RAF Wyton

 military airbase, Second World War 1939-1945, RAF - Royal Air Force

RAF Wyton (IATA: QUY, ICAO: EGUY) is a Royal Air Force station near St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. In terms of organisation RAF Wyton was a part of the combined station RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow, a merger of Wyton with two previously separate bases, RAF Brampton and RAF Henlow. However, On 2 April 2012, the tri site of RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow was disbanded, the newly formed Joint Forces Command (JFC) taking Command responsibility for RAF Wyton and Brampton Camp, while leaving RAF Henlow under the control of HQ Air Command. RAF Brampton lost its status as an RAF Station and has been renamed Brampton Camp RAF Wyton, with the day to day administration of the Camp now the responsibility of RAF Wyton. Brampton Camp is due for closure at the end of 2013.

RAF Wyton is the largest of the three. It is home to Equipment Support (Air) and Corporate Technical Services. The airfield is used for flying training by 57(R) Squadron EFT, the University Air Squadrons of London and Cambridge and No 5 Air Experience Flight.

Order of Battle:

Defence Equipment & Support
(DE&S)en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Equipment_%26_Support
Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JARIC
Defence Security Assurance Services
Defence Infrastructure Organisation
Defence Intelligence Estates Rationalisation Team (PRIDE)
57 (R) Squadron, No 3 Elementary Flying Training School
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._57_Squadron_RAF
Joint Forces Command (JFC) HQ

also:
University of London Air Squadron
Cambridge University Air Squadron
No 5 Air Experience Flight

www.raf.mod.uk/rafbramptonwyton/aboutus/index.cfm

History

One of the oldest airfield sites in East Anglia three miles north-east of Huntingdon, a landing ground was established at Wyton in 1916 on meadowland at Hartford Hill on the eastern side of the crossroads. Developed as a training establishment, it survived until 1919 although it was occasionally used for private flying thereafter.

During the early expansion plans in the 1930s, the site was one of those approved for construction of a permanent RAF station, the camp being built on the south side of the landing ground adjacent to the 81090 road. The three Type C hangars were positioned in an arc fronting the usual bombing circle and a fourth Type C placed behind on the east side. Construction from 1935 took nearly two years to complete by the main contractors W & C French Co Ltd.

No.139 Squadron was re-formed at the station in September 1936 and No. 114 in December, both to fly Hinds. No. 114 converted to Blenheims in March 1937 and No. 139 in July. Wyton was then the premier No. 2 Group station and these were its first Blenheim-equipped squadrons.

It was a No. 139 Squadron Blenheim that carried out the first Bomber Command sortie of the war - a photographic reconnaissance over the north-west German coast on September 3, 1939. In December 1939, both Wyton squadrons were sent to France and Nos. 15 and 40 Squadrons returned from the Continent to Wyton, the first step in converting Battle squadrons to Blenheims. Both squadrons flew their first bombing raids from Wyton on May 10, 1940 against targets in the Low Countries. The Blenheims of No. 57 Squadron were based briefly at Wyton in June before going south, returning for two weeks the following month before flying north only to appear again at Wyton in late October. Although Wyton was close to No. 2 Group Headquarters in Huntingdon, the airfield was far removed from the main grouping in Norfolk and Suffolk.

As Bomber Command was increasingly committed to building up its strength in medium and heavy bombers for operations in the hours of darkness, a decision was made to transfer Wyton to No. 3 Group, whose general area was spreading west, and to convert Blenheim squadrons to Wellingtons. However, as there was not room for three Wellington squadrons on one station, No. 57 was moved to Feltwell early in November while Nos. 15 and 40 were introduced to the Vickers type. Both became operational with the Wellington in December and in February 1941 No. 40 Squadron was moved to the satellite at Alconbury.

It was planned that No. 3 Group would ultimately become an all-Stirling formation and April 1941 saw No. 15 Squadron re-equipping with this giant. Hard runway construction was carried out at Wyton in the winter of 1941-42 with a main runway 09-27 at 2,000 yards and the subsidiaries, 06-24 and 16-34, both 1,400 yards. Thirty-seven irregular-shaped hardstandings had been put down on the airfield during the first two years of the war and these were now linked to a new perimeter track. At this time Wyton could accommodate a maximum of 2,293 males and 428 females. The bomb stores were located across the road to the north-west of the airfield.

The formation of the Pathfinder Force in No. 3 Group - which became No. 8 Group in January 1943 - found Wyton its headquarters. No. 15 Squadron was one of the first assigned to the Pathfinder Force in August 1942 and it was moved to the satellite at Bourn (which had replaced Alconbury). Lancasters were considered the prime vehicle for heavy bomber pathfinder duties; consequently No. 83 Squadron was brought in from No. 5 Group at Scampton. In September 1942, No. 109 arrived from Stradishall to be organised as an Oboe Mosquito unit, carrying out its first operation from Wyton on December 20/21, 1942. No. 109 remained until July 1943 when it exchanged places with No. 139 Squadron at Marham where the Oboe-equipped Mosquitos were to be concentrated. No. 139 Squadron's Mosquitos performed pathfinder duties until being moved out to Upwood in February 1944 to make use of H2S equipment. No. 83 Squadron's Lancasters remained with No. 8 Group at Wyton until April 1944 when No. 5 Group set up its own pathfinder activities and reclaimed the squadron.

To further the Light Night Striking Force, No. 128 Squadron was re-formed at Wyton in September 1944 with Mosquitos, becoming operational on October 10/11, 1944. So successful was the LNSF that another squadron, No. 163, was re-formed in late January 1945, flying its first raid on 28/29th of the month. During the war a total of 218 bombers were lost in operations from Wyton: 57 Blenheims, 5 Wellingtons, 48 Stirlings, 64 Lancasters and 47 Mosquitos.

After VE-Day No. 128 Squadron was moved to Warboys in June being replaced by No. 156 Squadron with Lancasters. No. 163 disbanded in August and No. 156 in September. After a year's lull, four Lancaster equipped squadrons were based at Wyton, the Lancs eventually giving way to Lincolns.

In the early `fifties the main runway was lengthened across a small public road m the east end and the airfield then became the main RAF centre for strategic reconnaissance with Mosquitos, later being replaced by Canberras and, later still, Valiants. Victors replaced the Valiants and endured through the `seventies when Nimrods came on the scene. Canberras returned and were present during the next two decades. Wyton ceased to be a flying station in March 1995 when it was taken over by units of Logistics Command. The Cambridge University Air Squadron took up residence in 1999 and flying recommenced.

www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/s106.html