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RAF Greenham Common, near Newbury in Berkshire, is best known for its Cold War story, but its Second World War origins are firmly tied to the Allied air transport and logistics effort. Built in 1942 on open common land, it was designed with hard runways and extensive space – ideal for the movement of aircraft and the staging tasks that became central as the Allies prepared to return to continental Europe.
During the war, Greenham Common was used heavily by American forces for transport-related purposes. Air transport was a strategic necessity: it moved personnel, equipment and high-priority freight across Britain and between the UK and the wider theatre, and it supported the airborne forces whose operations depended on precise timing and large-scale aircraft coordination. A transport station required different strengths from a bomber base. Instead of massed bomb loads, it needed the ability to handle frequent movements safely, to manage loading and unloading efficiently, and to operate reliably in a range of weather conditions.
Greenham Common also functioned as a flexible staging and holding airfield. As new units arrived from overseas, they needed runway space for familiarisation flights, checks and administrative movement. Aircraft moving between depots, maintenance sites and forward bases required intermediate airfields where crews could refuel, rest, and coordinate onward routing. Greenham’s location – close to the southern embarkation region while still safely inland – made it useful for such flows during the intense build-up to major operations.
The station’s wartime community would have included a high proportion of logistics and support personnel: drivers, stores specialists, aircraft mechanics, loadmasters and operations staff coordinating flight schedules. The rhythm could be continuous, with departures and arrivals spaced throughout the day and night. That tempo demanded strong discipline in ground operations and traffic management, because transport aircraft often operated in large streams and carried valuable cargoes and personnel.
- Primary wartime role: transport and logistics airfield supporting Allied movement and staging, including the airborne and supply system.
- Typical activity: transport aircraft operations, staging and routing, ferry movements and high-priority cargo handling.
- Why it mattered: helped translate Allied manpower and material into operational readiness for the European campaign.
After 1945, Greenham Common remained useful because of its long runways and capacity, later becoming one of the most famous US-associated air bases in Britain. Its Second World War story is the foundation of that later history: an airfield built to support movement, logistics and flexibility at a time when the Allied war effort depended as much on transport and staging as it did on direct combat sorties.
The station’s wartime importance is easiest to see when you follow the chain from factory to front. Aircraft, spares and people had to move rapidly to meet operational timetables. Greenham’s long runways and capacity supported that flow, allowing transport units to operate with fewer delays and giving planners another dependable staging point during the intense invasion build-up.