RAF Upwood

Royal Air Force Upwood or more simply RAF Upwood is a former Royal Air Force station adjacent to the village of Upwood, Cambridgeshire, England in the United Kingdom.

It was a non-flying station which was under the control of the United States Air Force from 1981, and one of three RAF stations in Cambridgeshire used by the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). Upwood, along with RAF Molesworth and RAF Alconbury are considered the "Tri-Base Area" due to their close geographic proximity, and interdependency.

History

First World War

The Royal Flying Corps requisitioned 160 acres (0.65 km²) of farmland near the village of Upwood in 1917. In September of that year the station opened as Bury (Ramsey). This initial name referred to its location near the village of Bury and the larger market town of Ramsey. Initially there were no permanent flying units assigned to the station. Instead, No. 75 Squadron flying BE.2 aircraft out of nearby Elmswell, Suffolk used the station as a night-landing ground and satellite field.

Upwood

Coordinates: 52°26′N 0°09′W / 52.43°N 0.15°W / 52.43; -0.15

Upwood is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. Upwood lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) north of Huntingdon, near Bury. Upwood is in the civil parish of Upwood and The Raveleys. Upwood is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.

The village lies along the High Street which runs parallel to the main road from Great Raveley to Ramsey about 300 yards to the west. The church stands about the middle of the village and there are several 17th-century cottages to the north and south of it.

In September 1917, the Royal Air Force started work on RAF Upwood, a large airfield near the village used by both the RAF and latterly by the United States Air Force.

Two nature reserves, Lady's Wood and Upwood Meadows, lie near to the village; the latter is a national nature reserve.

The village also contains a free Book Exchange housed in a red telephone box.