Abandoned Airfields - RAF Greenham Common
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- RAF Greenham Common in Newbury opened in 1942, it was used by the RAF and USAF during WW2 and by the USAF during the Cold War. It closed in 1992.
Before the building of an airfield, Greenham Common was a massive piece of common land. It was used for troop movements during the English Civil War
After WW2finished the United States Strategic Air Command was based at three major airfields in eastern England: RAF Lakenheath, RAF Marham and RAF Sculthorpe. The increasing tension of the Cold War led to a re-evaluation of these deployments and a move further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Greenham Common, RAF Brize Norton, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford.
The airfield came under Strategic Air Command's 7th Air Division, with the 3909th Combat Support Group as its administrative unit on the base, responsible for all non-flying activities as well as maintenance and logistical support of the flying units attached to RAF Greenham Common.
The Soviet deployment of the SS-20 missile from 1975 caused major concern to NATO. It was feared that the Soviet Union could launch a nuclear strike against Western Europe with a reduced threat of nuclear retaliation. Greenham Common was now going to be the home of 96 nuclear missiles. A new construction was undertaken as the GLCM Alert and Maintenance Area (GAMA) site was built in the southwest corner of the base. GAMA was a maximum security QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) area with 6 large above ground shelters in which fully operational cruise missiles were stored. These shelters were specially designed and constructed to protect the GLCMs and crews against nuclear and conventional strikes. They were 10m high, with a reinforced 2m thick concrete ceiling. Below was a massive titanium plate, 3m of sand and a reinforced concrete plate. The shelters were completely covered with tons of clay. Each shelter was equipped with three hydraulic nuclear blast proof doors at both ends to assure a quick entry or exit. They were designed to withstand the blast of an air-bursting nuclear explosion above the base or a direct hit from a 2,500 lb conventional bomb.
Each shelter contained 2 LCC Launch Control Centers and 4 TEL transporter erector launchers. Units were mobile and, once deployed, would travel from the base in convoys to secret preset dispersal sites.
A series of meetings held during August and September 1986 culminated in a summit between United States President Ronald Reagan and the General Secretary of the CPSU Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 11 October 1986. To the surprise of both men's advisers, the two agreed in principle to removing INF systems from Europe and to equal global limits of 100 INF missile warheads.
The United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987, which led to the removal of all nuclear missiles from the base. The last GLCMs at RAF Greenham Common were removed in March 1991, and the 501st TMW inactivated on 4 June 1991.
In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland, effectively returning it to its prewar status.
Source: en.wikipedia.o...
My bikes:
2012 Moto Guzzi V7 Stone, aka "Lord Vader" which has been very customised
2017 KTM 390 Duke with LeoVince LV Pro Carbon + decat
2018 Triumph Street Triple R (low ride height) with Yoshimura Alpha T exhaust
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Top video mate. Great insight and info around the abandoned base!
Cheers MV :-) glad you enjoyed it!
i used to travel up from plymouth worked there 82 to 84 on the barrack blocks when the bunkers were being built for the missiles
Ahh that is pretty awesome to have been there when it was all current and new David 🙂
Awesome aerial footage. Love the bunker shots.
Thanks Anthony :-)
Loved the drone work by the way
Cheers Don :-)
I can remember the Greenham Common women's demonstrations in the 80s. Interesting to get the drone view of the airfield, surprised those bunkers haven't been sold off to developers. Enjoyable vid. Cheers
I think the bunkers are used, not sure if MoD property or not, I didn't think it would have been wise to fly the drone beyond the fence into their compound in case I got told off/it confiscated lol :D
Really enjoyed the detailed build up to the airfield mate - I love a bit of history behind a place. Cracking video as always
Thanks Paul, I fluffed on some of the details a bit which annoyed me, but I really enjoyed exploring :-)
That was too - good - wanted to be there in person because of watching :)
I bet that incident wasn't reported much, or at all maybe, at the time!
Nice dronage mate, good stuff, RSM8.
Aye, it only became official after 30yrs IIRC, and even now it is still not fully acknowledged. Thanks mate, I really enjoyed this visit, wish I'd gotten more drone stuff of the bunkers, but didn't want to fly into it's boundary in case it is still MoD owned! :-)
This is so nice and yet sad. This massive land should be filled with rows of Spits and Lancs. Good to see you face mate :-) Hope to see you soon again in Essex for some practice.
That would be a sight to behold! :-) I'd love to get some more practice done, no time for it currently though unfortunately. How have you been getting on with the motogymkhana?
I've done two competitions so far - came last both times, but managed to get the course right :-) I might be going to the next competition. Hope to see you soon and thanks for these wonderful videos!
@@hoomannili ah that is awesome stuff, don't matter if you came last, each time you have a go you will improve your own techniques :-)
Am glad you are enjoying my vids mate :-) it is lots of fun having the adventures and being able to share them with folk :-)
That was awesome! Very interesting and loving your enthusiasm 👍🏼
Cheers SB 🙂 I really enjoyed this visit. I must try and find some more, sadly no drone now though. I do hope you make a vid about your abandoned airfield too 🙂
@@HippoDrones the drone is a nice touch, but you tell the story well so I wouldn’t say it’s necessary.
It’s on my ‘to do’ list, along with several other things. The longer we’re locked up the longer the list gets ha.
@@Saddlebags73 I am so struggling for motivation right now, I have to use my bike to go shopping, but have nothing to vlog about.
@@HippoDrones ah we’re in the same boat. I ride to work and the odd bit of shopping, and feel like I should be using that time for vlogs. But the winter combined with all the other crap seems to have stolen my desire. Better times to come 👍🏼
@@Saddlebags73 :-)
Great video, especially with the drone, I didn't realise it was close I can remember it being in the news a lot. RSMF
Thanks Rob, close is relative! lol :D
Great vid and a cool bit of history.....can I have my summer back......please?..lol
Poof!! And it's gone..... :-(
Thanks mate, ha, it isn't feeling very summery at the moment, have you stolen it? :D
@@paullee6663 haha, feels that way currently lol 😂
Mate you are natural at these Videos Mate, thank you for the history lesson.
Very kind words sir, I wish I was better at getting the words out of my mouth sometimes. This was a fun video to plan and make as it's history was so much more recent and very interesting reading up about the "incident" back in the '50s
What a really cool video mate, I liked the use of a Fallout 3 song Butcher Pete, since it's all to do with Nuclear & Fallout Shelters. 👍
I thought it would be appreciated by some older gamers :-)
The drone footage was a surprise :)
I was also amazed you didn't trip over any soiled "women's towels" as I recall hearing news stories frequently describing the methods those protesters used to "avoid" getting arrested.
We haven't got enough level ground to house runways(nearest is Carlisle)Even finding places to fly my fixed-wing models with a suitably flat area to land is tricky lol. Though we did have an airfield years ago just up the coast at Silloth(went there as a child to watch the banger racing)& another down the coast at Haverigg (now a prison) The Silloth field I've yet to stumble over when out on the bike(the coastal road up that way is one of my frequently visited areas) If I ever find it,I'll try to remember how I got there so I can return with either a model (carries camera)or my vlogging kit(though the vid wouldn't be anything near as good as yours lol)
Haha 😂 am sure 30+ years of weather and cow poop has probably covered them all up in weeds and grass now :-)
Would be awesome to see some aerial footage if you are able :-)
Interesting stuff. I used to drive on an old RAF base in Northumberland in my Dad's Mk3 Cortina when I was 14 or 15. RAF Brunton. I think the bomber might of been a B36 of 52, I think the 48 was only a prototype
It was B47's at Greenham. :-)
Ha, the old Cortina, quite a beasty! :D
The Stratojet was a beast!
Great stuff Peter. You didn’t mention the peace camp that was there for many years in the 80s. Hundreds of women living in tents and makeshift shelters protesting about the nuclear weapons there. I think Greenham common was more famous for that rather any of its military use.
Ta Tony :-) Aye, but women burning their bras and knitting their own yogurts interest me far less than nuclear bombs and the most giganormous of aeroplanes! :D Although I remember the women's peace camp from the tellybox as a kid :D
Hippo-Drones 😂😂😂😂
Nice history lesson. Is the drone a new addition to your videos? I haven't taken mine out on the bike yet!
Thanks Dave, I've had the drone around a year now, don't get to use it as much as I'd like, the UK is quite restrictive on where I can play with it unfortunately.
Really, I didn't think there were that many restrictions! Prisons, airports and government buildings yes I understand
@@davexs down in Wiltshire there was very few locations the app said I could use it. The DJI app shows all flight restrictions which is quite handy to avoid getting any grief :-)
I can imagine Wiltshire does have a lot of restrictions for obvious reasons. I have the DJI drone so maybe I will learn as I go.........Cheers.
@@davexs if you open the app on you phone it has the map in the options for flight restrictions, def worth taking a look at before putting it in the air! :-)
Hiya, I heard you on Brutime so came for a look at castled and motogymkhana, this was dead good though, I drive a cartransporter and a lot of old airfields are used as car storage facilities including this one, you can see the cars beyond the bunkers.
Others are Sandtoft, Thurleigh, Bruntingthorpe, Upper Heyford and Blackbush to name a few :)
Hi Michael, ahh brill, it was a lot of fun hanging out with Bruce for a few hours, thanks for checking it out and then having a look at my content too! 🙂
I really must have another go at the motogymkhana, so much fun and great riding skills to be learned doing it!
That is interesting re the car storage, Bruntingthorpe has a test track where they test cars as well I believe, and Blackbush used to have a cart track, I wonder if it is still there??
@@HippoDrones Yeh Bruntingthorpe is now a race track too, we load right at the end of the long straight which is cool.
Just watched the camping trip which was awesome! You have to do the Isle of white trip for sure :)
@@HippoDrones I think MGK Essex has just found a venue, that would be your closest probably. We're up in the North East doing it every other Sunday :)
@@mykheaton I really hope Bruce can sort the IoW camping trip... he has a lot on this year though, so may have to wait until next year.
@@mykheaton it was them who organised the 2 times I've been before 🙂
Epic video mate. Is that where the peace protesters camped out around the fence line for ages ?? I remember hearing about them in the news over here when I was a little bit younger. Lol !!
Thanks mate :-) Aye, the Women's Peace Camp, back in the '80s waving their CND banners have long gone now :-)
Interesting vid again, there is an old runway near Beaulieu in the New Forrest, it was used as a decoy during the 2nd WW with model life sized planes on it so the the Germans would drop their bombs too early, now used by model plane flyers ;-)
Aye, I visited it in my last abandoned airfield vid. I linked to it at the end of this one, got some cool drone footage while I was there too! :-)
Nice music choice, you play fallout?
I have in the past. Not for around 10yrs though.
Nice one. I also remember the airfield more for the anti nuke protest women in the 80s. When was it decommissioned?
1992 :-)
Guess, what - me again.... I was in Hampshire Police in the late 80's when the nuclear cruise missiles were based at Greenham Common...
One night whilst they were taking the missile launchers out on exercise on Salisbury Common - the protestors got between the outer cordon and the missle convoy... The Police BMW 530 escort commander stopped, the cruise missile truck behind it didn't....
I got to see the short wheelbase BMW in the garage later in the week lol :)
The scary thing was BMW re-jigged the Chassis and put the car back on the road :O
Ahh the good old days :) lol
Oh yeah, forgot, got a story about Greenham Common too lol
Ooops, tis scary what was allowed to be put back on the road in the past! :O
Ha, I bet you do :-)
There were no special weapons on the B-47 that burned in 1958, only tail cannon rounds.
You might find my website on the history of the base interesting:
www.greenhamcommon.org.uk
That was quite fortunate! :-)
During the 1980s, Greenham Common was home to 96 USAF nuclear missiles and several hundred lesbians.
I remember the news on TV from back then, with them all burning their bras on the fence! :D