Second World War The Greenham Lodge Estate, which was set in the midst on
Greenham Common, was requisitioned by the
Air Ministry in 1941. The first arrival was the
U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF)
51st Troop Carrier Wing Headquarters, arriving in September 1942. The 51st TCW controlled the three troop carrier groups at
RAF Keevil (62nd TCG),
RAF Aldermaston (60th TCG) and
RAF Ramsbury (64th TCG) as part of
Twelfth Air Force. An area to the east of Bowdown House, a mansion on the northeast end of the airfield, was used as "bomb stores". The 51st TCW HQ followed its groups to North Africa as part of
Operation Torch in November 1942. In late 1943, Greenham Common airfield was turned over to the USAAF
Ninth Air Force. An American advance party soon arrived to ready the airfield for the incoming units. Greenham Common was known as
USAAF Station AAF-486.
354th Fighter Group P-51B-1-NA Mustang, AAF Ser. No. 43-12408 of the
355th Fighter Squadron As troop carrier groups began arriving in the UK in late 1943 and deployed in the Greenham area, Greenham Common was one of the airfields used by the Ninth Air Force for fighter groups arriving from the United States. On 4 November the
354th Fighter Group arrived from
Portland Army Air Field,
Oregon and they were informed they were to fly the
North American P-51 Mustang. The unit transferred to
RAF Lashenden in April 1944.
368th Fighter Group A few weeks later on 13 January 1944, the
368th Fighter Group arrived from
Farmingdale, New York, flying
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. They had the following fighter squadrons and fuselage codes: • 395th Fighter Squadron (A7) • 396th Fighter Squadron (C2) • 397th Fighter Squadron (D3) The 368th was a group of Ninth Air Force's
71st Fighter Wing,
IX Tactical Air Command. The 368th FG moved to
RAF Chilbolton on 15 March 1944. • 87th Troop Carrier Squadron (3X) • 88th Troop Carrier Squadron (M2) • 89th Troop Carrier Squadron (4U) • 90th Troop Carrier Squadron (Q7) • 94th Troop Carrier Squadron (D8) The 438th was a group of Ninth Air Force's
53rd Troop Carrier Wing of
IX Troop Carrier Command. The unit moved to
Prosnes in France in February 1945.
Nuclear accident On 28 February 1958, a B-47E, of the 310th Bombardment Wing developed problems shortly after takeoff and jettisoned its two 1,700 gallon
external fuel tanks. They missed their designated safe impact area, and one hit a hangar while the other struck the ground behind a parked plane. The parked B-47E, registration 53-6216, which was fuelled and had a pilot on board, was engulfed by flames; two ground crew were killed and two were injured. Two scientists, F. H. Cripps and A. Stimson, who both worked for the
Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at
Aldermaston, stated in a secret 1961 report, released by the
CND in 1996, that the fire detonated the high explosives in a nuclear weapon, that
plutonium and
uranium oxides were spread over a wide area (foliage up to 8 mi (13 km) away was contaminated with
uranium-235) and that they had discovered high concentrations of radioactive contamination around the airfield. However, a radiological survey commissioned in 1997 by
Newbury District Council and
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council found no evidence of a
nuclear accident at Greenham Common, suggesting that Cripps and Stimson's statements were false. The seven-month-long survey was carried out by the Geosciences Advisory Unit of
Southampton University and combined a
helicopter-mounted
gamma ray detector survey with a ground-based survey. The team analysed nearly 600 samples taken from soil, lake sediment, borehole water, house dust, runway tarmac and concrete, looking for uranium and plutonium
isotopes. No evidence of an accident involving nuclear weapons damage was found at the former air force base although the ground survey detected some low-level uranium contamination around the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston thought to be derived from that facility, and the helicopter survey found some anomalies around
Harwell Laboratory.
United States Air Forces in Europe After Strategic Air Command left Greenham Common in 1964, the site was primarily used as a mail sorting and storage facility under the administrative control of 7551st Combat Support Group. Beginning in 1973 the base became the home of the
International Air Tattoo, a large scale international military
airshow.
501st Tactical Missile Wing Following the 1979
NATO Double-Track Decision, in June 1980, RAF Greenham Common was selected as one of two British bases for the USAF's mobile nuclear armed
BGM-109G Gryphon Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM). This missile was derived from the sea-launched
Tomahawk Land Attack Missile. Some missiles were deployed at
RAF Molesworth, but the majority of GLCMs were deployed at RAF Greenham Common. A
Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was established in protest at the deployment of cruise missiles in 1981. The protestors became known as "the Greenham women" or "peace women", and their 19-year protest drew worldwide media and public attention. After being equipped with the new weapons, the
501st Tactical Missile Wing was activated at Greenham Common on 1 July 1982. Following the ratification of the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty by U.S. President
Ronald Reagan and the General Secretary of the
CPSU Mikhail Gorbachev in June 1988, the last GLCMs at RAF Greenham Common were removed in March 1991, and the 501st Tactical Missile Wing was deactivated in May 1991. The Cold War era control tower has recently been redeveloped and is now open as a visitor centre with a historical exhibition and community cafe. Cattle from local farms are permitted to graze the Common and often stray onto the adjacent Burys Bank Road. == Greenham Common Control Tower ==