RAF Bampton Castle

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

RAF Bampton Castle looking north eastwards across the edge of the base

The base was established by the Royal Signals Regiment 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 (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. Innsworth: RAF (1, 071): 17. ISSN 0035-8614.
  6. "Defence High Frequency Communications Service" (PDF). High Frequency Industry Association. Babcock International Group. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2017.


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