RAF Mildenhall to close. Lakenheath to get F-35 by 2020

[sschofield]

Yep, Bentwaters was scheduled to receive the F-15E's that eventually went to Lakenheath. I think it was only Bentwaters that would have received them and not Woodbridge. The A-10s were due to be retired and the 81st was to be re-equipped with F-15s, although I dont think they ever got as far as designating which squadrons they would go to.

Somewhere along the lines while the work was underway at Bentwaters upgrading the base a decision was made to base the F-15s at Lakenheath. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this decision was a political one heavily influenced by local pressure groups who objected to flight operations from Bentwaters.

If the F-15s had gone to Bentwaters then it would almost certainly have meant the end for Lakenheath!

I would assume Lakenheath was always going to be the base for the F-15s due to the "vaults" for in certain HAS's from the B-61 days (presumably also used by the F-111F's too?) - Not aware of the existence of these at Bentwaters (the A-10's didn't have a nuclear role, did the Phantoms before them?). Curiouser and curiouser...

[graham luxton]

Yep, Bentwaters was scheduled to receive the F-15E's that eventually went to Lakenheath. I think it was only Bentwaters that would have received them and not Woodbridge. The A-10s were due to be retired and the 81st was to be re-equipped with F-15s, although I dont think they ever got as far as designating which squadrons they would go to.

Somewhere along the lines while the work was underway at Bentwaters upgrading the base a decision was made to base the F-15s at Lakenheath. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this decision was a political one heavily influenced by local pressure groups who objected to flight operations from Bentwaters.

If the F-15s had gone to Bentwaters then it would almost certainly have meant the end for Lakenheath!

I would assume Lakenheath was always going to be the base for the F-15s due to the "vaults" for in certain HAS's from the B-61 days (presumably also used by the F-111F's too?) - Not aware of the existence of these at Bentwaters (the A-10's didn't have a nuclear role, did the Phantoms before them?). Curiouser and curiouser...

Not only did the 81TFW Phantoms have a nuclear role but also the Voodoo's and Thunderstreak's before them - originally open ended Alert Barns at both Bentwaters and Woodbridge were constructed to shelter the a/c assigned to the "Victor" Nuclear Alert Duty. Alert Barns of the same design were also constructed at Lakenheath and Wethersfield.

[sschofield]

Interesting Graham! I was referring specifically to the WS3 vaults built into the floor of a number of the HASs at Lakenheath, like I said, not sure that Bentwaters ever had those? They were completed in the mid-90's, which I think was around the time Bentwaters lost the A-10s anyway?

[graham luxton]

Interesting Graham! I was referring specifically to the WS3 vaults built into the floor of a number of the HASs at Lakenheath, like I said, not sure that Bentwaters ever had those? They were completed in the mid-90's, which I think was around the time Bentwaters lost the A-10s anyway?

Its an interesting question Stuart. My understanding is, that in a war situation, the A10's would have vacated Bent/Wood and forward deployed into Central Europe leaving space for a/c from the US, with a `Tactical` nuclear role, to occupy the bases. The 3 deployments by 474TFW F-16's to Bentwater's in 1982,'83 and '85 suggest that in a crisis Bentwater's and possibly Woodbridge may have been their forward bases. If this scenario is correct then the modification you are referring to may well have been carried out.

regards,
Graham

[TankBuster]

The eight VA barns at Wethersfield are to this day still in their original condition! I had a look in one of them last year and it still even had the jet exhaust baffles in place at the back of the barn.
It was quite an eerie feeling standing there knowing that the barn once housed an F-100 armed with a nuke!
It was one of those moments where I looked around appreciating the history of the place, knowing what had been there before...and I remember thinking at the time if only walls could talk!

TankBuster

[Reach1985]

In reply to Graham - yes I believe that was very much the plan for the 'Twin Bases' hence why all the A-10 squadrons had forward operating locations (FOL) in Germany which they would regularly deploy too. That would have allowed those bases and additionally places like Wethersfield and Sculthorpe to receive assets from CONUS and if I'm not mistaken I think Boscombe Down - and probably others. Had push come to shove I imagine every possible bit of concrete would have been used in some way before it all got blown to smithereens!

[welshandy]

In reply to Graham - yes I believe that was very much the plan for the 'Twin Bases' hence why all the A-10 squadrons had forward operating locations (FOL) in Germany which they would regularly deploy too. That would have allowed those bases and additionally places like Wethersfield and Sculthorpe to receive assets from CONUS and if I'm not mistaken I think Boscombe Down - and probably others. Had push come to shove I imagine every possible bit of concrete would have been used in some way before it all got blown to smithereens!

Some of the Literature I have of that time says that the plan was SAC FB-111's would have gone to Boscombe Down(HAS's built for them), Bentwaters/Woodbridge would have had CONUS F16's . Also US based "Lizard Scheme" A10's would back up the 81st, 4TFW(SJ) F4E's were "Dual based" with Ramstein . How much would actually get here before the Warsaw Pact & NATO started throwing "Buckets of instant Sunshine" at each other

[TankBuster]

Yes, the 81st A-10s would have deployed to four forward operating locations in Germany... Sembach, Leipheim, Ahlhorn, Norvenich. I'm pretty sure that out of the six A-10 squadrons assigned to the 81st TFW there would always be two already deployed at the FOL's in Germany at any one time, and this was done on a rotational basis leaving the other four squadrons back in the UK.

It is widely believed that Bentwaters housed an enormous stockpile of NATO nuclear weapons, which would at the time have seemed quite strange considering that the A-10 couldn't carry them, but then as we now know the nukes would have been loaded onto F-16s which would have occupied Bentwaters after the A-10's had moved into Germany when things went 'Hot'.

Overall, it seems that Bentwaters and Woodbridge were just a huge maintenance and training hub for the A-10s because no combat missions would have ever been launched by the A-10s from those bases in the event of war.

TankBuster

[sschofield]

Very interesting! That explains the occasional deployments of US-based F-16's into Bentwaters in the 80's and 90's!

[graham luxton]

Some of the Literature I have of that time says that the plan was SAC FB-111's would have gone to Boscombe Down(HAS's built for them), Bentwaters/Woodbridge would have had CONUS F16's . Also US based "Lizard Scheme" A10's would back up the 81st, 4TFW(SJ) F4E's were "Dual based" with Ramstein . How much would actually get here before the Warsaw Pact & NATO started throwing "Buckets of instant Sunshine" at each other[/quote]

I doubt if SAC ever intended to Forward Base its FB-111A's at Boscombe Down or anywhere else in the UK because I suspect we would have seen some evidence of it if that was the case. Certainly,the 17 FB-111A's which did visit the UK over the period 1971 - 1989 had nothing to do with any deployment plan, unlike the operations of Cannon's 27TFW/CC, 522TFS (red fin stripe) whose F-111D's deployed to Boscombe Down 4 times in the Eighties - '80, '83, '86 and '89. A total of 32 'D's were involved. The 1986 deployment also included 6 366TFW/MO, 390ECS EF-111A's which suggests that ECM assets may also have gone to Boscombe in a crisis - these were the only F-111 units hosted by the base.

[page_verify]

Did Boscombe have the facilities to support/secure/maintain the AGM-69? I'm sure they would have deployed if they had to, but I'm not sure I've ever seen any mention of anything other than freefall nuclear aircraft weapons ever being forward deployed anywhere in the days after colour TV was invented. (Apart from the fact the AGM-69 was itself a deathtrap, nuclear missiles require very specialist maintenance areas - usually a long way from....well anything really)

[graham luxton]

Did Boscombe have the facilities to support/secure/maintain the AGM-69? I'm sure they would have deployed if they had to, but I'm not sure I've ever seen any mention of anything other than freefall nuclear aircraft weapons ever being forward deployed anywhere in the days after colour TV was invented. (Apart from the fact the AGM-69 was itself a deathtrap, nuclear missiles require very specialist maintenance areas - usually a long way from....well anything really)

As this was a SAC weapon for the B-1B/B-52/FB-111A, I doubt if there was any requirement for Boscombe to be AGM-69 capable.

[quid21]

Wasn't the F-117 certified to carry a couple of small nukes? I'm sure I read that somewhere - could they have been forward deployed if tensions got really high back then?

[page_verify]

The aircraft had the special wiring and controls for the B-61, but I'd be surprised if any air or ground crews were actually qualified for that mission.

[page_verify]

No news or rumours for almost a month? Perhaps the rumours from the last couple of months are now "happening"?

[JG71]

No news or rumours for almost a month? Perhaps the rumours from the last couple of months are now "happening"?

KC-135 will move out in September/October 2019. Construction work at Ramstein will begin within the next few months. Click to view the planed construction at Ramstein http://static.rheinpfalz.de/typo3temp/_ ... 1a5d69.jpg

[morleyca]

Any news on Ospreys to Spangdalem

[page_verify]

This article from last September shows they're preparing for the CV-22s in Germany, but it doesn't give any hint as to when they'll move there.
http://www.mildenhall.af.mil/News/Artic ... ic-testing

Given what we know so far, this looks to be the future of Mildenhall's units:

100th ARW - Ramstein, Oct 2019
352nd SOW - Spangdahlem, no date
501st CSW - Croughton
95th RS - "To be confirmed"
488th IS - "To be confirmed"
727th AMS - "To be confirmed"

[Snoop 95]

Article from Bury Free Press about the start of works to accommodate the F35:
http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/lig ... -1-7899148

[Freeman Lowell]

Article from Bury Free Press about the start of works to accommodate the F35:
http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/lig ... -1-7899148

They would be a paler shade of gray then?
Freeman