RAF High Wycombe | |
|---|---|
| Walters Ash,Buckinghamshire in England | |
 Aerial view of RAF High Wycombe. | |
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| Site information | |
| Type | RAF non-flying station |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator | Royal Air Force |
| Controlled by | RAF Air Command |
| Website | Official website |
| Location | |
  RAF High Wycombe Shown within Buckinghamshire | |
| Coordinates | 51°40′53″N000°48′07″W / 51.68139°N 0.80194°W /51.68139; -0.80194 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1938 (1938) |
| In use | 1938 – present |
| Garrison information | |
| Current commander | Wing Commander Jenny Dennis |
| Occupants | |
Royal Air Force High Wycombe or more simplyRAF High Wycombe is aRoyal Air Forcestation, situated in the village ofWalters Ash, nearHigh Wycombe inBuckinghamshire,England. It housesHeadquarters Air Command, and was originally designed to houseRAF Bomber Command in the late 1930s. The station is also the headquarters of theEuropean Air Group and theUnited Kingdom Space Command.
The location of the station was originally suggested byWing Commander Alan Oakeshott when theAir Ministry was seeking a new, secure, site for Bomber Command away fromLondon. Wing Commander Oakeshott waskilled in combat in 1942 and is commemorated on theNaphill War Memorial and in the name of the station's welfare centre, opened in 2011.
The motto of RAF High Wycombe inLatin is 'Non Sibi', which translates as 'not for ourselves'.
Prior to the outbreak of theSecond World War, theAir Ministry sought a safe location forRAF Bomber Command away from London. The wooded area nearNaphill,Walters Ash andLacey Green was suggested byWing Commander Alan Oakeshott as ideal for this purpose, since the trees could provide naturalcamouflage from the air.[2]
Buildings were designed to resemble other uses, such as the Officers' Mess which was built to look like amanor house. The fire station was built with a tower to resemble a village church. Trees were preserved as much as possible to maintain the camouflage they provided. Roads were laid out so as to avoid most trees. The building work was carried out byJohn Laing and Son,[3] with 400 workmen and 80 specialists involved. Tunnels were dug to connect each block on the station, linked to an Operations Block built 55 feet (17 m) below ground.[2]
To preserve secrecy, the station was known as "Southdown" in March 1940, as part of a directive by the Air Ministry. The site's postal address was given as "GPO High Wycombe."[4]
Whilst High Wycombe was not an official flying station, a small airfield was used in the nearby village ofLacey Green, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north. The airfield was unpaved and was used for small flights into and out of RAF High Wycombe and was only used between June 1944 and late 1945.[5][6]
High Wycombe was also used by the325th Photographic Wing,United States Army Air Forces, from 9 August 1944 until 20 October 1945.[7]
Headquarters,7th Air Division of theStrategic Air Command, supporting SAC operations in UK relocated to High Wycombe fromRAF South Ruislip in 1958, and commanded all SAC operations from there until 1965.[8]
Thestation badge, incorporating a thunderbolt and two pillars to symbolise the support the station gave to Bomber Command, was approved on 23 November 1966.[9] RAF Bomber Command merged withRAF Fighter Command to formRAF Strike Command at RAF High Wycombe on 30 April 1968.[10] The station's title, Royal Air Force Station High Wycombe, was officially approved on 1 January 1969.[4] From 1983 to 1984 there was apeace camp protesting against the building of a bunker there at that time to house RAF Strike Command.[11]
On 1 July 1994, HeadquartersAllied Forces North Western Europe (AFNORTHWEST) ofNATO was established at High Wycombe.[12]
RAF Strike Command merged withRAF Personnel and Training Command to formRAF Air Command at RAF High Wycombe on 1 April 2007.[13] Since 2009, the station has been responsible for reviewingUFO sightings as part of efforts to identify any possible unauthorised military incursions into UK airspace. Civil servants tasked with reviewing such sightings relocated to the station from theMinistry of Defence Main Building in London.[14]
The Ministry of Defence andSerco agreed a ten-year contract in February 2010 whereby Serco would provide support services at RAF High Wycombe andRAF Halton, including leisure services, general engineering and catering.[15]
The actorDavid Jason officially opened the station's new welfare centre, named after Wing Commander Alan Oakeshott, in July 2011.[16] An Armed Forces Community Covenant between the station andWycombe District Council was signed on 16 April 2012, designed to strengthen the links between the military and the local community.[17] Personnel exercised the station'sFreedom of Wycombe District on 29 May 2012, parading throughPrinces Risborough.[18]
The following notable units are based at RAF High Wycombe.[19][20]
No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support)
No. 11 Group (Multi-domain Operations)
Headquarters No. 11 Group (Multi-domain Operations)
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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