The station opened in April 1949 and was leased by the United States Air Force as an administrative station to coordinate Third Air Force (USAFE) and
7th Air Division activities in Great Britain with the
British Government. The site was leased from the
Ministry of Defence. Logistical and support functions were located at
RAF West Ruislip, leased by the
United States Navy from the Ministry of Defence. The site included the 7520th U.S. Air Force Hospital. A school for the children of American service personnel was established at
RAF Eastcote in the 1950s, later joined by other welfare facilities. In 1970, American teenagers
Dewey Bunnell,
Dan Peek and
Gerry Beckley, whose fathers were stationed at the base, formed the folk rock group
America. The total number of staff employed at the station had reached 1,733, including 487 British civilians, and the remainder made up of US Air Force personnel and civilians.
Closure In 1972 the Third Air Force moved operations from the station to RAF Mildenhall. The Ministry of Transport used portions of the base for records storage in the mid-1970's. Thereafter, the buildings that had formed the main part of the base on Victoria Road stood empty until they were demolished in 1995, but were used by the
BBC as a filming location for the final series of the
television police drama Z Cars between 1977 and 1978. Retail units have been built on the site of the former base since its demolition. ==See also==