RAF Greenham Common
NearNewbury, Berkshire in England
RAF Greenham Common during the 1980s
Site information
Type	Royal Air Force station
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Air Force US Army Air Forces (1943–1945) US Air Force (1951–1992)
Condition	Closed
Location
RAF Greenham Common Location within Berkshire
Coordinates	51°22′43″N001°16′56″W / 51.37861°N 1.28222°W /51.37861; -1.28222
Grid reference	SU500645[1]
Site history
Built	1943 (1943)
In use	1943–1993
Fate	Technical site now a business park Remainder of station a public parkland known asGreenham and Crookham Commons
Events	Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp (1981–2000)
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: EGVI,WMO: 037435
Elevation	121 metres (397 ft)AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 11/29 3,048 metres (10,000 ft) Asphalt (built 1950s) 10/28 1,798 metres (5,899 ft) Asphalt (WW2) 14/32 1,256 metres (4,121 ft) Asphalt (WW2) 02/20 998 metres (3,274 ft) Asphalt (WW2)

Royal Air Force Greenham Common or more simplyRAF Greenham Common is a formerRoyal Air Force station in thecivil parishes ofGreenham andThatcham in theEnglishcounty ofBerkshire. The airfield was southeast ofNewbury, about 55 miles (89 km) west of London.

Opened in 1942, it was used by theUnited States Air Force during theSecond World War and during theCold War, and later as a base for nuclear weapons. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in September 1992. The airfield was also known for theGreenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s in protest against the stationing of cruise missiles on the base. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.

The Greenham Lodge Estate, which was set in the midst onGreenham Common, was requisitioned by theAir Ministry in 1941.^[2]

The first arrival was theU.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF)51st Troop Carrier Wing Headquarters, arriving in September 1942. The 51st TCW controlled the three troop carrier groups atRAF Keevil (62nd TCG),RAF Aldermaston (60th TCG) andRAF Ramsbury (64th TCG) as part ofTwelfth Air Force. An area to the east of Bowdown House, a mansion on the northeast end of the airfield, was used as "bomb stores".^[3]

The 51st TCW HQ followed its groups to North Africa as part ofOperation Torch in November 1942.^[4]

In late 1943, Greenham Common airfield was turned over to the USAAFNinth Air Force. An American advance party soon arrived to ready the airfield for the incoming units. Greenham Common was known asUSAAF Station AAF-486.^[5]

As troop carrier groups began arriving in the UK in late 1943 and deployed in the Greenham area, Greenham Common was one of the airfields used by the Ninth Air Force for fighter groups arriving from the United States. On 4 November the354th Fighter Group arrived fromPortland Army Air Field,Oregon and they were informed they were to fly theNorth American P-51 Mustang. The unit transferred toRAF Lashenden in April 1944.^[6]

A few weeks later on 13 January 1944, the368th Fighter Group arrived fromFarmingdale, New York, flyingRepublic P-47 Thunderbolts. They had the following fighter squadrons and fuselage codes:^[7]

• 395th Fighter Squadron (A7)
• 396th Fighter Squadron (C2)
• 397th Fighter Squadron (D3)

The 368th was a group of Ninth Air Force's71st Fighter Wing,IX Tactical Air Command. The 368th FG moved toRAF Chilbolton on 15 March 1944.^[7]

Literally as the 368th FG was moving out, the438th Troop Carrier Group was flying into Greenham Common fromRAF Langar. FlyingDouglas C-47 Skytrains, they had the following Troop Carrier squadrons and fuselage codes:^[8]

• 87th Troop Carrier Squadron (3X)
• 88th Troop Carrier Squadron (M2)
• 89th Troop Carrier Squadron (4U)
• 90th Troop Carrier Squadron (Q7)
• 94th Troop Carrier Squadron (D8)

The 438th was a group of Ninth Air Force's53rd Troop Carrier Wing ofIX Troop Carrier Command. The unit moved toProsnes in France in February 1945.^[8]

In the post-Second World War years, theStrategic Air Command (SAC) of theUnited States Air Force (USAF) was based at three major airfields in eastern England:RAF Lakenheath,RAF Mildenhall andRAF Sculthorpe. The increasing tension of theCold War led to a re-evaluation of these deployments and a move further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Greenham Common,RAF Brize Norton,RAF Upper Heyford andRAF Fairford. The airfield came under SAC's7th Air Division, with the 3909th Combat Support Group as its administrative unit on the base, responsible for all non-flying activities as well as maintenance and logistical support of the flying units attached to RAF Greenham Common. One of the first deployments was310th Bombardment Wing which arrived with itsBoeing B-47E Stratojets in October 1956.^[9]

On 28 February 1958, a B-47E, of the 310th Bombardment Wing developed problems shortly after takeoff and jettisoned its two 1,700 gallonexternal fuel tanks. They missed their designated safe impact area, and one hit a hangar while the other struck the ground 65 feet (20 m) behind a parked plane. The parked B-47E, registration 53-6216, which was fuelled and had a pilot on board, was engulfed by flames; two ground crew were killed and two were injured.^{[10][11][12][13][14][15]}

Two scientists, F. H. Cripps and A. Stimson, who both worked for theAtomic Weapons Research Establishment atAldermaston, stated in a secret 1961 report, released by theCND in 1996, that the fire detonated the high explosives in a nuclear weapon, thatplutonium anduranium oxides were spread over a wide area (foliage up to 8 mi (13 km) away was contaminated withuranium-235) and that they had discovered high concentrations of radioactive contamination around the airfield.^[16]

However, a radiological survey commissioned in 1997 byNewbury District Council andBasingstoke and Deane Borough Council found no evidence of anuclear accident at Greenham Common, suggesting that Cripps and Stimson's statements were false. The seven-month-long survey was carried out by the Geosciences Advisory Unit ofSouthampton University and combined ahelicopter-mountedgamma ray detector survey with a ground-based survey. The team analysed nearly 600 samples taken from soil, lake sediment, borehole water, house dust, runway tarmac and concrete, looking for uranium and plutoniumisotopes. No evidence of an accident involving nuclear weapons damage was found at the former air force base although the ground survey detected some low-level uranium contamination around the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston thought to be derived from that facility, and the helicopter survey found some anomalies aroundHarwell Laboratory.^[17]

After Strategic Air Command left Greenham Common in 1964, the site was primarily used as a mail sorting and storage facility under the administrative control of 7551st Combat Support Group.^[18] Beginning in 1973 the base became the home of theInternational Air Tattoo, a large scale international militaryairshow.^[19]

Following the 1979NATO Double-Track Decision, in June 1980, RAF Greenham Common was selected as one of two British bases for the USAF's mobile nuclear armedBGM-109G Gryphon Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM).^[20] This missile was derived from the sea-launchedTomahawk Land Attack Missile. Some missiles were deployed atRAF Molesworth, but the majority of GLCMs were deployed at RAF Greenham Common.^[21]

AGreenham Common Women's Peace Camp was established in protest at the deployment of cruise missiles in 1981. The protestors became known as "the Greenham women" or "peace women", and their 19-year protest drew worldwide media and public attention.^[22]

After being equipped with the new weapons, the501st Tactical Missile Wing was activated at Greenham Common on 1 July 1982.^[23] Following the ratification of theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty by U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan and the General Secretary of theCPSUMikhail Gorbachev in June 1988, the last GLCMs at RAF Greenham Common were removed in March 1991, and the 501st Tactical Missile Wing was deactivated in May 1991.^[23]

In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland, effectively returning it to its pre-Second World War status but with restrictions.Greenham and Crookham Commons became aSite of Special Scientific Interest.^[24][25] The Cold War era control tower has recently been redeveloped and is now open as a visitor centre with a historical exhibition and community cafe. Cattle from local farms are permitted to graze the Common and often stray onto the adjacent Burys Bank Road.^[26]

Following the closure of RAF Greenham Common in 1992, one of the few remaining buildings from the former air base was the Control Tower, situated on the north side of the runway. This was left derelict until Greenham Parish Council bought it in April 2014 with the intention of converting it into a café and visitors' centre.^[27] However, this was repeatedly delayed by political and construction problems, until it was eventually opened to the public in September 2018.^[28][29]

The Control Tower features three floors, with the café on the ground floor and a visitors' centre on the first floor, housing a permanent exhibition on Greenham Common's Cold War history and a temporary exhibition space. The top floor observation area offers panoramic views across the Common.^[29]

Since its opening in 2018, the Control Tower has hosted numerous exhibitions on the history of the Common and surrounding area. This included "Both Sides of the Fence" in 2021, marking 40 years since the arrival of the Greenham Peace Women at the air base.^[30]

The airfield was used In the sixth series ofLondon's Burning where the production team built a petrol garage and diner to be used in a large incident in episode 7.^[31]

An episode of BBC'sTop Gear was filmed at the abandoned airfield, withJeremy Clarkson andJames May attempting to find out ifcommunism had produced a good car.^[32]

Beyoncé used the airfield to film scenes for her 2013 self-titled visual album.^[33]

Greenham Common airfield was used as a filming location for the 2015 filmStar Wars: The Force Awakens and 2017 filmStar Wars: The Last Jedi. The GAMA(GLCM Alert and Maintenance Area) area was used as the location for the above groundResistance base on the fictional planet D'Qar.^[34] In 2023, the base was once again used for filming a Star Wars location, the second series of the television programmeAndor.^[35]

Greenham Common airfield was also used as a filming location for the 2019 filmFast and Furious 9.^[36]

Additionally, Greenham Common airfield was used as a filming location for the 2023 filmHeart of Stone.^[37]

• List of former Royal Air Force stations
• RAF Lakenheath nuclear weapons accidents

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Birtles, Philip (2012).UK Airfields of the Cold War. Midland Publishing.ISBN 978-1-85780-346-4.
• Fletcher, Harry R. (1989) Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-53-6
• Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the BattleISBN 0-900913-80-0
• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• Rogers, Brian (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications.ISBN 1-85780-197-0.
• Sayers, Jonathan (2006) In Defense of Freedom, a History of RAF Greenham Common
• Stokes, Penelope (2017). The Common Good: The story of Greenham CommonISBN 978-1-5272-0785-1

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRAF Greenham Common.

• Greenham: a common inheritance
• Greenham Trust
• RAF Greenham Common – A History 1941–1992
• Greenham and Crookham Conservation Volunteers
• Photographs of RAF Greenham Common from the Geograph British Isles project
• Greenham Common Control Tower - Visitor Centre, exhibition and Cafe

• Royal Air Force stations in Berkshire
• Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom
• Parks and open spaces in Berkshire
• Installations of the United States Air Force in the United Kingdom
• West Berkshire District
• Airfields of the IX Troop Carrier Command in the United Kingdom
• Thatcham
• Newbury, Berkshire
• Military airbases closed in 1993
• Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1985
• Military airbases established in 1942

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