RAF Molesworth  | |
|---|---|
| Near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire in England | |
 Ground launched cruise missile shelters at RAF Molesworth during 1989 | |
  RAF Molesworth Shown within Cambridgeshire | |
| Coordinates | 52°22′46″N 000°24′18″W / 52.37944°N 0.40500°W |
| Type | RAF station (US Visiting Forces) |
| Area | 272 hectares (670 acres)[1] |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator | US Air Force |
| Controlled by | US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa |
| Condition | Operational |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1940 |
| In use | 1939–1942 (Royal Air Force) 1942–1945 (US Army Air Forces) 1945–1951 (Royal Air Force) 1951–present (US Air Force) |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 423d Air Base Group |
| Airfield information | |
| Elevation | 77 metres (253 ft) AMSL |
Royal Air Force Molesworth or more simply RAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, England with a history dating back to 1917.
Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished. New facilities were constructed to support ground-launched cruise missile operations in the early 1980s. It was one of the two British bases to house cruise missiles and a focus for protests. It is now a non-flying facility under the control of the United States Air Force (USAF), and is one of two Royal Air Force (RAF) stations in Cambridgeshire currently used by the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). Molesworth, RAF Alconbury and RAF Upwood were considered the "Tri-Base Area" due to their close geographic proximity and interdependency until RAF Upwood closed in late 2012.
RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth were the last Second World War era Eighth Air Force airfields in the United Kingdom that were still actively in use and controlled by the United States Air Force. It was from Molesworth on 4 July 1942 that the first USAAF Eighth Air Force mission was flown over Nazi-occupied territory.
Today the base is home to the Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe Analytic Center, and a number of units from the 423rd Air Base Group.
- ^ "Defence Estates Development Plan 2009 – Annex A". GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2009. p. 16. Retrieved 8 May 2019.