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{{Short description|Former Royal Air Force flying base in Berkshire, England}}
{{About|the former airfield in Berkshire|the anti-nuclear protest that took place there|Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp}}
{{more footnotes|date=April 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
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| alt2 =
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| type = [[List of former Royal Air Force stations|Royal Air Force station]]
| coordinates = {{coord|51|22|43|N|001|16|56|W|region:GB_typeGB-WBK_type:airfield |display=inline,title}}
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| r1-number = 11/29
| r1-length = {{Convert|3048|m|0}}
| r1-surface = [[Asphalt concrete|Asphalt]] (built 1950s)
| r2-number = 10/28
| r2-length = {{Convert|1798|m|0}}
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<!-- end airfield information -->
| footnotes = <!-- catchall in case it's needed to preserve something in infobox that doesn't work in new code -->
}}'''Royal Air Force Greenham Common''' or more simply '''RAF Greenham Common''' is a former [[Royal Air Force]] [[List of former Royal Air Force stations|station]] in the [[civil parish|civil parishes]] of [[Greenham]] and [[Thatcham]] in the [[England|English]] [[county]] of [[Berkshire]].<ref name=MBTVH>{{cite book|last=Ford|first=David Nash|date=2020|title=West Berkshire Town and Village Histories|url=http://www.nashfordpublishing.co.uk/publications/west_berkshire_town_and_village_histories.html|location=Wokingham|publisher=Nash Ford Publishing|pages=125–133|isbn=9781905191031}}</ref> The airfield was southeast of [[Newbury, Berkshire|Newbury]], about {{convert|55|mi|km}} west of London.
 
Opened in 1942, it was used by both the [[Royal Air Force]] and [[United States Army Air ForcesForce]] during the [[Second World War and the [[United States Air Force]] and during the [[Cold War]], alsoand later as a base for nuclear weapons. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in September 1992. The airfield was also known for the [[Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp]] held outside its gates in the 1980s in protest against the stationing of cruise missiles on the base. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
 
The airfield was also known for the [[Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp]] held outside its gates in the 1980s in protest against the stationing of cruise missiles on the base. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland.
 
==History==
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The Greenham Lodge Estate, which was set in the midst on [[Greenham and Crookham Commons|Greenham Common]], was requisitioned by the [[Air Ministry]] in 1941.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanairmuseum.com/place/148|title=Greenham Common|publisher=American Air Museum in Briitain|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
 
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".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MWB16501&resourceID=1030|title=Bowdown World War II Bomb Stores, Greenham Common|publisher=Heritage Gateway| access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
 
The 51st TCW HQ followed its groups to North Africa as part of [[Operation Torch]] in November 1942.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Former Combat Support Building (Building 273), Greenham Common|num=1419547| access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
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* 397th Fighter Squadron (D3)
 
The 368th was a group of [[Ninth Air Force]]'s [[71st Fighter Wing (World War II)|71st Fighter Wing]], [[IX Tactical Air Command]]. The 368th FG moved to [[RAF Chilbolton]] on 15 March 1944.<ref name=aam368/>
 
==== 438th Troop Carrier Group ====
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* 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 [[53d Troop Carrier Wing (World War II)|53rd Troop Carrier Wing]] of [[IX Troop Carrier Command]]. The unit moved to [[Prosnes]] in France in February 1945.<ref name=aam438/>
 
===Cold War===
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[[File:Usaf-b-47-usafmuseum.jpg|thumb|right|USAF Boeing [[B-47 Stratojet#B-47|B-47E-50-LM Stratojet]], AF Ser. No. 52-3363, in flight.]]
[[File:Gate 1961.jpg|thumb|Gate to RAF Greenham Common during 1961|left]]
In the post-Second World War years, the United States [[Strategic Air Command]] (SAC) of the [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) was based at three major airfields in eastern England: [[RAF Lakenheath]], [[RAF Mildenhall]] 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 CommandSAC's [[7th Air Division (United States)|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. One of the first deployments was [[310th Space Wing|310th Bombardment Wing]] which arrived with its [[Boeing B-47E Stratojet]]s in October 1956.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.strategic-air-command.com/wings/0310bw.htm|title=310th Bombardment Wing|publisher=Strategic Air Command|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
 
=====Near nuclearNuclear accident=====
[[File:RAF Greenham Common.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of the former runway at RAF Greenham Common, viewed east-to-west, August 2014.]]
On 28 February 1958, a B-47E, of the 310th Bombardment Wing developed problems shortly after takeoff and jettisoned its two 1,700 gallon [[Drop tank|external fuel tankstank]]s. They missed their designated safe impact area, and one hit a hangar while the other struck the ground {{convert|65|ft|m}} behind a parked B-47Eplane. The parked planeB-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. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1953.html|title=1953 USAF Serial Numbers|website=www.joebaugher.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://silo.tips/download/major-robert-a-mortland-co-pilot-30-clarion-penn-killed-link-369bs-306bw-macdill|title=[PDF] Major Robert A. Mortland Co-Pilot 30 Clarion, Penn. killed LINK. 369BS 306BW MacDill AFB, FL. Mishap on landing. Structural problems - Free Download PDF|website=silo.tips}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1958-03-05/debates/5b625702-7336-41ff-9d3d-978b8889f329/UsafAircraftAccidentGreenhamCommon|title=Usaf Aircraft Accident, Greenham Common|date=5 March 1958|publisher=Hansard|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.atomicarchive.com/almanac/broken-arrows/index.html |title=Report on the fire with nuclear weapon on board, with resulting nuclear contamination|publisher=Atomic Archive|access-date=27 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/288511919883369184/ |title=Photo of 53-62-16 the actual plane that burned in the incident|access-date=27 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/456/1958-accident-greenham-common-covered |title=1958 accident at Greenham Common covered up|publisher=Wise International|access-date=27 July 2022}}</ref>
 
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 oxidesoxide]]s were spread over a wide area (foliage up to 8&nbsp;mi (13&nbsp;km) away was contaminated with [[uranium-235]]) and that they had discovered high concentrations of radioactive contamination around the air baseairfield.<ref>''The Distribution of Uranium 235 and Plutonium 239 around the United States Air Force base at Greenham Common'', July 1961 by F H Cripps & A Stimson, AWRE, Aldermaston</ref>
 
However, a radiological survey commissioned in 1997 by [[West Berkshire|Newbury District Council]] and [[Basingstoke and Deane|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 [[isotope]]s. 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]].<ref>[http://www.soton.ac.uk/~newrep/vol14/no12news.html Greenham Common given 'all-clear'-leaving childhood leukaemia clusters a mystery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051211100755/http://www.soton.ac.uk/~newrep/vol14/no12news.html |date=11 December 2005 }}, Southampton University in-house newsletter ''New Reporter'' Vol 14, No 12, 10 March 1997</ref>
 
====United States Air Forces in Europe====
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====501st Tactical Missile Wing====
[[File:Greenham Common GAMA missile shelters.jpg|thumb|The [[BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile|Groundcruise Launchedmissile Cruise Missileshelters]]]]
[[File:Embracing the base, Greenham Common December 1982 - geograph.org.uk - 759090.jpg|thumb|upright|On 12 December 1982, 30,000 women held hands around the {{convert|6|mi|km}} perimeter of the base, in protest against the decision to site American cruise missiles there]]▼
Following the 1979 [[NATO Double-Track Decision]], in June 1980, RAF Greenham Common was selected as one of two British bases for the US Air ForceUSAF's mobile nuclear armed [[BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile|BGM-109G Gryphon Ground Launched Cruise Missile]]s or GLCMs(GLCM).<ref>[httphttps://hansardapi.millbanksystemsparliament.comuk/historic-hansard/commons/1980/jun/17/cruise-missile-sites#S5CV0986P0_19800617_HOC_171 Statement of the Secretary of State for Defence], [[Francis Pym]]; ''Hansard'' 17 June 1980</ref> TheseThis were the "Gryphon"missile typewas derived from the sea-launched [[Tomahawk (missile)|"Tomahawk" Land Attack Missile]]. Some missiles were deployed at [[RAF MoleswiorthMolesworth]], but the majority of GLCMs were deployed at RAF Greenham Common.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MWB15804&resourceID=1030|title=GAMA - Cruise Missile Shelter Complex, Greenham Common airbase|publisher=Heritage Gateway|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
 
FromA 1981[[Greenham Common "womenWomen's [[peacePeace campCamp]]s" werewas established in protest at the deployment of cruise missiles in 1981.<ref name=MBTVH /> The They came toprotestors bebecame known as "Thethe Greenham Womenwomen" or "peace women", and their 19-year protest drew worldwide media and public attention,.<ref name=MBTVH /> often due to the peace women cutting through the fences of the base.▼
The first squadron of the [[501st Tactical Missile Wing]] received its weapons in November 1983; they were flown onto the base by [[Lockheed C-5 Galaxy]]s.
 
After being equipped with the new weapons, the [[501st Tactical Missile Wing]] was activated at Greenham Common on 1 July 1982.<ref name=501heritage>{{cite web|url=https://www.501csw.usafe.af.mil/Portals/7/documents/AFD-080314-010.pdf?ver=2016-05-06-154428-867|title=501st Combat Support Wing Heritage|publisher= 501st Combat Support Wing| access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref> 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 inactivated in May 1991.<ref name=501heritage/> On 11 September 1992, the USAF returned RAF Greenham Common to the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]].<ref name=MBTVH />
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.
 
===Post RAF station===▼
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 pre-WW2Second World War status but with restrictions. [[Greenham and Crookham Commons]] became a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271003118%27 |title=Magic Map Application |publisher=Magic.defra.gov.uk |access-date=19 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="sssi">{{cite web |url=https://necmsi.esdm.co.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003118.pdf |title=Site name: Greenham and Crookham Commons |access-date=19 March 2017 |archive-date=20 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320144544/https://necmsi.esdm.co.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003118.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-12-22|title=Drivers urged to slow down and be vigilant for cattle in Greenham|url=https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/drivers-urged-to-slow-down-and-be-vigilant-for-cattle-in-greenham/|access-date=2020-10-06|website=inyourarea.co.uk}}</ref>▼
 
==== Greenham Common PeaceControl Tower Camp====▼
The base's last operational commander, [[Group Captain]] [[Andrew Brookes]], [[RAF]] went on to become an aviation author and defence academic.
[[File:Greenham Common Control Tower.jpg|alt=A picture of the Greenham Common Control Tower from the outside|thumb|Greenham Common Control Tower in 2019, shortly after its opening to the public as a café and visitors centre]]
Following the closure of RAF Greenham Common in 1992, one of the few remaining buildings from the former air base was the Control Tower, situated on the north side of the runway. This was left derelict until Greenham Parish Council bought it in April 2014 with the intention of converting it into a café and visitors' centre.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-17 |title=Future of iconic Greenham Control Tower is put in doubt |url=https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/future-of-iconic-greenham-control-tower-is-put-in-doubt-9174780/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=Newbury Today |language=en}}</ref> However, this was repeatedly delayed by political and construction problems, until it was eventually opened to the public in September 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-07-14 |title=Greenham Control Tower project stalls again |url=https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/greenham-control-tower-project-stalls-again-9177315/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=Newbury Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.greenhamtower.org.uk/about-us/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=Greenham Control Tower |language=en}}</ref>
 
The Control Tower features three floors, with the café on the ground floor and a visitors' centre on the first floor, housing a permanent exhibition on Greenham Common's Cold War history and a temporary exhibition space. The top floor observation area offers panoramic views across the Common.<ref name=":0" />
▲====Greenham Common Peace Camp====
{{Main|Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp}}
▲[[File:Embracing the base, Greenham Common December 1982 - geograph.org.uk - 759090.jpg|thumb|upright|On 12 December 1982, 30,000 women held hands around the {{convert|6|mi|km}} perimeter of the base, in protest against the decision to site American cruise missiles there]]
▲From 1981 "women's [[peace camp]]s" were established in protest at the deployment of cruise missiles.<ref name=MBTVH /> They came to be known as "The Greenham Women" or "peace women", and their 19-year protest drew worldwide media and public attention,<ref name=MBTVH /> often due to the peace women cutting through the fences of the base.
 
Since its opening in 2018, the Control Tower has hosted numerous exhibitions on the history of the Common and surrounding area. This included "Both Sides of the Fence" in 2021, marking 40 years since the arrival of the Greenham Peace Women at the air base.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-04 |title=Greenham Common peace camp remembered 40 years on |url=https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/greenham-common-peace-camp-remembered-40-years-on-9214715/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=Newbury Today |language=en}}</ref>
===USAF departure and closure===
On 11 September 1992, the USAF returned RAF Greenham Common to the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]].<ref name=MBTVH /> On 9 February 1993 the Greenham Common air base was declared surplus to requirements by the [[Secretary of State for Defence]] and the facility was closed and put up for sale.
 
With the departure of the cruise missiles and the subsequent closure of the base by the MOD in 1993, the peace camps remained at the site until September 2000 to ensure the base was closed and the land returned to the public. However, the protesters no longer attracted the attention of the media as they did during the 1980s when there were some 40 camps spread around the base perimeter.
 
▲===Post RAF station===
{{Main|Greenham and Crookham Commons}}
▲In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland, effectively returning it to its pre-WW2 status but with restrictions. [[Greenham and Crookham Commons]] became a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271003118%27 |title=Magic Map Application |publisher=Magic.defra.gov.uk |access-date=19 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="sssi">{{cite web|url=https://necmsi.esdm.co.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003118.pdf |title=Site name: Greenham and Crookham Commons |access-date=19 March 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-12-22|title=Drivers urged to slow down and be vigilant for cattle in Greenham|url=https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/drivers-urged-to-slow-down-and-be-vigilant-for-cattle-in-greenham/|access-date=2020-10-06|website=inyourarea.co.uk}}</ref>
 
==In popular culture==
[[File:Greenham_Common_-_June_2005_(1).jpg|thumb|Greenham Common in 2005. The hangars can be seen in the distance.]]
The airfield was used In the sixth series of [[London's Burning (TV series)|''London's Burning'']] where the production team built a petrol garage and diner to be used in a large incident in episode 7.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0894355/locations|title= London's Burning (TV Series) Episode No. 6.7 |year=1993|publisher=IMDB|access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
 
An episode of BBC's [[Top Gear (2002 TV Series)|''Top Gear'']] was filmed at the abandoned airfield, with [[Jeremy Clarkson]] and [[James May]] attempting to find out if [[communism]] had produced a good car.▼
 
▲An episode of BBC's [[Top Gear (2002 TV Series)|''Top Gear'']] was filmed at the abandoned airfield, with [[Jeremy Clarkson]] and [[James May]] attempting to find out if [[communism]] had produced a good car.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00g2gml|title=Top Gear Series 12 Episode 6|publisher=BBC|date=4 December 2010| access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
[[Beyoncé]] used the airfield to film scenes for her 2013 self-titled visual album.
 
[[Beyoncé]] used the airfield to film scenes for her 2013 self-titled visual album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news24.com/channel/beyonces-explosive-new-music-video-filmed-in-bomb-shelter-20131010|title=Beyoncé's explosive new music video filmed in bomb shelter|date=11 October 2013|publisher=News24| access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
In the 1996 video game, ''[[Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars]]'', Lady Piermont mentions Greenham Common after helping George Stobbart get the Templar manuscript.
 
Greenham Common airfield was used as a filming location for the 2015 film ''[[Star Wars: The Force Awakens]]'' and 2017 film ''[[Star Wars: The Last Jedi]]''. The GAMA ''(GLCM Alert and Maintenance Area)'' area was used as the location for the above ground [[Resistance (Star Wars)|Resistance]] base on the fictional planet D'Qar.<ref name=sw2014>{{cite news|title=Star Wars surprise: Millennium Falcon and X-Wing pictured|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-29144135|access-date=11 September 2014|work=BBC News|date=10 September 2014}}</ref>
 
Greenham Common airfield was also used as a filming location for the 2019 film ''[[Fast and Furious 9]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/18207376.greenham-common-stars-new-fast-furious-9-trailer-can-spot/|title=Greenham Common stars in new Fast and Furious 9 trailer (but can you spot it?)|date=3 February 2020|newspaper= Basingstoke Gazette| access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
 
==See also==
{{Portal|Berkshire|World War II}}
*[[List of former Royal Air Force stations]]
*[[RAF Lakenheath near nuclear disasters]]
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