RAF Mildenhall

RAF Mildenhall
Mildenhall, Suffolk in United Kingdom
A Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker of the 100th ARW at RAF Mildenhall.
A Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker of the 100th ARW at RAF Mildenhall.
Station badge
Ut aquilae volent
(Latin for 'That eagles may fly')
RAF Mildenhall is located in Europe
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is located in the United Kingdom
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is located in Suffolk
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is located in North Atlantic
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
Coordinates52°21′54″N 000°28′51″E / 52.36500°N 0.48083°E / 52.36500; 0.48083
TypeRAF station (US Visiting Forces)
Area482 hectares[1]
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
OperatorUS Air Force
Controlled byUS Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA)
ConditionOperational
Websitewww.mildenhall.af.mil Edit this at Wikidata
Site history
Built1934 (1934)
In use1934 – 1950 (Royal Air Force)
1950 – 1959 (Joint RAF/USAF)
1959 – present (US Air Force)
Garrison information
Garrison
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: MHZ, ICAO: EGUN, WMO: 03577
Elevation10.3 metres (34 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
10/28 2,808 metres (9,213 ft) Concrete/Asphalt
Source: UK MIL AIP Mildenhall[2]

Royal Air Force Mildenhall, or more simply RAF Mildenhall (IATA: MHZ, ICAO: EGUN), is a Royal Air Force station located near Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a Royal Air Force station, it primarily supports United States Air Force (USAF) operations, and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing (100 ARW).

During the Second World War, RAF Bomber Command used the station for operational combat missions until 1945. Placed on standby status after the war, it was reopened by the Royal Air Force and became a USAF-RAF joint operation base on 11 July 1950. It was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC), and began hosting B-50 Superfortresses in 1951, and KC-97 Stratofreighters from 1953 until 1958. The Military Air Transport Service transferred its main United Kingdom terminal to Mildenhall in 1958. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird operations took place from the base. On 8 January 2015, the United States Department of Defense announced that operations at RAF Mildenhall would end and be relocated to Germany (Spangdahlem Air Base) and elsewhere within the UK. After a period of uncertainty it was confirmed in July 2020 that the relocation of operations would no longer take place. RAF Mildenhall, alongside its sister base RAF Lakenheath, have the largest United States Air Force presence in the United Kingdom.[3]

  1. ^ "Defence Estates Development Plan 2009 – Annex A". GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2009. p. 16. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  2. ^ "UK MIL AIP Mildenhall AD-2 EGUN" (PDF). UK Military AIP. No. 1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  3. ^ "RAF Mildenhall". Retrieved 1 August 2020.