RAF Bampton Castle

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RAF Bampton Castle
Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
Bampton, Oxfordshire in England
R.A.F. Bampton Castle - geograph.org.uk - 401213.jpg
RAF Bampton Castle looking north eastwards across the edge of the base
Site information
Type Royal Air Force station
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator British Army
Royal Air Force
Location
Oxfordshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
RAF Bampton Castle
Shown within Oxfordshire
Coordinates 51°42′47.9″N001°32′55″W / 51.713306°N 1.54861°W / 51.713306; -1.54861
Site history
Built1939 (1939)
In use1939 - 2006 (2006)
Battles/wars Second World War
Cold War

Royal Air Force Bampton Castle or RAF Bampton Castle is a former non-flying Royal Air Force station near Bampton Castle, Oxfordshire, England.

The base was established by the Royal Corps of Signals in 1939 and handed over to the RAF in 1969. [1] It was the home of No. 2 and No. 81 Signal Units, which dealt with high frequency radio communications. [2] [3] Day-to-day operations were overseen (parented in RAF speak) by RAF Brize Norton due to the larger base's proximity to Bampton Castle and that Brize was the home of No. 38 Group Tactical Communications Wing RAF (and successors until 2006). [4]

The station closed progressively between 2003 and 2006 when the RAF's high frequency communications system was replaced by the Defence High Frequency Communications Service. [5] [6] Approximately seventy-two masts were removed in December 2003 and the final two removed in 2015. The site is now in use as a business centre.

References

  1. ↑ "Bampton and Weald". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  2. ↑ "No 81 Signals Unit, RAF Bampton Castle". nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Heyman, Charles (2006). The armed forces of the United Kingdom : 2006-2007. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 190. ISBN   1-84415-489-0.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Mark, ed. (2017). "RAF Brize Norton through the 1960s and 1970s". 51 Degrees North. No. 5. Rushden: Forces & Corporate. p. 31. OCLC   57432971.
  5. ↑ Wise, Andrew, ed. (18 April 2003). "Bampton Castle set for closure". RAF News (1, 071). Innsworth: RAF: 17. ISSN   0035-8614.
  6. ↑ "Defence High Frequency Communications Service" (PDF). High Frequency Industry Association. Babcock International Group. 5 September 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.


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