Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton 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 near St Ives,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

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 ...

. The airfield is decommissioned and is now home to the Joint Forces Intelligence Group.

History

Flying station

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941

Aerial travel for Business or Pleasure - Thos Cook & Son - 1919 - pp 16+ (map)

Wyton has been a military airfield since 1916, when it was used for training by the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and then its successor the

(RAF). During 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 ...

it was used primarily as a bomber base, flying Bristol Blenheim,

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...

and

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stir ...

aircraft. In 1942 it became the home of the Pathfinder Force under the command of

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

Don Bennett. After the war Wyton became home to the

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...

s of the Strategic Reconnaissance Force.

Vickers Valiant The Vickers Valiant was a British high-altitude jet bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons, and in the 1950s and 1960s was part of the Royal Air Force's " V bomber" strategic deterrent force. It was developed by Vickers-Armstrongs in respon ...

s arrived for No. 543 Squadron in 1955 and a

Handley Page Victor The Handley Page Victor is a British jet-powered strategic bomber developed and produced by Handley Page during the Cold War. It was the third and final '' V bomber'' to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two being the Avr ...

arrived for the Radar Reconnaissance Flight in 1959. In 1974, three Nimrod R1s belonging to No. 51 Squadron arrived for use in the Elint and

Sigint Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

role, and in 1975, the T17 and T17A Canberras of No. 360 Squadron arrived: this was a joint RAF and RN Squadron specialising in

Electronic countermeasures An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...

training. In the early 1990s one of its pilots was the rugby union player, Flight Lieutenant Rory Underwood. During a four-month period in 1989, two squadrons of U.S. Air Force

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic ...

jets were operated out of RAF Wyton while the runway at their base, nearby

RAF Alconbury Royal Air Force Alconbury or more simply RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station near Huntingdon, England. The airfield is in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of Great Stukeley, Little Stukeley, and Alconbur ...

, was resurfaced. In May 1995 both RAF Wyton and

airfields were decommissioned and Wyton was formally amalgamated with

RAF Brampton RAF Brampton was a non-flying Royal Air Force installation near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. Formerly the home of RAF Support Command, it also became the home of several elements of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), which itself was ...

, and later with RAF Henlow to make all three locations a single RAF Station under a single station commander for administrative purposes. The airfield continued to host light aircraft for the Cambridge and London University Air Squadrons until they both moved to

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire ...

in 2015.

2011–present

Following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review the RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow formation was disbanded: RAF Henlow subsequently became a separate station again and RAF Brampton was demolished. The Joint Forces Intelligence Group, a unit which is responsible for the collection of signals, geospatial, imagery and measurement and signature intelligence, moved from Feltham in Middlesex to RAF Wyton in 2013. 42 Engineer Regiment relocated from Denison Barracks in Hermitage to RAF Wyton to co-locate with the Joint Forces Intelligence Group in July 2014 and No. 1 Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Squadron moved from

RAF Marham RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia. It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating Ba ...

to Wyton in April 2017. Wyton hangars 2013

Former units

The following squadrons were posted to Wyton between 1916 and 1935: * No. 46 Squadron RFC between 1916 and 1916. * No. 65 Squadron RFC between 1916 and 1917. * No. 83 Squadron RFC between 1917 and 1917. * No. 96 Squadron RAF between 1918 and 1918. * No. 104 Squadron RFC between 1917 and 1917. *

No. 117 Squadron RAF No. 117 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed to be a bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a transport and communications unit in World War II. History Formation and World War I No. 117 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was form ...

between 1918 and 1919. *

No. 119 Squadron RAF No. 119 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, flying with RAF Coastal Command during the Second World War. It was the only RAF unit flying the Short G class and Short C class flying boats. History Formation in World War I No. 1 ...

between 1918 and 1918. *

No. 120 Squadron RAF Number 120 Squadron or No. CXX Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which was established as a Royal Flying Corps unit late in World War I, disbanded a year after the end of the war, then re-established as a RAF Coastal Command squadro ...

between 1918 and 1918. *

No. 130 Squadron RAF No. 130 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was a Second World War and Cold war fighter squadron, and later a strategic missile squadron. History The squadron was first formed on 1 March 1918 as part of the Royal Flying Corps. Based at RAF Wyton it ...

between 1918 and 1918. * No. 156 Squadron RAF between 1918 and 1918. * No. 211 Squadron RAF between 1919 and 1919. The following squadrons were posted to Wyton between 1935 and 1939: * No. 44 Squadron between 1937 and 1937. * No. 114 Squadron between 1936 and 1939. * No. 139 Squadron between 1936 and 1939. The following squadrons were posted to Wyton between 1939 and 1945: * No. 15 Squadron between 1939 and 1940. * No. 15 Squadron for a second time between 1940 and 1942. * No. 40 Squadron between 1939 and 1941. * No. 57 Squadron between 1940 and 1940. * No. 57 Squadron for a second time between 1940 and 1940. * No. 83 Squadron for a second time between 1942 and 1944. * No. 105 Squadron between 1942 and 1945 * No. 109 Squadron between 1942 and 1942. * No. 109 Squadron for a second time between 1942 and 1943. * No. 128 Squadron between 1944 and 1945. * No. 139 Squadron for a second time between 1943 and 1944. * No. 156 Squadron for a second time between 1945 and 1945. * No. 163 Squadron between 1945 and 1945. The following squadrons were posted to Wyton between 1946 and 2011: * No. 13 Squadron between 1978 and 1982. * No. 15 Squadron for a third time between 1946 and 1950. * No. 25 Squadron between 1983 and 1989. * No. 26 Squadron between 1969 and 1976. * No. 39 Squadron between 1970 and 1982. * No. 44 Squadron for a second time between 1946 and 1951. * No. 51 Squadron between 1963 and 1995. * No. 58 Squadron between 1953 and 1970. * No. 82 Squadron between 1953 and 1956. * No. 85 Squadron between 1989 and 1991 * No. 90 Squadron between 1946 and 1950. * No. 100 Squadron between 1956 and 1956. * No. 100 Squadron for a second time between 1982 and 19??. * No. 138 Squadron between 1946 and 1950. * No. 207 Squadron between 1969 and 1984. * No. 360 Squadron between 1975 and 19??. * No. 540 Squadron between 1953 and 1956. * No. 542 Squadron between 1954 and 1955. * No. 542 Squadron for a second time between 1955 and 1955. * No. 543 Squadron between 1955 and 1974. Other units moved (now disbanded) The following other units were posted to Wyton at some point: *

No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (or 1 PRU) was a flying unit of the Royal Air Force, first formed in 1940. History On 24 September 1939, the Royal Air Force formally took over the "Heston Flight", a civilian photo reconnaissance unit h ...

* No. 2 Group Communications Flight RAF * No. 4 Blind Approach Training Flight RAF * No. 7 Group Communications Flight RAF * 8th Aero Squadron * No. 8 Group Communications Flight RAF * No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group RAF * No. 13 Aircraft Modification Unit RAF * No. 70 (Bomber) Wing RAF * No. 231 Operational Conversion Unit RAF * No. 1323 (Canberra) Flight RAF * No. 1409 (Meteorological) Flight RAF * No. 1499 (Bombing) Gunnery Flight RAF * No. 1504 (Beam Approach Training) Flight RAF * No. 1655 Mosquito Training Unit RAF * No. 2730 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2763 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2781 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2844 Squadron RAF Regiment * Canberra Air Race Flight RAF (1953) * Canberra Standardisation and Training Flight RAF * Electronic Warfare Detachment RAF * Electronic Warfare Division RAF * Electronic Warfare Engineering and Training Unit RAF (-1976) became Electronic Warfare and Avionics Unit RAF (1976-1993) * Electronic Warfare Operational Support Establishment RAF (1983-1995) becoming part of Air Warfare Centre 1993 * Equipment Support (Air) Group RAF * Ground Controlled Approach Operators School RAF * Logistics Command RAF * Radar Reconnaissance Flight RAF Currently operational units moved On 25 March 2013 it was decided to relocate the following flying units from Wyton due to the high maintenance costs of the airfield. * 57(R) Squadron relocated to

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...

in Summer 2013. * Cambridge University Air Squadron relocated to

in mid-2014. * University of London Air Squadron relocated to RAF Wittering in mid-2014. * 5 Air Experience Flight also relocated to RAF Wittering in mid-2014.

Based units

Notable units based at RAF Wyton.

Strategic Command

Defence Intelligence * Joint Forces Intelligence Group (JFIG) ** Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre (DIFC)

Defence Digital The United Kingdom's Strategic Command (StratCom), previously known as Joint Forces Command (JFC), manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services. History Background In August 2010 the then Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, as ...

* Defence Assurance and Information Security

Royal Air Force

No. 1 Group (Air Combat) RAF * No. 1 Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Wing ** No. 1 Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Squadron *

RAF Wyton Area Voluntary Band RAF Wyton Area Voluntary Band is one of eight Voluntary bands within the Royal Air Force providing musical support to the RAF and local communities. Founded in 1955, the military band is based at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire and is under the admi ...

No. 22 Group (Training) RAF *Headquarters, Central & Eastern Region, Air Training Corps *Headquarters, Bedfordshire and Cambridgshire Wing, Air Training Corps *No. 2331 (St Ives) Squadron (Air Training Corps)

British Army

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

* 42 Engineer Regiment (Geographic) ** 13 Geographic Squadron ** 14 Geographic Squadron ** 16 Geographic Support Squadron ** 135 Geographic Squadron

Ministry of Defence

* Defence Infrastructure Organisation * Defence Intelligence Estates Rationalisation Team (PRIDE) *

Ministry of Defence Police The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a civilian special police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The MDP's primary responsibilities are to provide armed security and counter terrorism services to designated hig ...

United States Department of Defense

* Defense Contract Management Agency – United Kingdom

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * RAF Annual Review 2012

External links

Official site

RAF Wyton Area Voluntary Band
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyton Royal Air Force stations in Huntingdonshire Royal Air Force stations in Cambridgeshire Royal Flying Corps airfields Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Airports established in 1916 1916 establishments in England