RAF Lakenheath
Encyclopedia
RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 military airbase near Lakenheath
Lakenheath
Lakenheath is a village in Suffolk, England. It has around 8,200 residents, and is situated in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk, close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and at the meeting point of the The Fens and the Breckland natural environments.Lakenheath is host...

 in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, England. Although an RAF station
RAF station
A Royal Air Force station is a permanent Royal Air Force operations location. Many RAF stations are aerodromes, or airbases, being the home to one or more flying squadrons. Other RAF stations are training units, administrative units, headquarters , or carry out ground-based operational tasks...

, it hosts United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 units and personnel. The host wing is the 48th Fighter Wing
48th Fighter Wing
The 48th Fighter Wing is part of the United States Air Force Third Air Force, assigned to HQ Air Command Europe, and is based at RAF Lakenheath, England. The 48 FW is the only F-15 wing based in Europe...

(48 FW), also known as the Liberty Wing, assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe
United States Air Forces in Europe
The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...

 (USAFE).

48th Fighter Wing

The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name. Since activation at Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base, France, on 10 July 1952, Liberty Wing has been one of the premier fighter wings of the United States Air Forces in Europe
United States Air Forces in Europe
The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...

, spending more than over 50 years as part of USAFE. The 48 FW has nearly 5,700 active-duty military members, 2,000 British and U.S. civilians, and includes a Geographically Separate Unit
Geographically Separate Unit
Geographically Separate Unit is a United States military term describing a base that is physically separated from, yet not autonomous of its "parent" base. GSUs are "owned" by their parent organization and are typically quite small....

 (GSU) at nearby RAF Feltwell
RAF Feltwell
RAF Feltwell is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, East Anglia that is currently used by the United States Air Forces Europe. The station is located about 10 miles west of Thetford, and is in the borough of King's Lynn at approximate Ordnance Survey grid reference .A former Second World War...

.

Tactical squadrons of the 48th Operations Group are:
  • 492d Fighter Squadron
    492d Fighter Squadron
    The 492d Fighter Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:The 492d FS is a combat-ready F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States...

     (F-15E)
  • 493d Fighter Squadron
    493d Fighter Squadron
    The 493d Fighter Squadron , nicknamed "The Grim Reapers", is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:...

     (F-15C/D)
  • 494th Fighter Squadron
    494th Fighter Squadron
    The 494th Fighter Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:The 494th FS is a combat-ready F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States...

     (F-15E)


Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".

In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle
F-15E Strike Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle is an all-weather multirole fighter, derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. United States Air Force F-15E Strike...

 and F-15C Eagle
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...

 fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron
56th Rescue Squadron
The 56th Rescue Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England. It operates HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft conducting search and rescue missions.-History:...

's HH-60G
HH-60 Pave Hawk
The Sikorsky MH-60G/HH-60G Pave Hawk is a twin turboshaft engine helicopter in service with the United States Air Force. It is a derivative of the UH-60 Black Hawk and incorporates the US Air Force PAVE electronic systems program...

 Combat Search and Rescue helicopters.

RAF Lakenheath, and nearby, RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...

, are the two main U.S. Air Force-operated bases in United Kingdom, and 48th Fighter Wing is the only U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) F-15 fighter wing.

History

The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

 airfield was in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area. It appears to have been little used, and was abandoned when peace came in 1918.

World War II

In 1940, the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...

 selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...

 and was used as a decoy airfield. False lights, runways and aircraft diverted Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

 attacks from Mildenhall.

Hard runways were put down with the main runway, 05/23, being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries, 12/30 at 1,300 yards and 17/35 at 1,400 yards. Another 100 yards was added to runway 17/35. Hardstands for 36 aircraft were built, along with two T-2s and a B-1 hangar. One T-2 was on the technical site, the other hangars to the east across the A1065
A1065 road
The A1065 is a main road in the English region of East Anglia. It provides the principal road connection to parts of the west and north of the county of Norfolk from Newmarket and points south of there, including London...

 Mildenhall-Brandon road were reached by taxiways.

Lakenheath Airfield was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941. The station soon functioned as a Mildenhall satellite with Stirling
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...

 bombers of No. 149 Squadron RAF
No. 149 Squadron RAF
No. 149 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron between 1918 and 1956. Formed 1918 in the Royal Flying Corps as a night-bomber unit, it remained in that role for the rest of its existence which spanned three periods between 1918 and 1956.-World War I:...

 dispersed from the parent airfield as conditions allowed. The squadron exchanged its Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...

s for Stirlings late in 1941. After becoming fully operational with its new aircraft, the squadron moved into Lakenheath in April 1942 and remained until 1944.

Taking part in more than 350 operations, more than half mine-laying, 149 Squadron had one of the lowest percentage loss rates of all Stirling squadrons. One Stirling pilot, Flight Sergeant Rawdon Middleton, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

 for valour on the night of November 28–29, 1942 when despite serious face wounds from shell-fire during a raid on Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 and loss of blood, he brought the damaged aircraft back southern England. With fuel nearly exhausted his crew were ordered to bail out. Middleton was killed when the Stirling, BF372 OJ-H, crashed into the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

.

In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders
Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...

 being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.

In June 1943, No. 199 Squadron RAF
No. 199 Squadron RAF
No. 199 Squadron was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron that operated during the second world war and later in the 1950s as a radar countermeasures squadron.-History:...

 was established as a second Stirling squadron. Commencing operations on 31 July, it laid mines during the winter of 1943-44. At the end of April 1944, after 68 operations, the squadron transferred to No. 100 Group RAF
No. 100 Group RAF
No. 100 Group was a special duties group within RAF Bomber Command.It was formed on 11 November 1943 to consolidate the increasingly complex business of electronic warfare and countermeasures within one organisation. The group was responsible for the development, operational trial and use of...

 for bomber support, moving to RAF North Creake
RAF North Creake
RAF North Creake was a world war two era RAF Heavy Bomber airfield located just to the north of the Norfolk medieval village of Egmere, five miles northwest of Fakenham.-Second World War usage:...

 in May 1944.

No. 149 Squadron ended its association with RAF Lakenheath the same month, taking its Stirlings to RAF Methwold
RAF Methwold
RAF Methwold was a Royal Air Force airfield in the west of the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom which operated during and after World War II.-History:...

. Between them, the two squadrons lost 116 Stirling bombers in combat while flying from Lakenheath.

The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield. Lakenheath was one of three RAF airfields being prepared to receive United States Army Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

es, which were tentatively planned to replace some of Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....

's Third Air Division B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

 groups in the spring of 1945.

The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete. The main at 07/25 was 3,000 yards long; the subsidiaries, 01/19 and 14/32, both 2,000 yards; all three being 100 yards wide. Part of the A1065 road between Brandon
Brandon, Suffolk
Brandon is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is in the Forest Heath local government district.Brandon is located in the Breckland area on the border of Suffolk with the adjoining county of Norfolk...

 and Mildenhall
Mildenhall, Suffolk
Mildenhall is a small market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is run by Forest Heath District Council and has a population of 9,906 people. The town is near the A11 and is located north-west of county town, Ipswich. The large Royal Air Force base, RAF Mildenhall as well as RAF...

 was closed, and a new section built further to the east on the Warren. During the peak period of construction, over 1,000 men were working on the site; yet instead of the 12 months planned, it took 18 months for the ground work alone and 2½ years before Lakenheath's transformation was complete. The cost was nearly £2 million.

By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.

United States Air Force use

Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 tensions with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 in Europe began as early as 1946. In November, President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

 ordered Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...

 B-29 bombers to RAF Burtonwood
RAF Burtonwood
RAF Burtonwood was a Royal Air Force station in England, 2 miles north-west of Warrington, Lancashire. During World War II and the Cold War it was used by the United States Air Force and was also known as USAAF station 590.- Overview :...

, and from there to various bases in West Germany as a "training deployment". In May 1947, additional B-29s were sent to the UK and Germany to keep up the presence of a training program. These deployments were only a cover-up, as the true aim of these B-29s were to have a strategic air force permanently stationed in Europe.

In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...

 returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.

Strategic Air Command

In response to the threat by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, by the 1948 Berlin blockade
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...

, President Truman decided to realign USAFE into a permanent combat-capable force. In July, B-29 Superfortresses of the SAC 2nd Bombardment Group were deployed to Lakenheath for a 90-day temporary deployment.

On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE. The first USAFE host unit at RAF Lakenheath was the 7504th Base Completion Squadron, being activated that date. The squadron was elevated to an Air Base Group (ABG) on 28 January 1950, and to a Wing (ABW) on 26 September 1950.

Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force
Third Air Force
The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....

 at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England. Third Air Force was subsequently placed directly under USAF orders, with Strategic Air Command establishing the 7th Air Division Headquarters at RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...

. The collocation of the two headquarters within the United Kingdom allowed HQ USAFE to discharge its responsibilities in England, while at the same time allowing Strategic Air Command to continue in its deterrent role while retaining operational control over flying activities at Lakenheath.

By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S. Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...

 in the UK, the others were RAF Marham
RAF Marham
Royal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....

 and RAF Sculthorpe
RAF Sculthorpe
RAF Sculthorpe is a military training facility for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, situated about west of Fakenham in Norfolk, England...

. A succession of bombardment squadrons and wings, 33 in all, rotated through Lakenheath, the B-29s giving way to the improved B-50 Superfortresses and then, in June 1954, B-47 Stratojets.

On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group. By 1952, high security perimeter fencing was erected for security. The 3909th moved to RAF Greenham Common
RAF Greenham Common
RAF Station Greenham Common is a former military airfield in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of Thatcham; about west of London....

 in 1954, and was replaced by the 3910th Air Base Group.

Known SAC units which deployed to RAF Lakenheath were:
  • 830th Bombardment Squadron (1 June 1949 - 21 August 1949) (B-50D)
    (TDY From the 509th Composite Group Walker AFB, New Mexico
    New Mexico
    New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

    )
  • 65th Bombardment Squadron (15 August 1949 - 15 November 1949) (B-50D)
    (TDY From the 43d Bombardment Wing Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona
    Arizona
    Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

    )
  • 33d Bombardment Squadron (20 November 1949 - 18 February 1950) (B-29)
    (TDY From the 22d Bombardment Wing March AFB, California
    California
    California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

    )
  • 96th Bombardment Squadron (22 February 1950 - 12 May 1950) (B-50D)
    (TDY From the 2d Bombardment Wing Hunter AFB
    Hunter Army Airfield
    Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart.Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet long and an aircraft parking area that is more than 350 acres...

    , Georgia
    Georgia (U.S. state)
    Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

    )
  • 301st Bombardment Wing (28 June 1950 - 28 November 1950) (B-29)
    (TDY From Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
    Louisiana
    Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

    )
  • 97th Bombardment Wing (15 March 1952 - 1 April 1952) (B-50D, KC-97)
    (TDY From Biggs AFB, Texas
    Texas
    Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

    )
  • 19th Bombardment Squadron (6 September 1951 - 13 December 1951) (B-29)
    (TDY From the 22d Bombardment Wing March AFB, California
    California
    California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

    )


The increasing tension of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....

, RAF Greenham Common
RAF Greenham Common
RAF Station Greenham Common is a former military airfield in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of Thatcham; about west of London....

, RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Upper Heyford was a Royal Air Force station located north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. The base was brought into use for flying in July 1918 by the Royal Flying Corps. During World War II it was used by many units of the RAF, mainly as a training...

 and RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England. It is a standby airfield, not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in...

, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...

.
  • 43d Air Refueling Squadron (21 March 1953 - 5 June 1953) (KC-97)
    (TDY From the 43d Bombardment Wing Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona
    Arizona
    Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

    )
  • 321st Bombardment Wing (9 December 1954 - 9 March 1955) (B-47, KC-97)
    (TDY From Pinecastle AFB
    McCoy Air Force Base
    With McCoy's closure as an active air force installation in 1975, the site was redeveloped and is known today as Orlando International Airport, which carries the airport code MCO .- History :...

    , Florida
    Florida
    Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

    )
  • 40th Bombardment Wing (9 June 1955 - 9 September 1955) (B-47, KC-97)
    (TDY From Schilling AFB
    Salina Municipal Airport
    Salina Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Salina, a city in Saline County, Kansas, United States. It is owned by the Salina Airport Authority....

    , Kansas
    Kansas
    Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

    )
  • 340th Bombardment Wing (14 September 1955 - 3 November 1955) (B-47, KC-97)
    (TDY From Whiteman AFB, Missouri
    Missouri
    Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

    )
  • 98th Bombardment Wing (12 November 1955 - 28 January 1956) (B-47, KC-97)
    (TDY From Lincoln AFB, Nebraska
    Nebraska
    Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

    )
  • Lakenheath Task Force (Provisional) (1 May 1955 - UNK) (RB/ERB-47H) (Electronic Reconnaissance and Countermeasures)
    (TDY From 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Forbes AFB, Kansas
    Kansas
    Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

    )
  • 509th Air Refueling Squadron (26 January 1956 - 30 April 1956) (KC-97)
    (TDY From Walker AFB, New Mexico
    New Mexico
    New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

    )
  • 307th Bombardment Wing (11 July 1956 - 5 October 1956) (B-47, KC-97)
    (TDY From Lincoln AFB, Nebraska
    Nebraska
    Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

    )


Many SAC Squadrons had aircraft at RAF Lakenheath on a transitotry basis without any recorded deployment to the base. For example in January 1951, a detachment of Convair RB-36D Peacemaker
Convair B-36
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated solely by the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston engine aircraft ever made. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built , although there have...

 intercontinental bombers from the 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Travis AFB, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 arrived for a few days, and various tanker and transport aircraft also made periodic appearances at the base. Several of the temporary detachments included in-flight refuelling tanker aircraft.

Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...

s were airlift
Airlift
Airlift is the act of transporting people or cargo from point to point using aircraft.Airlift may also refer to:*Airlift , a suction device for moving sand and silt underwater-See also:...

ed to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A. The first flight of the U-2 was on 21 May. The Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

 unit did not remain long, moving to Wiesbaden Air Base, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 on 15 June.

A near nuclear accident occurred on 27 July 1956 - when a B-47 bomber crashed into a storage igloo at Lakenheath containing three MK-6 nuclear weapons
Mark 6 nuclear bomb
The Mark 6 nuclear bomb was an American nuclear bomb based on the earlier Mark 4 nuclear bomb and its predecessor, the Mark 3 Fat Man nuclear bomb design.The Mark 6 was produced from 1951-1955 and saw service until 1962...

 while on a routine training mission. Although the bombs involved in the accident did not have their fissile cores installed, each of them carried about 8,000 pounds of high explosives as part of their trigger mechanism. The crash and ensuing fire did not ignite the high explosives and no denotation occurred. The damaged weapons and components were later returned to the Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...

. The B-47 involved in the accident, which killed four crewmen, was part of the 307th Bombardment Wing.

48th Fighter Wing

Following French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 President Charles de Gaulle's
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

 insistence in 1959 that all non-French nuclear-capable forces should be withdrawn from his country, the USAF began a redeployment of its North American F-100
F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...

-equipped units from France. The 48th TFW left its base at Chaumont AB, France on 15 January 1960, its aircraft arriving at Lakenheath that afternoon. When the first F-100D touched down on RAF Lakenheath's runway, the landing symbolized a return for the Statue of Liberty Wing. Almost 16 years had passed since the World War II Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....

 48th Fighter Group's arrival at RAF Ibsley
RAF Ibsley
RAF Station Ibsley is a former World War II airfield in Hampshire, England. The airfield is located near the village of Ibsley, approximately north of Ringwood; about southwest of London...

, England, for the D-Day invasion
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

.

In conjunction with this transfer, control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from Strategic Air Command back to USAFE. As SAC elements began their departure, the 3910th Air Base Group began its transition of handing RAF Lakenheath's facilities and real estate over to the 48th's Combat Support Group elements.

The tactical components of the 48th TFW upon arrival at Lakenheath were:
  • 492d Tactical Fighter Squadron
    492d Fighter Squadron
    The 492d Fighter Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:The 492d FS is a combat-ready F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States...

     (LR, blue colors)
  • 493d Tactical Fighter Squadron
    493d Fighter Squadron
    The 493d Fighter Squadron , nicknamed "The Grim Reapers", is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:...

     (LS, yellow colors)
  • 494th Tactical Fighter Squadron
    494th Fighter Squadron
    The 494th Fighter Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:The 494th FS is a combat-ready F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States...

     (LT, red colors)


The squadron markings consisted of alternating stripes across the tailfin in squadron colors, with a shadowed "V" shaped chevron on the nose. Starting in March 1970, squadron tail codes (shown above) were added when the aircraft went from a natural finish to a Southeast Asian camoflauge motif.

The period between 1972 and 1977 can be described as a five-year aircraft conversion. Beginning in late 1971, the 48th TFW started its conversion to the McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...

, with the aircraft being transferred from the 81st TFW at RAF Bentwaters
RAF Bentwaters
RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about 80 miles NE of London, 10 miles ENE of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England...

. The conversion to the F-4D took several years, with the last F-100 departing in August 1974. With the arrival of the Phantoms, the F-4s adopted a common tail code of "LK". This tail code lasted only a few months as in July and August 1972 the 48th TFW further recoded to "LN". The F-4D carried squadron identifying fin cap colors of blue, yellow and red (492d, 493d, 494th respectively).

The F-4's service with the 48th TFW was short, as operation "Ready Switch" transferred the F-4D assets to the 474th TFW at Nellis AFB, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

. The 474th sent their General Dynamics F-111
General Dynamics F-111
The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the...

As to the 366th TFW at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, and the 366th sent their F-111Fs to Lakenheath in early 1977.

A fourth fighter squadron, the 495th Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated with the 48th TFW on 1 April 1977, with a squadron tail color of green. This was 33 years to the day since the squadron's inactivation. The 495th's mission of functioning as a replacement training unit for the other three fighter squadrons. The made the 495th and the 48th TFW unique, as the only WSO (Weapons System Operator) training unit for USAFE.

F-111s from the 48th TFW participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon
Operation El Dorado Canyon
The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, comprised the joint United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps air-strikes against Libya on April 15, 1986. The attack was carried out in response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing.-Origins:Shortly after his...

 in 1986. This bombing of Libya prompted the mock-acronym, Lakenheath Is Bombing Your Ass.

Lakenheath received its first McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagles in 1992. With the departure of the F-111s, the 495th FS was inactivated on 13 December 1991. On 18 December 1992, the last F-111 departed the base. Along with its departure, the 493d FS was also inactivated.

With the pending closure of Bitburg Air Base
Bitburg Air Base
Bitburg Airport is a commercial airport serving Bitburg, a city in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. It is located 2 miles southeast of Bitburg, 20 miles north of Trier, and 135 miles west of Wiesbaden....

, Germany on 25 February 1994, it was decided to reactivate the 493d as an F-15C/D squadron. Aircraft were transferred from the 33d Fighter Wing
33d Fighter Wing
The 33d Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant unit....

 at Eglin AFB, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, and the 493d was reactivated on 1 January. The 493d's arrival meant that the 48th became the largest F-15E/F-15C composite unit in the U.S. Air Force.

In 2003, the 48th FW received the first of 10 new F-15Es. The aircraft were part of the final batch of F-15s expected to be ordered by the USAF.

On March 2, 2011, members of the 48th Security Forces Squadron were involved in a shooting at Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...

 in Germany. The members were on a bus from Ramstein AB, Germany, and were taking a commercial flight to a deployment in the Middle East.

On March 22, 2011, F15-E 91-0304 crash-landed and was destroyed in eastern Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 after reportedly suffering from a mechanical failure. Both crewmen ejected and were safely recovered.

Use in film and television

The airfield was featured in Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Bruce Feirstein wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It follows Bond as he tries to stop a media mogul from engineering...

in 1997 as a Pacific air base.

See also

  • List of RAF stations
  • United States Air Forces in Europe
    United States Air Forces in Europe
    The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...

  • United States Air Force in the United Kingdom
    United States Air Force in the United Kingdom
    Since 1941 the United States has maintained air bases in the United Kingdom. Major Commands of the USAF having bases in the United Kingdom were the United States Air Forces in Europe , Strategic Air Command , and Air Mobility Command .-Origins:...

  • Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom
    Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom
    During the mid- to late 1940s the United States Air Forces in Europe was occupied with supporting the movement of men and aircraft of the Strategic Air Command to bases in England.-Early Cold War Tensions:...


External links

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