some visits by SAC Rockwell B-1 Lancers in 1989, 1990 and 1991.[119]

Refuelling operations

In the wake of the

11th Strategic Group activated with the aerial refuelling mission.[122] The growing SAC presence with refuelling tankers and aerial reconnaissance led to the reactivation of the 7th Air Division at Ramstein Air Base on 1 July 1978.[40]

28th Bombardment Wing arrives at RAF Fairford
on 14 July 2004

In response to the

379th Bombardment Wing refuelled a second formation of C-130 transports bound for Egypt. While tanker operations went well, the operation was a complete failure; seven aircraft were lost and eight servicemen died, and the hostages were not freed.[123]

When hostilities erupted between the United States and Libya in March 1986, President

Straits of Gibraltar, only 370 kilometres (200 nmi) shorter than the British Operation Black Buck missions in the Falklands War.[124]

McDonnell Douglas KC-10A Extender (83-0082) at RAF Fairford
on 14 July 2004

The KC-10s were chosen as the primary refuelling agents for the mission as they had a larger fuel capacity than the KC-135s, but the short 2,700-metre (9,000 ft) runway at RAF Mildenhall did not permit them to take off fully loaded, so they were topped off by KC-135s en route. Three aerial refuellings were required on the outbound leg and two on the return one, but the F-111 crews had only recently deployed to the UK in January 1986, and were inexperienced in refuelling from KC-10s. To mitigate this, each F-111 was assigned a particular tanker for the entire mission, so the pilots could become familiar with their flying boom operator. When they returned to the tankers low on fuel after the raids, the F-111s latched onto the first tanker they saw, which caused some confusion, as one F-111 was lost. The KC-10 force remained in the UK for several days in case a follow-up strike was called for, but none was, and they eventually returned to the US.[124]

Desert Storm

After forty years of SAC bomber deployments in the UK, their first combat operations to be conducted from UK bases came in

668th Bombardment Squadrons of the 416th Bombardment Wing from Griffiss Air Force Base in New York. Between 8 and 27 February 1991, the B-52s flew 62 sorties, and delivered 1,158 tonnes (1,140 long tons; 1,276 short tons) of bombs.[125]

Reconnaissance

RC-135 deployments

For many years various types of Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft were observed regularly arriving and departing from the RAF Mildenhall runway. Most of these aircraft had the capability to receive radar and radio signals from far behind the borders of the Communist Eastern Bloc. From Mildenhall the RC-135s flew ELINT and COMINT missions along the borders of Poland, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. The twenty or so specialists on board the RC-135s during such missions listened to and recorded military radio frequencies and communications. Following the retirement of the RB-47Hs, four ELINT missions were flown by a KC-135R Rivet Jaw (59–1465) from RAF Upper Heyford in May 1967. It crashed at Offurt Air Force base on 17 July, and it was replaced by a KC-135R Rivet Stand (55–3121), which flew missions from RAF Upper Heyford in 1968. This was upgraded to Rivet Jaw configuration, which was renamed Cobra Jaw in December 1969. It flew missions in September and November, but during the latter

MiG-17s escorting it fired their cannons. The aircraft completed the mission and returned unharmed.[126]

U-2 deployments

SAC

RB-45s seconded to the RAF had conducted overflights of East Germany and the Soviet Union in 1952 and 1954, and a SAC RB-47E from RAF Fairford had overflown Murmansk in May 1954. The first of four CIA Lockheed U-2 aircraft arrived in the UK arrived at RAF Lakenheath in May 1956. The 1st Weather Reconnaissance Squadron as it was styled was actually CIA Detachment A, and its mission was overflights of the Soviet Union and its allies. Its aircraft were manned by a mix of civilian CIA and seconded SAC pilots. The British government was aware of the role of the U-2s, and was troubled by the 1956 U-2 incident, but clung to the cover story that they were for weather surveillance.[127]

Lockheed U-2S (80–1081) of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at RAF Fairford
in 1998

A CIA U-2 from the 4th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (CIA Detachment G) flew to RAF Upper Heyford to conduct missions over the Middle East in the lead up to the Six-Day War, but the British government refused permission, and asked for the aircraft to be withdrawn. CIA detachment G (now calling itself The 1130th Aerospace Technical Training Group) deployed to RAF Upper Heyford again in 1970 response to the War of Attrition. This time it had permission from the British government to fly from British-controlled Cyprus, but lacking permission to overfly France, it had to deploy via the Straits of Gibraltar. In all, thirty missions were flown from Cyprus.[127]

SAC U-2s flew High Altitude Sampling Program (HASP) missions from RAF Upper Heyford from August to October 1962 in response to Soviet nuclear tests. Between May and July 1975, SAC flew a series U-2 missions from the UK inside West Germany to evaluate the SAM defences in East Germany, choosing to fly from RAF Wethersfield so as not to disturb KC-135 and RC-135 operations from RAF Mildenhall. Although the mission was tactical in nature, it was flown by SAC because it operated the U-2s. The deployment was not a success, and one aircraft was lost.[127]

A SAC U-2 supported NATO exercises in 1976, and was successful enough for a more regular presence to be mooted. Between June and October 1977, 34 U-2 COMINT missions were flown. On 1 April 1979 Detachment 4 of the

17th Reconnaissance Wing, which began flying PHOTINT and COMINT sorties from RAF Alconbury in October 1982. They were withdrawn in June 1991.[129]

Blackbird deployments

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

In 1969, the US government began negotiations to base the

RAE Farnborough for an air show, breaking the New York to London speed record on the way there, and the London to Los Angeles record on the way back.[130]

After this public relations success, regular deployments of SR-71s and their KC-135Q tankers to RAF Mildenhall began with training deployments in April and September 1976. The first Peacetime Aerial Reconnaissance Program (PARPRO) mission was flown in January 1977.[130] Thereafter, deployments were a regular occurrence until April 1984, when the British government finally gave permission for SR-71s to be permanently based at RAF Mildenhall. It is estimated that 919 SR-71 sorties were flown from the UK, including damage assessment missions after the air raids on Libya in 1986. The last SR-71 sortie was flown from the UK on 18 January 1990. [131]

After the end of the Cold War in 1991, SAC was replaced by a new unified command, the United States Strategic Command on 1 June 1992,[132] but the end of SAC did not mean the end of the US military presence in the UK, although it steadily declined.[133] In 2015 it was announced that RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth would close by 2020,[134] and RAF Mildenhall was due to close in 2023, but this was deferred to 2027, and then postponed indefinitely in 2020.[135] RAF Lakenheath remained an important base. USAF Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs began to be temporarily deployed there in 2017, and were expected to be based there permanently from 2021.[136]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ The codename Silverplate became compromised, and was replaced by Saddletree on 12 May 1947. On 16 April 1948, this became part of Project Gem, which also involved winterisation and adding air refuelling capability.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ Ruppenthal 1959, p. 288.
  2. ^ Mark 1999, pp. 31–32.
  3. ^ Young 2016, p. 11.
  4. ^ Ross 1988, pp. 4–7.
  5. ^ Young 2007, pp. 119–120.
  6. ^ Condit 1996, pp. 153–159.
  7. ^ a b c Hopkins 2019, p. 13.
  8. ^ a b Young 2016, pp. 22–23.
  9. ^ Young 2007, p. 121.
  10. ^ a b c Young 2016, pp. 18–21.
  11. ^ "The First B-29 in England". The Washington Times. No. 8. Winter 2005. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008.
  12. ^ "Project Ruby – a look at RAF Mildenhall's history > Royal Air Force Mildenhall > Article Display". United States Air Force. 30 December 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  13. ^ Young 2016, pp. 26–27.
  14. ^ Schnabel 1996, pp. 47–48.
  15. ^ Campbell 2005, p. 61.
  16. ^ Condit 1996, pp. 28–29.
  17. ^ Young 2016, p. 55.
  18. ^ Young 2016, p. 24.
  19. ^ Moody 1995, p. 206.
  20. ^ a b Gunderson 2007, p. 40.
  21. ^ Moody 1995, pp. 207–208.
  22. ^ Duke 1985, p. 56.
  23. ^ Duke 1987, p. 34.
  24. ^ Campbell 2005, p. 23.
  25. ^ a b Hopkins 2019, p. 35.
  26. ^ Young 2007, pp. 124–125.
  27. ^ a b Duke 1987, p. 47.
  28. ^ Young 2016, p. 39.
  29. ^ Young 2007, pp. 124–126.
  30. ^ Young 2016, pp. 63–65.
  31. ^ a b Hopkins 2019, pp. 15–16.
  32. ^ a b Young 2016, pp. 65–70.
  33. ^ a b Hopkins 2019, pp. 35–36.
  34. ^ Knaack 1988, pp. 163–164, 169.
  35. ^ Young 2016, pp. 80–81.
  36. ^ Condit 1996, pp. 279–281.
  37. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 35–39.
  38. ^ Young 2016, pp. 42–43.
  39. ^ Young 2016, pp. 47–53, 57.
  40. ^ a b c d "Factsheets : 7 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012.
  41. ^ a b Young 2016, pp. 106–109.
  42. ^ Hopkins 2019, p. 16.
  43. ^ "Third Air Force (USAFE)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  44. ^ Young 2016, pp. 58, 114–115.
  45. ^ Duke 1985, p. 178.
  46. ^ Duke 1985, p. 120.
  47. ^ Young 2016, pp. 115–116.
  48. ^ a b Knaack 1988, pp. 490–492.
  49. ^ a b Hopkins 2019, pp. 92–93, 96.
  50. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 118–119.
  51. ^ Hopkins 2019, p. 46.
  52. ^ Knaack 1988, pp. 3–4, 8–12.
  53. ^ Hopkins 2019, p. 42.
  54. ^ "Bomber flew 30 miles without a crew". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 6 February 2003. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  55. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 43–45.
  56. ^ a b Knaack 1988, pp. 99–100.
  57. ^ Knaack 1988, p. 490.
  58. ^ Hopkins 2019, p. 47.
  59. ^ Boyne 2013, p. 79.
  60. ^ Boyne 2013, p. 81.
  61. ^ a b c Hopkins 2019, pp. 54–55.
  62. ^ a b c Hopkins 2019, p. 201.
  63. ^ Young 2016, pp. 70–71.
  64. ^ Boyne 2013, pp. 81–82.
  65. ^ Knaack 1988, p. 118.
  66. ^ Knaack 1988, p. 109.
  67. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 48–51.
  68. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 51–52.
  69. ^ a b c Young 2016, p. 94.
  70. ^ Fletcher 1989, p. 115.
  71. ^ Fletcher 1989, p. 121.
  72. ^ Willard 1988, p. 50.
  73. ^ Willard 1988, p. 9.
  74. ^ Fletcher 1989, p. 127.
  75. ^ Willard 1988, p. 16.
  76. ^ Willard 1988, p. 40.
  77. ^ Willard 1988, p. 35.
  78. ^ Willard 1988, p. 38.
  79. ^ Fletcher 1989, p. 131.
  80. ^ Fletcher 1989, p. 111.
  81. ^ Willard 1988, pp. 8–9.
  82. ^ "RAF Brize North 80th Anniversary Souvenir Magazine". -Royal Air Force. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  83. ^ Hopkins 2019, p. 59.
  84. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 54, 61.
  85. ^ Hopkins 2019, p. 202.
  86. ^ a b Hopkins 2019, pp. 64–66.
  87. ^ Hopkins 2019, p. 61.
  88. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 128–131.
  89. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 133–134.
  90. ^ "RB-47H Shot Down". National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  91. ^ a b Hopkins 2019, pp. 137–138.
  92. ^ Young 2016, p. 247.
  93. ^ Condit 1996, pp. 156–159.
  94. ^ Condit 1996, pp. 159–162.
  95. ^ Young 2016, p. 249.
  96. ^ Young 2016, pp. 249–251.
  97. ^ Young 2016, pp. 252–256.
  98. ^ Young 2016, pp. 259–260.
  99. ^ Young 2016, pp. 261–263.
  100. ^ a b c Young 2016, pp. 95–97.
  101. ^ Clark & Angell 1991, pp. 158–159.
  102. ^ Boyes 2015, pp. 38–39.
  103. ^ Wynn 1997, pp. 340–342.
  104. ^ Owen, Kenneth (23 March 1960). "Thor Logistics". Flight. pp. 398–399. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  105. ^ Hopkins 2019, p. 193.
  106. ^ a b Wynn 1997, pp. 358–360.
  107. ^ Ravenstein 1984, p. 293.
  108. ^ a b c Hopkins 2019, pp. 193–195.
  109. ^ Young 2016, pp. 98–99.
  110. ^ Boyes 2015, p. 55.
  111. ^ Clark & Angell 1991, pp. 161–162.
  112. ^ Moore 2010, p. 99.
  113. ^ Young 2016, pp. 100–101.
  114. Atlantic Monthly
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  115. ^ a b Young 2016, pp. 265–269.
  116. ^ a b Wynn 1997, pp. 347–348.
  117. ^ a b Hopkins 2019, pp. 68–69.
  118. ^ Brean, Herbert; Blair, Clay Jr. (23 January 1957). "B-52s Shrink a World". Life. Vol. 42, no. 4. pp. 21–27.
  119. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 73–76.
  120. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 106–107.
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  122. ^ "11 Wing (USAF)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
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  125. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 87–90.
  126. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 137–143.
  127. ^ a b c Hopkins 2019, pp. 145–148.
  128. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 151–152.
  129. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 156–157.
  130. ^ a b Hopkins 2019, pp. 161–162.
  131. ^ Hopkins 2019, pp. 167–170.
  132. ^ Feickert, Andrew (3 January 2013). The Unified Command Plan and Combatant Commands: Background and Issues for Congress (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  133. ^ Milmo, Cahal (24 January 2016). "Unknown territory: America's secret archipelago of UK bases". The Independent. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  134. ^ "USAF to Pull Out of Airbases at Mildenhall, Alconbury and Molesworth". BBC News. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  135. ^ "RAF Mildenhall: Reprieve for US air base destined to close". BBC News. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  136. ^ Insinna, Valerie (6 August 2020). "UK facilities for American F-35 jets are delayed and over budget". Defense News. Retrieved 1 November 2020.

References

Further reading
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