Royal Air Force Barford St John or more simply RAF Barford St John is a Royal Air Force station just north of the village of Barford St. John, Oxfordshire, England. It is now a non-flying facility, operated by the United States Air Force as a communications centre with many large communications aerials, and is a satellite of RAF Croughton.
RAF Barford St John | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near Bloxham, Oxfordshire in England | |||||||||||
 Aerial view of RAF Barford St John during 2011 | |||||||||||
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  RAF Barford St John Shown within Oxfordshire | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°00′13″N 001°21′36″W / 52.00361°N 1.36000°W | ||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station (US Visiting Forces) | ||||||||||
| Code | BJ[1] | ||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||||
| Operator | United States Air Force | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa formerly RAF Flying Training Command (1941-42) RAF Bomber Command * No. 92 (OTU) Group RAF | ||||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1941 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1941 – 1946 (Royal Air Force) 1951 – present (US Air Force) | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Elevation | 116 metres (381 ft)[1] AMSL | ||||||||||
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| Notes: Flying ceased in 1946 | |||||||||||
History
editRAF use
editRAF Barford St John was opened on 30 July 1941 as a training facility for RAF Flying Training Command. It had three grass runways, used primarily by Airspeed Oxfords of No. 15 Service Flying Training School RAF from RAF Kidlington.[2] The airfield was rebuilt as an RAF Bomber Command airfield with paved runways and night operations equipment and reopened as a satellite for RAF Upper Heyford in December 1942.[2] In 1943 the station served as flight test centre for its Gloster E.28/39 and Gloster Meteor jet aircraft.[3] Bomber Command and No. 16 Operational Training Unit was stationed there with Vickers Wellingtons until December 1944.[2] No. 1655 Mosquito Training Unit RAF replaced the Wellingtons at that time.[2] After the war the airfield was closed in 1946 and placed into care and maintenance.[2]
The site was used for some background filming for the 1949 film Twelve O'Clock High.[4][5][6]
The following units were also there at some point:[7]
- No. 4 Squadron RAF[8]
- Satellite for No. 21 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit RAF (December 1944)[9]
- No. 169 Squadron RAF[10]
- No. 170 Squadron RAF[11]
USAF use
editIn 1951 the United States Air Force opened a communications (transmitter) centre on the airfield.[3] The site has a Scope Signal III installation which was used to modernize "Giant Talk", Strategic Air Command's world-wide command and controls network, which operates from RAF Croughton.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit
Citations
edit- ^ a b Falconer 2012, p. 46.
- ^ a b c d e "Barford St John Airfield". Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ a b Crossley, William (20 September 2011). "Base's special place in aviation history". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ "Twelve O'Clock High". Movie Locations. 1949. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ CQ: The Radio Amateurs' Journal - Volume 22, p. 42. 1966.
- ^ "Archbury / 12 O'clock High". Airfield Research Group. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ "Barford St John". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 24.
- ^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 190.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 169.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 65.
- ^ Duke 1989, p. 314.
Bibliography
edit- Duke, Simon (1989). U.S. Military Forces and Installations in Europe (SIPRI Monographs). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198291329.
- Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
- Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.
