Greenham Common memories

[Flying Lawyer]

After working in Thatcham today, I took the opportunity to visit the nearby former RAF Greenham Common.

The boarded up and rather dilapidated Tower is one of the few surviving buildings.

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Such a change from the bustling hive of activity when I was last there - for RIAT 1983, IAT in those days.

I trundled along with the team kit in the OFMC Broussard at a sedate 120 mph, but there was no shortage of fast jets and other interesting aircraft to see that weekend.

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The visit of the SR-71 was marred by the so-called 'Peace Campaigners' who obviously thought it was clever to throw paint on it. Perhaps they thought it was a bomber? http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-rolleyes010.gif

When the Blackbird left Greenham a few days later, the crew had some fun:
I was the pilot in this video, but did not fly the SR-71 out of RAF Greenham Common. I was the "mobile control" officer when the aircraft departed and the pilot was Maj Jim Jiggens, a USAF Thunderbird pilot and formally a US Army helicopter combat pilot in Vietnam.
On the evening of the air show featured in this video, women, who were protesting President Reagan's decision to station intermediate nuclear missiles in England, broke into the security cordon around the air show aircraft and threw paint on several, including this SR-71.
Owing to the unique metals associated with the SR-71, the removing of the paint required special maintenance procedures to assure that no "hot spot" would develop on subsequent flights. It was quite a hassle and we were not amused over this incident.

Jim and I planned a farewell departure for the protesters who were encamped in a squalor of tents just outside the main gate. Jim obtained clearance for a "closed pattern" and turned to a downwind leg, descended to about 100 feet above the ground, and flew directly over the protestors' encampment. It was early and probably most were asleep, but not for long.
Jim was flying about 250 knots and selected afterburner in both engines as he was approaching the tents. As the SR-71 accelerated to 350-400 knots, he pulled up and focused the plume (and noise) directly on the protesters. It was a magnificent sight.

I also had the honor to prefer charges against the women, but the British government later declined to prosecute.

BC Thomas


http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/60858441.jpg

About 30 Phantoms from various air forces attended the ‘Phantom 25th Anniversary Meet’.
Mark Hanna, who would otherwise have been displaying an OFMC aircraft, brought one of the Treble One pair from Leuchars and the Boscombe aircraft was in special livery to celebrate the occasion.

http://www.aviation-picture-hangar.co.uk/XT597_FG1_aaee_25th_1.jpg


IAT 1983 also saw one of the last RAF Vulcan displays:

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1983 was, I think, the last IAT held at Greenham before the move to Fairford.
Happy memories of a great weekend.


Coincidentally, Thornford Park (http://www.priorygroup.com/Locations/South-East/Thornford-Park-Hospital.aspx) where I spent the day working was originally a school for children of American personnel stationed at Greenham.


FL

[treadigraph]

Ah, Greenham Common, happy days! I went to '76, '79, '80, '81 and '83. It was usually biennial on odd years, but '76 must have been Bi-Centennial; not sure what '80 was.

1976 was my first proper airshow, somehow persuaded my mum to take me. Hunter 25th with 25 lined up including prototype WB188, now at Tangmere. F-111s were temporary residents while they resurfaced UH. As a 12 year old I didn't know much about military aircraft (not much has changed!) but there were plenty there that I had only seen in my old Observers books! KC-97, ah... New acquaintances which became firm friends, Rothmans, BBMF, Mossie, Sally B, RNHF, Vintage Pair - some sadly no longer with us, some of the pilots too... A US carrier was around and pairs of its aircraft were present. The F-14 has been a big buzz at school that past summer term - I think Airfix has released their swing-wing kit - and now I has actually seen two, and one even flew; I was going to be a hero back at school in September! :p

1979, 25th anniversary of the Herc, what a line up, yet now quite a feature I think.

Just before the 1980 event, a very low Bronco circled our school near Godalming - I helpfully waved and pointed the rough direction to Newbury, whereupon it straightened up and flew off that way - Good old USAF, lost again, I like to think I helped! :}

Yep, moved to Fairford for 1985 (Dak's 50th - sadly only a dozen or so!) - I made it there each year until 1994, but it wasn't the same, too big, too crowded.

[wub]

Happy memories indeed, I made it many of the late 70s and early 80s shows and was also involved in the inter-service gliding championships that were held there in - I think - 1979.

One notable participant at those IATs was Major 'Boy' Soons in the RNLAF F-27, whose display was quite incredible.

In its latter years it was starting to get unwieldy and wasn't spectator friendly, with large marquees and flagpoles littering the crowd line.

This is the last time I saw Greenham, just as they started to dig up the runway.

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[BEagle]

Unfortunately I never attended IAT at Greenham Common - my only contact with the aerodrome had been in September 1971 during IF training. We requested a GCA, but it was refused on the grounds of 'noise abatement'.....

Presumably the Yanks didn't know what a Chipmunk was...:hmm:

So we went to RAF Andover instead.

Flatiron, who occasionally peruses PPRuNe, was once the RAF Stn Cdr at Greenham Common - he used to be very courteous towards 'his ladies' as he termed the smellies - and they really didn't know how to take that!

I think that RIAT is really rather on borrowed time. Too much corporate schmoozing and loss of focus towards its heyday attributes. If you're invited to a corporate 'do', never say you're available on the Friday - that's the 'also rans' day. Only agree to a Saturday or Sunday invite!!

[KeMac]

If I remember correctly 1983 was the year of the tribute to Sir Douglas Bader and Lady Bader paid the objects at the "Peace" Camp a visit asking them if they would not disrupt the show as her late husband had fought for people like them to be able to have their protests. However as seen by the paint attack they did not have the decency to keep their word. The SR-71 stayed a couple of days after the show departing on the tuesday or wednesday although I did have the pleasure of seeing it heading over my garden after take-off.

[Wycombe]

It's a sad place these days Greenham (from an aviation perspective) although very popular as a place for a wander, bike ride, dog walk or horse ride these days.

If you had taken a wander around FL you would have found that the Cruise Missile site on the SW corner of the airfield is still pretty much intact (and is likely to stay that way, as far as I know) although a bit dilapidated, and the centre intersection of the runway has been retained.

Not so long ago on a ride around the site, I easily found the former location of the PAPI's at the eastern end of the runway, 4 sets of thick black cables sticking out of the ground, looking like the units they used to feed had only just been ripped out.

Thought-provoking to think that the place could have been the answer to the much talked about shortage of runway capacity in the SE of England (with a motorway, trunk roads and a main line railway all within fairly close proximity).

[Art Smass]

My only visit to Greenham was the 1981 IAT "Sea Search" which I attended with my girlfriend at the time (now my wife of 25 years).

Fond memories of the RCAF Starfighter "Sound of Freedom" team and a special display by a USAF F15.

Sad to see the place in disrepair
:{:{

[Lukeafb1]

I’ve lived in the Newbury area for many years and can document the saga from the time U.S. airmen in uniform were a very common sight in the town, through the moronic ‘women’ and their Peace Camp, to the industrial mess, Greenham is now.

As someone has already said, but for the shortsightedness of Newbury District Council, Greenham could now be a major international airport for the south of England. What was the longest runway in the south (possibly in Britain) and with space to extend with very little disruption, 3 miles from the M4 motorway (but now linked by the Newbury By-Pass), one mile from Newbury mainline railway station (45 minutes to Paddington) etc., etc. The word ‘jobsworths’ comes to mind! :ugh::ugh:

[chevvron]

It was a 'standard NATO' 10,000ft (3048m) runway same as Brize, Fairford and Boscombe and a few more up north. Both Heathrow and Gatwick are longer.
I agree it would make a superb civil airport had the runway not been dug up.

[kluge]

1983 the year before University - fond memories of Ruth :)

I was at this airshow with my older brother and his new wife.

I recall the SR71 but without the grafiti so it must have been on the Saturday.

Does anyone remember the TR-1 (U2) that was also displayed?
I recall a very loud take-off, somewhat unexpectedly, which is probably why I remember it.

Found a youtoob clip of the event - hopefully the mods won't remove it.
TR-1 at Greenham Common International Air Tattoo 1983 - YouTube


Great day.

[Lightning Mate]

I have a reason to remember the 1976 IAT of which nobody here could ever dream or has ever achieved..............

[razorrawe]

I have lived in the newbury area for 41 years it was a great shame that Greenham was turned back to common land this airfield was one of the reasons for my intrest in aviation i can remember sitting watching the USAF replacing a engine on a C5A Galaxy through the fence must have been about 1984 happy days

[D120A]

OK Lightning Mate, I'll bite. Tell us either the aeronautical first, or the lady's name.:E

[treadigraph]

Lightming Mate, if it will stop next door's **** of a dog yapping, I'll believe anything...

[B Fraser]

I landed at Greenham a few years ago on the remains of the Southerly runway in a balloon which was able to pull up in the short distance available. While the runway was short etc. etc. etc. :ok: Bimbling around the area in a balloon is rather fun and a number of hard stands in the surrounding woods remind you of the purpose of the site.

The outline of the old runway does make a fantastic line feature for aeros while flying something rather more sporty.

[wayoutwest]

hi all.i was at the IAT83 as a bus driver on the open top buses that toured the display area for photographers.i was with a mate when his bus was hit by the wing of a german navel aircraft which damaged the fuel pod on the a/c and the railings on the bus.it was a great tattoo with fond memories.my mate who drove that bus a couple of weeks earlier had been sat at traffic lights when a large transporter with a boat on it had collided with his bus as it made a turn so in the space off a couple of weeks his bus had collided with an aircraft and a boat not bad and at no fault of his own.:ok:

[BEagle]

....so in the space off a couple of weeks his bus had collided with an aircraft and a boat not bad and at no fault of his own.

I hope he steered clear of any level crossings!

[Lightning Mate]

D120A and treadigraph.

I have answered your questions only by PM. :)

[Will Hung]

Greenham Common '83 - great memories !

Drove down on the saturday evening in my jade green mk 2 escort with my best mate (Still is) drinking Woodpecker cider and smoking stuff. Stopped on the M4 hardshoulder for a p, started walking down the grass a slipped in something someone had left before me ! Threw the shoes away and went round in my socks rest of the weekend.

Pitched tent very near the protesters. Only had 1 of the end poles for the tent, so it looked a bit strange ! The protesters were ok in fairness, a bit mis-guided maybe.

Following morning, parked the car almost on the viewing line. (Remember those days ?)

Toilets were trenches dug for the purpose. Imagine the outcry that such a potential environmental catastrophe would cause now. No queues though.

So many Phantoms ! Probably more than our entire "Air Force" now. One name I remember in particular was Phil Dwyer posing in front of his F4 with his very 80's moustache ! Wonder what he's up to now ?

I vaguely remember some Dutch starfighters, some with lady pilots in orange flying suits. (Might have got this one a bit confused)

Seem to remember the show coming to an end with a display by the latest Qantas 747, flown by Chris someone, straight out of LHR and heading back far east afterwards. What a treat for the pax.

Great days !

[bobward]

I did my first Greenham show in 1976, driving there and back in a day. Twenty fifth anniversary of the Hunter, all those 1776-1976 painted US aircraft.....:D

I've been back to every show since, both there and now at Fairford. Nowadays, my wife and I enjoy a couple of days in the Cotwolds as a bit of a bonus.

I agree with other posters that the early magic has gone. Then again, with the huge reduction in military aircraft in Europe anyway, the rot was bound to set in. If any of the IAT team are on site, thank you for the sheer magic you laid on in the early days. We'll never see the like of that again.:D:D:D:ok:

One of the advantages of being an old spotter is that we can bore the young spotters with 'I remember seeing.....' Enjoy it all whilst you can folks, it may not be around for much longer.

[pr00ne]

Lukeafb1 and Wycombe,



Greenham a major airport? I think not. Look at a map. Off one end of the main runway you have Newbury, off the other end you have the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, and the whole place is built on a quite delightful common. It would be a ghastly place to have any kind of airport.

As far as the AWRE goes, I do recall in the early to mid seventies when they were considering holding a jet aerobatic competition there the rush from Eastern European teams to enter was a tad embarrassing!

[KeMac]

pr00ne

Actually the bulk of Newbury lies to the NW of the runway line. When the Americans moved out, there was only Tescos and the Hilton Hotel which were fairly recent developments then. All the development since then has been since the place closed for good. The nearest housing was a mile and a half away at the top of Andover Road where Wash Common starts and whilst there is housing there, neither is a particularly heavily built up area. All the land to the right of an aircraft then landing along the Monk's Lane axis was open countryside to the south of Monk's Lane. The bulk of housing to the east of Heathrow is far worse. Whilst there is an argument about Aldermaston, it is four to five miles away, not "off the end of the runway".

[Lukeafb1]

Thank you KeMac.

It saved me writing almost the same reply to Pr00ne.

Greenham was the subject of (I believe) a Green Paper by the Government some 20 years ago, when the possibility of converting Greenham was very real indeed.

As an afterthought KeMac, I think that Aldermaston is about 6 or 7 miles away!!

[teeteringhead]

I recall the 1979 IAT (no R then I think) which was indeed the 25th Anniversary of the Herc. Although a display pilot, I was "staticking" only for that one - which meant no flying from Friday to Monday ...:E

Hercs from 25 different Air Forces, including Israel - who brought one of their Entebbe aircraft (complete with BDR!); RNZAF who won the Concour d'Elegance (unsurprisingly - I've never seen polished brake pipes before or since) and a Middle Eastern country (Iran? Iraq?) whose crew and many families/hangers on/groupies - departed for London in a fleet of hire cars on Friday to return on Monday....

And then there was the midnight swimming in Hungerford with Harriet the barmaid (aka Mad Hattie) from the hotel we were in. Never did work out whether it was in the River (Kennet? Dun?) or the Canal (Kennet & Avon?) - but it was just behind the hotel ..... :E

Happy days on the display circuit ......

[Will Hung]

Enjoy it all whilst you can folks, it may not be around for much longer.

Agree with that unfortunate sentiment Bob

Unless of course HM Government privatise it !! Now there's a thought.

Hike up the entrance prices big-time, give the RAFBF nothing, slap a £2 tax on every burger (Making them close to £7), entice people with flash advertising (through tiers of agencies of course), once they're in, tell 'em all they're going to see a couple of Cherokees and a Cessna or 2. Job done !

Imagine how many tiers of middle-men and lawyers you could pay. And if they really got it right, they'd be left with a few million of debt !

Keep smiling !

[Genghis the Engineer]

I fly over it quite regularly, and have done ever since it closed.

I agree that it would be a poor site for an international airport. Putting a small - say 800x30m runway in the middle of there however would make a fantastic local flying club airfield.

Until that happy day, all the local flying clubs will keep using it for PFLs and navexes !

G

[Wycombe]

Indeed so Genghis and I recall a couple of years back during Farnborough/Fairford week, observing a B1 transitting between the two taking a fairly close look at Greenham.

Take the point made by others re. AWE, it is 4nm E right on the extended centreline of the westerly runway :eek:

Leaving that aside, the number of logistics/distribution operations that have and will set up on Greenham Park (the industrial site based on the south-side of the old airfield) testify to it's good transport links. Part of the place looks like a dockside at the moment, with stacked shipping containers covering quite a large area.

[ATTAKKDOG]

I know it is an old thread... but I was just telling someone about my trips to Greenham - the first being during the '83 tattoo - and why I had to stay there for a while longer thanks to the army and yank SP failing to stop some silly doris from chucking paint all over the nice kite - so I thought I'd look it up - and found this thread. As far as I am aware we (a detachment of RAF Police doghandlers from various units around the country) were only going to be there over the air tattoo weekend. This stay was extended thanks to the feeble security provided by the hosts and the army personnel. I ended up underneath the SR-71 for a few nights which weren't the most exciting times of my life. I also got struck by lightning whilst on patrol later that month on the main drag whoopee...
It's nice to read the viewpoints of the jockeys... ;)

[Curious Pax]

Having been to a couple of previous Tattoos as a regular visitor, I had the pleasure of visiting the '83 event by air on the Friday. I was doing a week's work experience at NEA at Manchester, and spent most of the week helping out a guy who had recently joined as pilot/marketing bod. He was assigned to take the boss and his wife down to Greenham for the day, and kindly asked them if they minded me tagging along, which they didn't. I assume that Friday was validation day, as most things seemed to display while we were there, which I watched from a marquee on the active side of the runway. Arrival there was an experience - bumbling along on finals in an Aztec with a C130 bearing down on us, and something small and fast behind that.

My brother wasn't best pleased - he had gone down on the train at stupid o'clock in the morning to get there, while I hadn't intended going at all - I only found out I was when I got to work at 9 that morning. I still got there before he did, though being before mobile phones I wasn't able to tell him until he got home late that night!

[Kieron Kirk]

Ah, Greenham Common.

My first visit on the 29th August 1970.

Having attended the "Armed Forces Day" at Upper Heyford, it transpired that some interesting a/c were to be seen at EGVI.

O/S map No.158 appeared to show a very minor road north of the runway which I approached from the Newbury end. A very obvious "no through road" sign did not deter me and I was pleased to see two MC-130.E Hercules from Det.2/!.SOW, Pope AFB, North Carolina, five C-123.K Providers from 319SOS/1.SOW, Hurlburt Field, Florida and a U-10.A Super Courier also from 319SOS/1.SOW. To complete the day a C-47.A Skytrain from 7ACS, Sembach(I think), FRG.

At the end of the long road north of the runway another "no through road" sign, which was clearly intended to deter the curious onlookers as the road was clearly not a no through road!

Kieron.

[gopher01]

The winning Herc at the 25th anniversary was the Australian Herc which was on its delivery flight from Lockheeds to Aussie which is why it was in such good nick, a little unfair I always thought. The most poular Herc at that display was the 47 Sqn Herc as through their link with Guiness ( 47 have a Toucan as part of the Squadron badge and Guiness have long used a Toucan as part of their advertising) A place for refreshment ( BAR )was set up in the back of their aircraft open to all the Herc establishment. And how do I know this, because at the time of that show I was a Herc ground Engineer and was invited in to partake by the crew.
I helped with the IAT at Greenham from the first one where I helped another SNCO from Lyneham, Sam Salter, lay out the aircraft parking aid for the display, this consisted of a big, and I mean big, sheet of metal hung on a wall in the control room painted to scale with the runways, taxiways and dispersals to which were attached by magnets scale aircraft so the parking plan could be worked out. All very high tech but this was rather a long time ago.
After that I worked as part of an aircraft handling party for the period of the show, very interesting working with all the different aircraft operators with far too many stories to relate here, although taxying a F111 from the side of a sloping dispersal where its tail was pointed at some display tents which it promptly blew into the air as a hefty application of throttle was applied to get it moving was one of the more repeatable!
I still have the IAT tie that all the helpers were given at the end of that weekend, it was a great time , a good time was had by all.

[spook]

LM, Were you flying a JP5?

[chevvron]

One year, the theme at Greenham IAT was the Hunter. As we had several at Farnborough, one was detailed to go there. A Wessex was to take ground locks and engine blanks etc and I scrounged a ride along with some of the Farnborough aircrew.
On arrival, we were parked on a pan with other helicopters and one of the Farnborough pilots explained what our 'cargo' was to one of the USAF ground handlers; his reaction was to call out 'hey Hank, y'wanna take this pile of **** over to the green Hunter.'
I wandered around the parked aircraft with a couple of Farnborough pilots and we came across an S3 with a message written on the nose in felt tip 'make this aircraft nice and pretty for the limeys'. One of my companions had a felt tip, and he wrote 'this aircraft will never look pretty'.
PS. He later became OC Flying at Boscombe Down.

[Mr Oleo Strut]

As the wind now whistles over Greenham's empty acres and echoes round the big open spaces so forlorn and neglected, it's impossible for those who were not present to know the magical qualities of the IATs once held there. Memory often flushes away the ordinary just leaving the exceptional but I don't think anything will ever come near to replicating the pleasure of those amazing air displays. For a couple of quid extra we used to sit all day in the stands right next to the runway and revel in all the sights, sounds and smells of those fantastic events. The noise was like the clap of doom, and with just a bag of sandwiches and a few cans of pop, we used to go home after eight hours or so of flying, with ears ringing. And the static lines were amazing, you could get so close and talk to the aircrews. Others have referred to the C130 Hercules and Hunter meets. Fantastic! The commercial side alone was worth the entrance fee, but often we just didn't have time to see that much of it. We tried Fairfird and Farnborough a couple of times later but they were never the same.

[Allan Lupton]

There was a time in the 1970s, before it became a Peace Camp, when Greenham Common was used as a circuit for car sprints. It was a very fast course.
We used the East end of the airfield starting on the southern taxiway heading West to a rightangle right-hander into a cross-taxiway - both were so wide the corner was on at 100 m.p.h. in a fast car, then another 100 m.p.h. rightangle turn onto the runway heading East followed by the 80 m.p.h. hairpin bend back onto the slightly swerving taxiway back to the start. Those speeds were for Maurice Gates in his TVR Tuscan - I and my friends in our Daimler SP250s were a bit slower, but I still saw over 120 m.p.h. on the main runway.

[vanleeuh]

I was the USAF Communications Squadron Commander from 1985 to 1988 at RAF Greenham and considered it the best assignment of a 26yr career. Greenham also is a very fond memory for my father who was a B-47 pilot who was there several times during the 50's and 60's. The picture of the control tower is somewhat sad in its condition especially since the facility came under my squadron and the air traffic controllers worked for me. I am happy to see it is listed as a historical facility and is up for sale with the hope that some group or individual obtains it and restores it to represent the long history and partnership between the US and Great Britain at this wonderful location.

[chevvron]

There was a time in the 1970s, before it became a Peace Camp, when Greenham Common was used as a circuit for car sprints. It was a very fast course.
We used the East end of the airfield starting on the southern taxiway heading West to a rightangle right-hander into a cross-taxiway - both were so wide the corner was on at 100 m.p.h. in a fast car, then another 100 m.p.h. rightangle turn onto the runway heading East followed by the 80 m.p.h. hairpin bend back onto the slightly swerving taxiway back to the start. Those speeds were for Maurice Gates in his TVR Tuscan - I and my friends in our Daimler SP250s were a bit slower, but I still saw over 120 m.p.h. on the main runway.
Got a feeling either Sydney Allard in his dragster or Alfie Hagon on his drag bike did record attempts there in the mid '60s.

[chevvron]

I was the USAF Communications Squadron Commander from 1985 to 1988 at RAF Greenham and considered it the best assignment of a 26yr career. Greenham also is a very fond memory for my father who was a B-47 pilot who was there several times during the 50's and 60's. The picture of the control tower is somewhat sad in its condition especially since the facility came under my squadron and the air traffic controllers worked for me. I am happy to see it is listed as a historical facility and is up for sale with the hope that some group or individual obtains it and restores it to represent the long history and partnership between the US and Great Britain at this wonderful location.
I can remember vectoring C23 Sherpas into Greenham in the '80s, although Farnborough wasn't the designated unit to do that, Boscombe Down were.
Then there was the time we handled 2 x C141s inbound. One said to the other 'is the TACAN operating yet?'
'Nope' said the other one.
'How'd ya know that?' said the first one.
'Cos I got it in the back of me' said the second one!!