It was an interesting time as we would periodically go to Langham Camp, near Cromer, and fire at Radio Controlled Aerial Targets over the North Sea. When we were TDY to Langham, another battalion, usually the 92nd from Brize Norton would take over our alert status.

Regarding the incident with the F84 dropping a wing tank. I saw that as our gun site was on alert that day. When the pilot of that F84 taxied by our site, he slid his canopy back, grinned and gave us a thumbs up sign. We joked about the chewing he would get as we figured the Base Commander would be waiting for him to park the aircraft.

We always hated it when the B47 and B36 wings came in on TDY as it meant we had to go on 24 hour alert. Those of us that were married and living off base had a difficult time getting home to visit our familys.

Hopefully, you will get more info on the 4th Battalion as more of the Army personnel become aware of this site.

Delbert (Del) Jeter
Battery A, 4th AAA Battalion; Gun Section Leader
July 1954 - June 1957

I was on an outpost where we had to carry our water in a "jerry can" and we had an outdoor privy. Conditions were very primitive in those early days. I was an operations and intelligence specialist (a fancy description for an early warning radar operator). We had to walk along the flight line for approximately 2 miles to the air mess and showers. Eventually we were moved into garrison in air barracks located near Lower Heyford. They had a very small PX at this end of the base. Our radar site was setup inside the gate leading to the army motor pool.

The most excitement that we had during my tour was a B-47 crashing after aborting a takeoff near our radar site. The B-47 Wings would come over for 90 days and the B-36 Wings would come over for 2 weeks. As long as there was a bomber on the ground we had duty.

There were also two chemical companies located near us. Their duty was to lay smoke screens when unidentified aircraft would penetrate the security of the base and they knew how to choke us with smoke. They would be in place before first morning light and not return to garrison until well after dark. They had it rough in the during the summer hours because of the extended days hours. The Army personnel were subject to duty 24 hours a day as long as you were on the base.

The AP's wrote us up constantly because we were on the main part of the base in our fatigue uniforms after duty hours. We used to visit the "BLOKE" tea shop which was located approximately midway between the main base and the army area while walking to the main base for haircuts, sickcall and visits to the mainbase PX. We were always getting DR's, which the Army disregarded because we were not supposed to look pretty all the time. The AP's never could comprehend our status. Incidentally we were paid by the Department of the Air Force.

In general duty with the AIR FORCE was a drastic improvement over sleeping in holes and the standard ARMY lifestyle. During the luxury of off time we spent our time in Northampton, Oxford and occasionally London. We used to patronize Whites Bar and The Nagshead Bar in Oxford at least one evening per week.

There is an airman who was stationed at Upper Heyford who has been organizing annual reunions. His name is Bill Whitehurst and he runs an ad on the website regarding the reunions. I have never been able to attend because the reunions are in conflict with a veterans organization of which I am an active member and they hold their National Convention at the same time. I am on his roster which consist army personnel and airman. you may want to look him up on the website. I believe that I found him searching RAF STATION-UPPER HEYFORD.

Regards,
Rob

I would just like to say I enjoy the material found in this site, however, I have roots at Upper Heyford that started long before the F-111's were born.

In August 1951 I was assigned to the Air Base Group stationed at Upper Heyford. I traveled to England on a troop ship (USS Upshire) and arrived at South Hampton. We went to a staging base that I cannot recall the name, and from there I went to Upper Heyford. My primary AFSC was in munitions. Upon arriving at Upper Heyford I discovered that munitions for which I trained did not exist at Upper Heyford. I then volunteered for duty in Korea and my request was denied. The Air Force decided that I could better serve my country working in "Supply." They took us to a large hangar and we were kept busy for quite some time chipping concrete from the tracks that the hangar doors rolled on. Eventually we started building racks to accommodate the supplies that were being sent to Upper Heyford , and then sorting and labeling everything and placing them in their appropriate location.

The supplies that were received were to support the airplanes that were coming to Upper Heyford TDY from various state side bases. In those days we were accustomed to seeing KB-50s, B-36s, and eventually the modern jets designated as B-47s. What a job. What a base. Very interesting for a young Airman such as myself.

Not too long before returning stateside we started receiving 50 Cal ammunition as our wartime stock and NO bomb dump to put it in. An old inactive runway was designated as the storage. This ammo came in during a BLIZZARD (I believe March 1953) and the then Base Commander, Col. Alvin C. Gilliam lll, was carrying food to us in his private auto because we could not break long enough to go on base and eat at the chow hall. That is how fast the 2 million, five hundred and fifty- thousand rounds of 50 Cal ammo was arriving on English Lorries. We made 8 large A-Frames to store that large amount of ammo. Quite a task.

During the early part of my assignment to Upper Heyford the Army Engineers were busy building (rebuilding) the runway to support the newer and modern A/C. Those Engineers and lots of Air Force personnel resided on what was then called "Site 2", which was the development closest to Lower Heyford. We would have to go outside and down the walk to a latrine to take our showers. That was the good old days. I don't think the Airmen of today would do that.

I have many fond memories of England in general, and Upper Heyford in particular. I passed through there in 1982 and everything had changed. I did get to spend one week in England but only two days at Upper Heyford. Enjoyed it very much.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about that period of my life. You can reach me at jpcorbin@aol.com.

You have my permission to post the info on the web site that I sent you. My name is James (Jim) A. Corbin. I did go on to make the Air Force a career, and upon retirement from the AF I had another career in Civil Service. After a heart attack and subsequent surgery I retired and am now residing in North Pole, Alaska.

James Corbin, Supply, Aug 1951 - 1953.

Let me tell you some of my experiences at UH to the best of my fading memory.

We came over by troopship (Butner) in about January of 1955 from either New Jersey or Staten Island. We landed in Southhampton after 8 stormy days. We were processed at Shaftesbury; I believe that it was a converted hospital since they called the barracks "wards."

We were taken to Bushey Hall, outside of London for assignment. This was the headquarters for the 6th Chemical Battalion which covered all the chemical companies in England. My MOS at the time was Chemical Supply Specialist; I was trained for this principally because a had an MS chemical degree. I found that this MOS was not or was ever needed there. This was a disappointment since I could be assigned to almost anything.

At Bushey Hall they asked a group of us "Who can type?" I instinctively raised my hand. This was sort of a white lie. I did typing in school but was not really a good typist. We were taken to RAF Station Upper Heyford, APO 194. The permanent organization here was 3918th ABG.

UH was divided into two parts. Area A was the main base and headquarters. It contained the PX, dispensory, mess hall, BOQ. NCO club, barber shop, beer hall (in a bunker) etc. There was no real hospital in UH. The main hospital was at Burderop Park near Swindon. There were some RAF personnel present at UH; I was told that they packed parachutes. They had their own snack bar which I occasionally went to.

About a mile west from main base toward Lower Heyford was Area B where the Army was stationed. The barracks here were probably from WW II, some being concrete, some wooden and some Quonset huts. There were 2 chemical companies at UH, the 83rd and the 98th. After a while the 83rd deactivated and we all became part of the 98th. The mission of the chemical corps in England was to lay smoke screens to obscure bases and to lessen flash damage from an atomic attack. The troops for making smoke were on the flightline from first light to last light. This was not bad in Winter when the days are short, but it was terrible in Summer when the days in Summer were almost continuous. Because of the long days in Summer, they were served 4 meals a day!

UH was a SAC base; the aircraft were mostly B 47s with B 36s. Occasionally a lone B 50 would appear as would an RAF Camberra. There were many KC 97s and C47s.

We were not paid in greenback dollars but in script, which looked like Monopoly money; these included paper Nickels. One could convert script into Sterling but not the other way around.

On arriving at UH, I became the finance clerk, alternate company clerk and I&E NCO for both companies. This was wonderful news since I became exempt from duty. (guard, KP, latrine etc.) Some other good news was that I could bring my pregnant wife to England and live off-base. Being only a Private at that time, the military would not bring her over and that I would have to bring her over on my own. There were quite a few financial allowences if she came over and it would be quite practical for this arrangement. She flew over and we lived in Oxford; my older son was born at Burderop Park.

We managed to visit London every weekend we could and took my leave on the Continent.

In August of 1956 we left England on a troopship (Randall). After 8 days,we arrived at the Brooklyn Army Base. I was discharged a few days later from Ft. Hamilton.

Just writing this has made me recall many memories. lf you have any questions, please let me know.

Leo Barish, 1955 - 1956, PFC, Army
Serving in two chemical companies (smoke), the 83rd and the 98th.

In coming across the UH web site, you might be interested to know that Heyford was activated by USAF in 1951, as a SAC forward operating base, under the command of 7th Air Div., South Ruislip. The command line then went to SAC at Offutt AFB. All tenant units (or most) were under the jurisdiction of Third AF, also at Ruislip, which was under the command of USAFE. I was at Heyford from 1952 to 1955. We had three aircraft assigned -- A B17G and two C-47s. In addition to SAC bomb wings on TDY, we periodically had transient aircraft visitors. The base was manned by the 3918th Air Base Group and defended by an army 40mm anti-aircraft batallion and an army chemical smoke company. The 3918th was also host to what was called an Air Depot Squadron, a unit which controlled special weapons for visiting B-47s and B-36s. From reading online material, the base obviously grew through the years and became the home for many people. I served in Headquarters Squadron and at various times edited the base paper, wrote speeches and conducted tours. In retrospect from reading more contemporary accounts, the base I was familiar with was probably somewhat primitive compared to later years.

Feel free to use any info I send you, re UH. I arrived there in Dec. 1952 and for three years was sort of de facto public information guy with 3 stripes, in addition to working at Group Hq. for the adjutant and Sgt. Maj., and working in what was called top secret control. I edited the first base paper, wrote speeches and releases and some months before coming back was invited to edit a Readers Digest-size magazine at 7th Air Div., then at South Ruislip, outside of London. I declined the latter offer since I had such little time remaining at Heyford. Such an assignment would have been great in the early days of my tour. I have a wealth of information dealing with the base in the 50s, which I'll share with you. Of great value is a "yearbook," which was published in 1954, plus AF pamphlets dealing with USAF in England.

From the web photos (which I'll pass on to some pals who were there) the place fundamentally looks the same, although it appears that UH evolved into a much more attractive installation than the one we knew, which must seem somewhat primitive to those who were there in later years.

In the fifties, all the SAC bases (units prefixed with 39-- ours the 3918th) were under the command of 7th Air Div., and it directly under SAC at Offutt. Tenant units were generally under 3rd AF, with Hq. at Ruislip (across the street from 7th Air) and overall command being USAFE, in Wiesbaden. About the only thing in common between 7th Air and 3rd AF, I think was the English language and American citizenship.

Gerald E. Moore, 3918th Hq. Sq., USAF, Dec 1952 - Dec 1955.