RAF Bassingbourn

Former military airbase in Cambridgeshire, England

Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force station located in Cambridgeshire approximately 3 mile (5 km) north of Royston, Hertfordshire and 11 mile (18 km) south west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. During the Second World War it served first as an RAF station and then as a bomber airfield of the Eighth Air Force, of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). It remains the home of the Tower Museum Bassingbourn.

RAF Bassingbourn was constructed by John Laing & Son between 1937 and 1939 in the parishes of Wendy and Bassingbourn immediately to the west of the A14 (now the A1198) road. The site selected was low ground between several tributaries of the River Cam. The area had been long cleared of forest and tended to be swampy and unstable, and because the boggy ground produced a persistent mist over the large meadow the site was considered ideal for airfield camouflage. The project was begun in April 1937 under the direction of Sir Maurice Laing, with Reginald Silk as the site engineer and John Crowther the site surveyor. Four C Type hangars (300 feet (91 m) long by 152 feet (46 m) wide by 29 feet (9 m) high, with eleven roof gables and hipped ends) were erected by a sub contractor in a semi circle at the south edge of the airfield site approximately one mile north of the hamlet of Kneesworth. Laing then began work pouring concrete foundations for the technical site buildings, communal sites and barracks; the nature of the ground necessitated the rebuilding of several foundations that had sunk into the ground. Roadway cores were built of unusual thickness to prevent crumbling of the pavement. The technical site was built with permanent, kerbed streets and landscaped. Originally treeless, Bassingbourn was made one of the most attractive RAF stations by the planting of hundreds of plum trees as part of the project. The runways were originally grass. The Bristol Blenheim light bombers that first used the field were able to operate under the existing conditions, although landings often produced pronounced water splashes, but the weight of heavier bombers tore ruts in the grass surface and limited take off speeds.

W & C French Ltd. constructed three concrete runways surfaced with asphalt during the winter of 1941–1942: a runway aligned southwest to northeast, one of crossing it north–south, and a 3300 feet (1006 m) runway connecting the northeast ends of the first two. The Class A airfield standard was promulgated by the Air Ministry in August 1942 and the runways at Bassingbourn were immediately extended. The main runway was lengthened to by extending it west, with the use of extensive tile drainage, across a moat off the Mill River. The north–south runway was extended south, and the third runway lengthened to the northwest. Additional perimeter track was added around the bomb store site, which was doubled in area, to reach the west end of the main runway. Ultimately seven miles of taxiway were paved. Four dispersal areas were also built. Dispersal A was placed in a large field between the technical site and the hamlet of Bassingbourn North End. Dispersal B was located north and west of the bomb store. Dispersal C was next to the A14 north of the runways and Dispersal D was built in the grand avenue of Wimpole Park, the tree lined entrance to Wimpole Hall across the A14 from the station. Bombers using this dispersal had to cross the road to marshal for take off. Ultimately 35 "pan" hardstands and 16 loop hardstands were constructed, able to accommodate 67 bombers. Bassingbourn made extensive use of camouflage to disguise the location of its runways. Prior to the building of the concrete runways, the strips were painted to blend them into the surrounding pattern of fields, lanes and drainage areas. After conversion to Class A standards, which required extensive clearing and grading of the airfield area, the areas between the runways were camouflaged to resemble agricultural crops.

During 1943 RAF Bassingbourn was the focus of a number of media events. The station and its locality were featured in the documentary film Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. One of the Memphis Belle's propellers stands to greet you at the gatehouse on entering the Army Training Regiment. The airfield and group were also the subject of a series of newspaper articles written by John Steinbeck during the spring and summer of 1943. Captain Clark Gable had temporary duty at Bassingbourn while producing a gunnery film for the USAAF. It also served as the location for the fictional "28th Bomb Group" in the 1950 Humphrey Bogart film Chain Lightning. Away from Hollywood, but still in the movies, RAF Bassingbourn was also the setting for the Airfield based shots in the 1955 film, The Dambusters, featuring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. In 1986/7 Stanley Kubrick used the barracks as a lot (Paris Island) in his film, Full Metal Jacket. The fake palm trees were there for a few years afterwards.

The RAF resumed occupation of Bassingbourn on 26 June 1945, the airfield was officially returned on 10 July 1945. The station became one of the main airfields for long range transport aircraft. In 1948 and 1949 Avro York, Avro Lancaster and Douglas Dakota aircraft from the base took part in the Berlin Airlift, a massive operation transporting essential commodities to the beleaguered city.

During the late 1940s, the United States Air Force began rotating deployments of Strategic Air Command (SAC) Boeing B 29 and Boeing B 50 Superfortresses squadrons to the United Kingdom as "Show of Force" deployments. With the Soviet blockade of Berlin in 1948 and the subsequent Berlin Airlift, these aircraft began regular deployments to the United Kingdom. Jurisdiction of Bassingbourn remained with the Royal Air Force. The United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) 7516th Air Support Squadron, 3909th Air Base Group stationed at RAF South Ruislip provided logistical support for these squadrons while in the UK. These deployments were of a brief nature, beginning in August 1950 and ending in May 1951. It is unknown if any United States atomic weapons were ever deployed to the United Kingdom. Since approximately 1970 the site has retained its RAF links by being the home of 2484 (Bassingbourn) Squadron Air Training Corps.

The former RAF Bassingbourn station was established as Bassingbourn Barracks in January 1970, as the new depot for the Queen's Division. The depot was responsible for training recruits undergoing their basic training before joining a regular battalion. In 1993 the Barracks were re designated the home of the Army Training Regiment, Bassingbourn and remained as such for nearly 20 years. Bassingbourn Barracks closed as an army training location in August 2012, and re opened in December 2018 as home to the Mission Training and Mobilisation Centre.