RAF High Wycombe is a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

station, situated in the village of

Walters Ash Walters Ash (also sometimes called Walter's Ash) is a village in the parish of Bradenham, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, to the west of the main village, adjacent to Naphill. Between 1983 and 1985 there was a ...

, near

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It houses Headquarters Air Command, and was originally designed to house

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

in the late 1930s. The station is also the headquarters of the European Air Group and the

United Kingdom Space Command United Kingdom Space Command (UKSC) is a joint command of the British Armed Forces organised under the Royal Air Force, and staffed by personnel from the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force and the British Civil Service. The UKSC has three ...

. The location of the station was originally suggested by

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

Alan Oakeshott when the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of Stat ...

was seeking a new, secure, site for Bomber Command away from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Wing Commander Oakeshott was killed in combat in 1942 and is commemorated on the Naphill War Memorial and in the name of the station's welfare centre, opened in 2011. The motto of RAF High Wycombe in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

is 'Non Sibi', which translates as 'not for ourselves'.

History

Walters Ash, Buckinghamshire - Oxfordshire Churches

Construction

Prior to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the

sought a safe location for

away from London. The wooded area near Naphill,

and Lacey Green was suggested by

Alan Oakeshott as ideal for this purpose, since the trees could provide natural

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

from the air. Buildings were designed to resemble other uses, such as the Officers' Mess which was built to look like a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

. 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 by John Laing and Son, with 400 workmen and 80 specialists involved. Tunnels were dug to connect each block on the station, linked to an Operations Block built below ground. 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." Whilst High Wycombe was not an official flying station, a small airfield was used in the nearby village of Lacey Green 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. High Wycombe was also used by the 325th Photographic Wing,

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, from 9 August 1944 though 20 October 1945.

Post-War

Headquarters,

7th Air Division The 7th Air Division (7 AD) served the United States Air Force with distinction from early 1944 through early 1992, earning an outstanding unit decoration and a service streamer along the way. History Hawaii As the 7th Fighter Wing, the divis ...

of the

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

, supporting SAC operations in UK relocated to High Wycombe from RAF South Ruislip in 1958, and commanded all SAC operations from there until 1965. The station badge, incorporating a thunderbolt and two pillars to symbolise the support the station gave to Bomber Command, was approved on 23 November 1966. RAF Bomber Command merged with

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...

to form

RAF Strike Command The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air C ...

at RAF High Wycombe on 30 April 1968.RAF Timeline 1960–1968
RAF The station's title, Royal Air Force Station High Wycombe, was officially approved on 1 January 1969. From 1983 to 1984 there was a

peace camp Peace camps are a form of physical protest camp that is focused on anti-war and anti-nuclear activity. They are set up outside military bases by members of the peace movement who oppose either the existence of the military bases themselves, the ...

protesting against the building of a bunker there at that time to house RAF Strike Command. On 1 July 1994, Headquarters Allied Forces North Western Europe (AFNORTHWEST) of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

was established at High Wycombe. RAF Strike Command merged with RAF Personnel and Training Command to form RAF Air Command at RAF High Wycombe on 1 April 2007. Since 2009, the station has been responsible for reviewing

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

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 the Ministry of Defence Main Building in London. The Ministry of Defence and

Serco Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, ...

agreed a ten-year contract in February 2010 whereby Serco would provide support services at RAF High Wycombe and

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

, including leisure services, general engineering and catering. The actor

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom '' Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...

officially opened the station's new welfare centre, named after Wing Commander Alan Oakeshott, in July 2011. An Armed Forces Community Covenant between the station and

Wycombe District Council Wycombe may refer to the following places: Australia *Wycombe, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa REgion *High Wycombe, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth United Kingdom *High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England ** Wycombe District, a local ...

was signed on 16 April 2012, designed to strengthen the links between the military and the local community. Personnel exercised the station's

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

of Wycombe District on 29 May 2012, parading through

Princes Risborough Princes Risborough () is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England, about south of Aylesbury and north west of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns, the south end o ...

Based units

The following notable units are based at RAF High Wycombe.

Royal Air Force

Air Command * Headquarters Air Command * RAF Safety Centre No. 1 Group (Air Combat) * Headquarters No. 1 Group (Air Combat) No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support) * Headquarters No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support) No. 11 Group (Multi-domain Operations) Headquarters No. 11 Group (Multi-domain Operations) * Joint Force Air Component Commander *National Air & Space Operations Centre (NASOC) No. 22 Group (Training) * Headquarters No. 22 Group (Training)

Other

European Air Group * Headquarters European Air Group

* Headquarters UK Space Command

References

Sources

External links

*
Wycombe World
– RAF High Wycombe station magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:High Wycombe Military airbases established in 1938 Royal Air Force stations in Buckinghamshire High Wycombe Cold War military history of the United Kingdom 1938 establishments in England