RAF Wyton | |||||||
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Near St Ives, Cambridgeshire in England | |||||||
Coordinates | 52°21′26″N 000°06′28″W / 52.35722°N 0.10778°W | ||||||
Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||
Site information | |||||||
Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||
Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||
Controlled by | Strategic Command | ||||||
Condition | Operational | ||||||
Website |
www | ||||||
Site history | |||||||
Built | 1915 | ||||||
In use | 1916 – present | ||||||
Garrison information | |||||||
Current commander | Wing Commander Keith Slack | ||||||
Occupants |
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Airfield information | |||||||
Identifiers | IATA: QUY, ICAO: EGUY, WMO: 03566 | ||||||
Elevation | 40.2 metres (132 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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Source: RAF Wyton Defence Aerodrome Manual [2] |
Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton ( IATA: QUY, ICAO: EGUY) is a Royal Air Force station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and is now used by the UK Strategic Command.
Wyton has been a military airfield since 1916, when it was used for training by the Royal Flying Corps and then its successor the Royal Air Force (RAF). [3]
The following squadrons were posted to Wyton between 1916 and 1935:
During the Second World War it was used primarily as a bomber base, flying Bristol Blenheim, de Havilland Mosquito and Avro Lancaster aircraft. [13] In 1942 it became the home of the Pathfinder Force under the command of Group Captain Don Bennett. [3]
The following squadrons were posted to Wyton between 1935 and 1939:
The following squadrons were posted to Wyton between 1939 and 1945:
After the war Wyton became home to the English Electric Canberras of the Strategic Reconnaissance Force. [21] Vickers Valiants arrived for No. 543 Squadron in 1955 and a Handley Page Victor arrived for the Radar Reconnaissance Flight in 1959. [21]
In 1974, three Nimrod R1s belonging to No. 51 Squadron arrived for use in the Elint and Sigint 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 training. [21]
The following squadrons were posted to Wyton between 1946 and 2011:
In the early 1990s one of its pilots was rugby union player Flight Lieutenant Rory Underwood. [31]
During a four-month period in 1989, two squadrons of U.S. Air Force Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II jets were operated out of RAF Wyton while the runway at their base, nearby RAF Alconbury, was resurfaced. [32]
In May 1995 both RAF Wyton and RAF Alconbury airfields were decommissioned and Wyton was formally amalgamated with RAF Brampton, and later with RAF Henlow to make all three locations a single RAF Station under a single station commander for administrative purposes. [33] The airfield continued to host light aircraft for the Cambridge and London University Air Squadrons until they both moved to RAF Wittering in 2015. [34]
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. [35]
The Joint Forces Intelligence Group, a unit which is responsible for the collection of signals, geospatial, imagery and measurement and signature intelligence, [36] moved from Feltham in Middlesex to RAF Wyton in 2013. [37] [38] 42 Engineer Regiment relocated from Denison Barracks in Hermitage to RAF Wyton to co-locate with the Joint Forces Intelligence Group in July 2014 [39] and No. 1 Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Squadron moved from RAF Marham to Wyton in April 2017. [40]
Other units moved (now disbanded)
The following other units were posted to Wyton at some point: [41]
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. [56]
Notable units based at RAF Wyton. [57] [40] [58]
Strategic Command
Royal Air Force
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British Army
Ministry of Defence
United States Department of Defense
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