RAF Brize Norton
 | RAF VC-10 |
| |
|
A No. 216 Squadron Tristar |
RAF Brize Norton in
Oxfordshire, about 50 miles west of
London,
England,
United Kingdom, is the largest airbase of the
Royal Air Force. It is home to the RAF's heavy transport
aircraft, the
C-17 Globemaster, and its
Tristar and
Vickers VC-10 tankers. It is situated close to the Oxfordshire villages of
Brize Norton and
Carterton.
RAF Brize Norton was opened in 1937 as a training base. By the 1950s
Cold War tension was escalating and the United States envisaged stationing nuclear bombers in the United Kingdom as a deterrent to Soviet aggression.
By 1950 the
USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) was based at
RAF Lakenheath,
RAF Marham and
RAF Sculthorpe. The increasing tension of the
Cold War led to a re-evaluation of these deployments and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to Brize Norton,
RAF Greenham Common,
RAF Upper Heyford and
RAF Fairford. As with the other stations it occupied, SAC invested heavily in extending the runway (6,000 ft to 9,000 ft), taxiways and dispersals, as well as constructing accommodation and weapons handling facilities. This work was completed in April 1951.
The first major USAF deployment was that of 21 Convair
B-36 Peacemaker bombers in June 1952. B-29s and KB-29s were based at Brize Norton on Temporary Duty from December 1952 to April 1953.
In September 1953
B-47E Stratojet 6-engined bombers deployed to Brize Norton accompanied by KC-97G boom equipped tankers and were based there until 1955 when repair work began on the runways. B-47 Stratojets returned in July 1957. Later deployments included
KC-97 and
KC-135 tankers and the first
B-58 and
B-52B bombers to land in the UK.
Return of RAF
In 1965 the RAF returned to Brize Norton and both
10 Squadron and
53 Squadron moved from
RAF Fairford in May 1967.
10 Squadron reformed in 1966 with the
Vickers VC-10 C1, a RAF version which was a standard VC-10 with the Super VC-10 wings, tailplane and engine as well as a strengthened floor. 14 were produced. On
14 October 2005 10 Squadron was disbanded, the aircrew and aircraft were merged with 101 Squadron.
53 Squadron operated the
Short Belfast C1 heavy lift turboprop freighter until it was disbanded in 1976.
In 1970 two squadrons
99 Squadron and
511 Squadron operating the
Bristol Britannia moved from
RAF Lyneham. Both squadrons were disbanded in 1976.
In 1976
115 Squadron moved from
RAF Cottesmore operating the
Hawker Siddeley Andover in the radar calibration role. The squadron moved out to
RAF Benson in 1983.
101 Squadron reformed at Brize Norton on
May 1 1984, it previously operated the
Avro Vulcan and paricipated in the
Operation Blackbuck missions of the
Falklands War. 101 Sqn flew converted civil VC-10s, heavily modified and updated by
British Aerospace for military service between 1983 and 1993. Of the 39 airline aircraft acquired by the RAF, 13 were converted, while the remainders were used for spare parts.
Following the Falklands War the RAF found itself lacking in the strategic transport capabilities required to sustain the expanded military presence there. As a result
216 Squadron was reformed at Brize Norton in November 1984, initially flying six ex-British Airways Tristars, followed by three from
Pan-Am.
On
May 23 2001 the RAF's first C-17 arrived at Brize Norton, one of four to be delivered to
99 Squadron.
On
September 19 2005 Brize Norton was closed as part of a major upgrade project. Now reopened, the runway has been resurfaced [runway length: 10007 ft] and new ground lighting and equipment installed to meet Category II operation standards, the first RAF airfield to receive this designation. Rotary Hydraulic Arrestor Gear has also been installed to allow Brize Norton to become the Military Emergency Diversion Airfield for the southern UK, as part of the plans to close the current one at
RAF Lyneham.
Peace camp and protest
Unlike many UK military bases (eg.
Fairford,
Faslane Naval Base,
RAF Lakenheath,
Menwith Hill) RAF Brize Norton has not been subject to many peace demonstrations despite its pivotol role in conflicts that Britain has been involved in.
During the second Iraq war four anti-war protesters did prevent British planes carrying troops to Iraq from taking off for several hours.
From
21 April to
25 April 2005, a peace camp took place, as well as the first ever demonstration in Carterton, where the base is situated.
With the arrival of the Globemaster (C-17 in
USAF service) and the future
Airbus A400M the base has an assured future. Following the closure of the home of the
Lockheed C-130 Hercules,
RAF Lyneham the RAF's transport fleet will be further consolidated at Brize Norton.
The RAF's
Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft, currently envisaged to be a fleet of
Airbus A330 MRTTs, will be based at Brize Norton. This aircraft will replace the VC-10 and Tristar fleets.
Squadrons
*
No. 99 Squadron RAF -
C-17 Globemaster*
No. 101 Squadron RAF -
VC-10 C1(K), K3 & K4*
No. 216 Squadron RAF -
Tristar K1, KC1 & C2Lodger Units
*
Tactical Communications Wing RAF - A formed Support unit suppling Rearlink Satellite Communications, mobile telephone networks and mobile Tactical radios.
*
Joint Air Transport Evaluation Unit (JATEU) - A tri-service unit that tests and evaluates air transportation methods.
*
List of RAF stations*
Oxford Airport*
RAF Brize Norton*
"Gateway" - the magazine of RAF Brize Norton*
www.globalsecurity.org*
BBC News:
Jobs to go at principal RAF base *
www.raf.mod.uk: No 101 Squadron*
www.raf.mod.uk: RAF Brize Norton Runway Resurfacing Begins
