Second World War Bentwaters airfield's origin dates to 1942 when construction began on a
Royal Air Force station called
Royal Air Force Butley for use by
RAF Bomber Command. On 28 January 1943 the station was renamed
Royal Air Force Bentwaters. It was opened for operational use in April 1944. In December it was transferred to
No. 11 Group,
RAF Fighter Command . During the
Second World War, RAF squadrons at Bentwaters were: •
No. 64 Squadron RAF between 29 December 1944 and 15 August 1945 with
North American Mustang III moved to
RAF Horsham St Faith. •
No. 65 Squadron RAF between 15 May 1945 and 13 August 1945 with Mustang IV moved to
RAF Fairwood Common. •
No. 126 Squadron RAF between 30 December 1944 and 5 September 1945 with Mustang III then upgrading to Mustang IV in August 1945. •
No. 129 Squadron RAF between 11 December 1944 and 26 May 1945 with Mustang III, swapping to
Supermarine Spitfire IXE in May 1945. •
No. 165 Squadron RAF between 15 December 1944 and 29 May 1945 with Mustang III until May 1945 then the Spitfire IXE. •
No. 234 Squadron RAF (1944–45) •
No. 245 Squadron RAF Other units also based at Bentwaters include
No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF and No. 7 Fighter Command Servicing Unit. •
No. 2707 Squadron RAF Regiment. •
No. 74 Squadron RAF between 2 June 1946 and 9 June 1945 with Meteor F.3s moved to
RAF Colerne. •
No. 124 Squadron RAF between 5 October 1945 and 18 February 1946 with Meteor F.3s moving to RAF Fairwood Common. The squadron returned on 20 March 1946 and stayed until 1 April 1946 still with the Meteor F.3 before being renamed 56 Squadron.
USAF use (1951-1993) Control of Bentwaters was transferred to the
United States Air Force on 16 March 1951 by the
Ministry of Defence, and the
United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) designated it a primary installation of HQ USAFE on 7 September 1951. Bentwaters was to play a key role in the defence of Western Europe during the
Cold War when large numbers of USAF aircraft were assigned as part of the air arm of
NATO. On 16 March 1951, the USAF
7506th Air Support Group was assigned to Bentwaters. Their mission was to bring the facility up to
NATO standards. During most of 1951 and 1952 USAF construction upgraded the operational facilities, as well as the construction of support facilities. Early USAF units at Bentwaters were as follows: •
9th Air Rescue Squadron (July 1951 – November 1952) (
Boeing SB-29 'Super Dumbo'). This unit flew
air-sea rescue missions with aging B-29 aircraft adapted to drop
airborne lifeboats. It received its nickname from earlier
"Dumbo" missions that picked airmen up when they crashed at sea. The unit departed in November 1952 for
RAF Burtonwood. •
7554th Target Tow Flight (March–December 1952) (
Stinson L-5E,
Douglas TB-26C). This unit flew aerial targets for gunnery practice by NATO aircraft.
81st Tactical Fighter Wing The
81st Fighter-Interceptor Wing became the new host unit at Bentwaters in September 1951. The 81st, in various designations, remained at RAF Bentwaters for over 40 years during the
Cold War era. The 81st FIW was a
North American F-86A Sabre equipped unit, being activated at
Moses Lake AFB,
Washington in May 1950. In August 1951 the 81st flew initially into
RAF Shepherds Grove, then in September transferred its headquarters to RAF Bentwaters. In early 1965, the 81st began operating
F-4D Phantoms. This would continue through early 1979, when the wing received and began operating the
A-10A Thunderbolt II single-seat attack aircraft, affectionately known as the Warthog. The D model Phantoms were transferred to the 401st TFW at
Torrejón AB, Spain. An A-10
Forward Operating Location (FOL) was established at
Sembach Air Base,
West Germany on 1 September 1978 when
Det. "1, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing was activated. Revetments and a dozen hardened aircraft shelters were built and A-10A's began operations at Sembach during May 1979. Additional detachments were subsequently established at Leipheim, Alhorn and
Norvenich Air Bases in West Germany and at two additional unmanned reserve FOLs which remain classified; one in the north of Germany and one in the south, both in rear of the other four named bases/airfields. A-10's and support resources routinely rotated to these FOLs from RAF Bentwaters for training and Tactical Evaluations. The
C-130 rotating to the detachments was affectionately called "The Klong". In the event of war in the 1980s, the Bentwater A-10's were to fight from Germany, and Bentwaters would host
F-16's from
Nellis AFB and from
Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina.
Post Cold War With the end of the Cold War, the USAF presence at Bentwaters was gradually phased down. It was announced that the station would be closed and the 81st TFW would be inactivated. The Bentwaters-based squadrons were phased-down as follows: •
510th Tactical Fighter Squadron was transferred to the 52nd Fighter Wing at
Spangdahlem Air Base in
Germany on 4 January 1993. On 1 February 1994 it was inactivated at Spangdahlem, but it was reactivated on 23 March 1994 as a Block 40 F-16C/D squadron at
Aviano Air Base in
Italy. • 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron was inactivated on 31 March 1993. Its aircraft were sent back to the United States to various
Air National Guard squadrons. The last A-10 aircraft departed Bentwaters on 23 March 1993, and the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing was inactivated on 1 July 1993. With the inactivation, the USAF returned control of Bentwaters to the
Ministry of Defence. Currently, Bentwaters airfield is inactive as a military facility. ==Current uses==