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In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
RAF Greenham Common | |||||||||||||
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| Near Newbury, Berkshire in England | |||||||||||||
 RAF Greenham Common during the 1980s | |||||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force US Army Air Forces (1943–1945) US Air Force (1951–1992) | ||||||||||||
| Condition | Closed | ||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||
  RAF Greenham Common Location within Berkshire  RAF Greenham Common RAF Greenham Common (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°22′43″N 001°16′56″W / 51.37861°N 1.28222°W | ||||||||||||
| Grid reference | SU500645[1] | ||||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||||
| Built | 1943 | ||||||||||||
| In use | 1943–1993 | ||||||||||||
| Fate |
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| Events | Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp (1981–2000) | ||||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: EGVI, WMO: 037435 | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 121 metres (397 ft) AMSL | ||||||||||||
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Royal Air Force Greenham Common or more simply RAF Greenham Common is a former Royal Air Force station in the civil parishes of Greenham and Thatcham in the English county of Berkshire. The airfield was southeast of Newbury, about 55 miles (89 km) west of London.
Opened in 1942, it was used by the United States Air Force during the Second World War and during the Cold War, and 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 Greenham Lodge Estate, which was set in the midst on Greenham Common, was requisitioned by the Air Ministry in 1941.[2]
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".[3]
The 51st TCW HQ followed its groups to North Africa as part of Operation Torch in November 1942.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
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:[7]
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.[7]
Literally as the 368th FG was moving out, the 438th Troop Carrier Group was flying into Greenham Common from RAF Langar. Flying Douglas C-47 Skytrains, they had the following Troop Carrier squadrons and fuselage codes:[8]
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.[8]
In the post-Second World War years, the 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 SAC'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. One of the first deployments was 310th Bombardment Wing which arrived with its Boeing B-47E Stratojets in October 1956.[9]
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 65 feet (20 m) 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.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
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.[16]
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.[17]
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.[18] Beginning in 1973 the base became the home of the International Air Tattoo, a large scale international military airshow.[19]
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).[20] 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.[21]
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.[22]
After being equipped with the new weapons, the 501st Tactical Missile Wing was activated at Greenham Common on 1 July 1982.[23] 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.[23]
In 1997, Greenham Common was designated as public parkland, effectively returning it to its pre-Second World War status but with restrictions. Greenham and Crookham Commons became a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[24][25] 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.[26]
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.[27] However, this was repeatedly delayed by political and construction problems, until it was eventually opened to the public in September 2018.[28][29]
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.[29]
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.[30]
The airfield was used in the sixth series of London's Burning where the production team built a petrol garage and diner to be used in a large incident in episode 7.[31]
An episode of BBC's 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.[32]
Beyoncé used the airfield to film scenes for her 2013 visual album.[33]
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) was used as the location for the above ground Resistance base on the fictional planet D'Qar.[34] In 2023, the base was once again used for filming a Star Wars location, the second series of the television programme Andor.[35]
Greenham Common airfield was also used as a filming location for the 2019 film Fast and Furious 9.[36]
Additionally, Greenham Common airfield was used as a filming location for the 2023 film Heart of Stone.[37]
The airfield is currently used to host Greenham Common, Newbury parkrun, a weekly 5-kilometre running and walking event.[38] It was originally known as Newbury parkrun, but was renamed following the establishment of a separate parkrun at Victoria Park in Newbury to avoid confusion.[39]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Royal Air Force Greenham Common or more simply RAF Greenham Common is a former Royal Air Force station in the civil parishes of Greenham and Thatcham in the English county of Berkshire. The airfield was southeast of Newbury, about 55 miles (89 km) west of London. Opened in 1942, it was used by the United States Air Force during the Second World War and during the Cold War, and 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.
Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a series of protest camps established to protest against nuclear weapons being placed at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began on 5 September 1981 after a female activist group, Women for Life on Earth, arrived at Greenham to protest against the government's decision to allow American cruise missiles to be stored there. After realising that the march alone was not going to get them the attention that they needed to have the missiles removed, women began to stay at Greenham to continue their protest. The first blockade of the base occurred in March 1982 with 250 women protesting, during which 34 arrests occurred. The camp became the central focus of the British peace movement and a global symbol of the antinuclear struggle and the centrality of women to it. Despite the installation of cruise missiles at Greenham in 1983, the protests, historian Martin Shaw argues, contributed decisively to the 1987 INF treaty which led to their removal in 1988. The camp was brought to a close in September 2000 to make way for the Commemorative and Historic Site on the land that housed the original Women's Peace Camp at Yellow Gate Greenham Common between the years 1981 and 2000.
Greenham is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. Greenham may also refer to: RAF Greenham Common, former military airfield in Berkshire Greenham (surname) Greenham Stakes, horse race Greenham Barton, manor house in Somerset, England Greenham Lock, lock in Berkshire
Between 1948 and 1992, personnel and aircraft of the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air Command (SAC) were routinely deployed to bases in England. An informal agreement to base SAC bombers in the UK was reached between US General Carl Spaatz, and Marshal of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Lord Tedder, in July 1946. At that time there were only three bases in the UK deemed suitable for operating Boeing B-29 Superfortresses: RAF Lakenheath, RAF Marham and RAF Sculthorpe. These were airbases that had been extended during World War II when there were plans to use B-29s against Germany. When the Berlin Blockade began in June 1948, two B-29 groups deployed to the UK, but neither was equipped with Silverplate bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Nuclear-capable Boeing B-50 Superfortress bombers began deploying in 1949, and nuclear bombs followed in 1950. The original bases in East Anglia were considered inadequate for the deployment of the forces called for in the Offtackle war plan, and there were concerns that they were exposed to a surprise attack from the North Sea. New bases were developed at RAF Brize Norton, RAF Upper Heyford, RAF Fairford and RAF Greenham Common were therefore developed as bases, which began to be used in 1952. The bases were initially manned by the RAF, were handed over to the USAF in 1951. They continued to be known as RAF stations, and the Royal Air Force Ensign was flown alongside the flag of the United States. The B-29 groups on the UK and the depot at RAF Burtonwood were placed under the 3rd Air Division. It became the Third Air Force in 1951, and SAC activated the 7th Air Division to control SAC forces in the UK. In 1953 the propeller-driven B-29s and B-50s were replaced with Boeing B-47 Stratojet deployments to English bases. These temporary duty postings (TDY) typically involved an entire wing of 45 B-47s, along with 20 Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter aerial refuelling tankers, which were held at readiness at an English base for ninety days. In 1958 TDY postings were replaced by a new system of overseas deployments called Operation Reflex. A permanent SAC presence was established, with a SAC airbase group permanently assigned to each base, and the ninety-day deployments were replaced by twenty-one day deployments of two or three aircraft and crews. These aircraft were kept on full alert status for two weeks, which meant bombers and tankers were on the runway, fuelled and armed with a Mark 39 nuclear bomb, and ready to take off at 15 minutes notice. SAC B-47s in the UK were on alert during the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis, as were Thor missiles manned by RAF units, but with the warheads in the custody of SAC officers who controlled their launch through a dual key system. With the introduction of intercontinental ballistic missiles and long-range Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers, SAC no longer required bases in the UK, and Reflex deployments ceased in 1965, but SAC bombers continued to visit, and the UK was used by the Lockheed U-2 and Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. SAC Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender tankers based in the UK supported the abortive 1980 hostage rescue attempt in Iran and the 1986 United States bombing of Libya, and in 1991 joined B-52 bombers temporarily based in the UK to conduct bombing in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Madam C.J. Walker
