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RAF/USAF Upper Heyford
Drove through the old base yesterday and a huge amount of houses being built on the opposite side of the base but still razor wire around all the old runway side. What exactly goes on there militarily wise these days?
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Nothing.
Entire site sold off many years ago and owned by a multitude of commercial interests. |
Some of the companies on the air side are very conscious of the history of the place, and sympathetic to its conservation. A couple of hangars have been refurbished and the WOC/QRA are fascinating to have a look at - the WOC still has elements of the final days FlyPro on the boards....
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Did my Police driving cse there 2002. Most of the site was covered in new cars and I was told the HAS's were being similarly used. TVP also had a public order dept there.
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Guess it was not worth the cost of dismantling the approach lights which are still in position.
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SH use it for training now and again
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A couple of the HASs are scheduled national monuments too.
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My abiding memory of Upoer Heyford was being caught in the wake of a B-47 whilst doing my PPL. I think I may have blundered into their departure lane doing a solo x-country :=
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Grew up near there aged 7 to 18. Great memories of the following eras:
- early 1960s: SAC standby base: with a regular 4 x KC-135 Det and an occasional EB-47E. - 1966-1968: 66 TRW with the RF-101C Voodoo (came from France). - 1970 onwards: 20 TFW moved in from RAF Wethersfield initially with the F-100D/F and in September 1970 received the first F-111E - I was riding home on the school bus when the first 2 broke into the circuit on arrival - they looked so advanced (and large) compared to any other tactical fighter at the time. - 20 TFW built up to 3 x 24-aircraft F-111E sqns and, from 1983, an EF-111A sqn was added. - Most weekends, it was not uncommon for 4-20 x F-4 and/or F-104G to visit providing endless J-79 noise entertainment on landing, take-off or in the circuit. - Det 2 of 40 ARRW operated 2 x HH-43B/F Huskie in the firefighting & crash/rescue role and were often flying in the area to / from RAF Croughton. - The F-111E maintained nuclear QRA. - Eventually the base acquired all the trappings of a NATO hardened base with WOC, AWOC, SOFs, HASs, HBFIs, HPSs, HESs and conventional weapons igloos augmenting the original SAC SSA and conventional ESA. It was one of the first NATO MOBs to get a Hardened Avionics Centre. - Great air shows most years too with attendees from many NATO air forces. Such a shame to see it all go ! For anyone who is interested, here is a website maintained by former serving USAF personnel who have fond memories of their time there - lots of great photos encapsulating life on the front-line during the Cold War era: RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. The place was a great inspiration to me as a kid - a few years later, I was living the dream at some of the nearest equivalents (ie latest jet + HASs) the RAF could offer (albeit on a much smaller scale) at Laarbruch then Wildenrath. |
In better days
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I never visited this base until about 10 years ago I decided to come off the M42 and have a peek around - it was odd though that I knew what the place looked like from reading the USAFE Yearbooks they used to publish in the 1980's.
Must have been a hive of activity. |
I fly over UH alot, here are some photos...shame we can't fly there!
I remember growning up in Brackley wactching f1-11 flying around. https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=996...r%20heyford%20 |
Did not someone around this forum mention that the HAS's were in one shape or form still under NATO administration/ inspection/maintenance along those lines??
I also like to recommend by (Feb 1990) a good photobook like all the SUPERBASE titles - , the shots of F-111 E and EF-111A are superb considering the author did his work in the harsh autumn. Mate of mine who flies GA from Turweston flew over UH a few years back and was slightly surprised to see a white twin prop parked on the former base itself ...unless it was some pilot (student or otherwise ) doing PFA for LPC Bar the cars on one side of the runway and the JHC use it occasionally - any future mil use potentially? Well Croughton's across the other side of the M40 :mad: Cheers |
Last time I was there I helped smash a piano and pass the pieces through a toilet seat.
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chopper2004,
"...HAS's were in one shape or form still under NATO administration/ inspection/maintenance along those lines??" Nope, all sold off to commercial interests years ago. The military doesn't even maintain for use HAS's that it has on bases it still occupies, let alone ones on bases long ago sold off. |
A while back I was working with a USAF Colonel who served there as a Captain on F1-11s. He said it was an awesome responsibility to sit on QRA(N) (or what ever the USAF equivalent of Nuclear stanby was) and his aircraft equated to the 5 largest nuclear power in the world. Perhaps a degree of hyperbole, but nonetheless what a responsibility for a young man still in his 20s.
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"Victor Alert" - QRA(N), HASs & Weapon Storage Igloos
Here are a few more bits of information from my own recollection plus a few internet finds.
This is a historic description of NATO QRA(N) at RS15 by 20 TFW, from 1952 to 1986, which in USAFE was known as "Victor Alert". Interestingly, Gen McPeak - former USAF COS - states in a book that as a Capt on F-100s in 1962 his primary target was Peenamunde which was a fighter base at the time [by the way well worth a visit if you're ever over that way]. http://www.shaw.af.mil/news/story_pr...p?id=123245332 During air shows in the pre-HAS era, the QRA compound for F-111Es was clearly visible and comprised open alert barns [similar to those for Canberra BI(8)s in RAFG] and I'm pretty sure they carried 1 x B-61 on an underwing pylon (certainly something cylindrical / shiny / streamlined in natural metal) and they could carry additional B-61s in the internal weapons bay. I believe there were up to 6 aircraft on alert at any one time. I don't know if they transferred to HASs later. Surprisingly, I also found this. It is a copy of AFI 91-112 dated 10 Jan 94 Safety Rules for US Strike Aircraft. For those familiar with the former UK procedures for Buccaneer, Jaguar and Tornado, there are some interesting comparisons to be made as to the acceptability of certain options when so ordered by the relevant MAJCOM (which I won't elaborate on here). http://www.bits.de/NRANEU/others/END...91-112(94).pdf The unhardened QRA(N) compound had 9 x alert barns in a secure compound with a large, soft dormitory-type building. Each set of 3 x barns was served by a single gate with no alternate taxy pattern to exit. See "VA" to east of the Tower on this plan: http://www.raf-upper-heyford.org/Aer...htlinechgB.jpg You can also see from the plan that, unlike the RAF who nationally funded HASs at 1 per AE above 70%, it would appear that the USAF just made do with the qty required for 70% which was funded by NATO [qty 51 is 70% of 3 x 24 AE rounded up]. When the NATO funded conventional weapon storage igloos were put in, a staggering qty 52 were built [bottom left in this photo]. That's quite a few reloads ! http://www.raf-upper-heyford.org/Aer..._July_2004.jpg |
Glancing at these pics I never realised how big this base was or how much infrastructure it had...
Also amused by a pic on an URBEX forum that one of the dorms had a fully furnished bedroom they must have forgot from 1994. |
F1-11 F-111 not F1-11 F-111 not F1-11 etc. etc. |
Also BAC 111 not BAC 1-11!
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