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RAF Upper Heyford, in Oxfordshire, had roots reaching back to the First World War, but its inter-war development made it one of the RAF’s classic strategic bomber bases. In the 1920s and 1930s it became a showcase station for the emerging bomber force, hosting aircraft such as the Handley Page Hyderabad and Hinaidi and later the Handley Page Heyford – the type whose name neatly matched the station. This long bomber lineage shaped Upper Heyford’s role when war came again in 1939.
In October 1931 No. 18 Squadron re-formed at Upper Heyford, and in September 1932 it was joined by No. 57 Squadron. Both units moved through Hawker Hart and Hawker Hind light bombers before re-equipping with Bristol Blenheim monoplane bombers in the late 1930s as part of No. 2 Group. At the outbreak of the Second World War, those Blenheim squadrons deployed to France with the British Expeditionary Force, reflecting the station’s place in the RAF’s forward-leaning plans for tactical bombing and support operations.
Once the early-war crisis had passed and the aircraft types and ranges changed, Upper Heyford’s wartime importance shifted. German targets were increasingly beyond the reach of the medium bombers that had defined the base’s pre-war identity, and the station became heavily associated with training and conversion. Bomber crews trained here on Handley Page Hampdens and Vickers Wellingtons, with Avro Ansons supporting the programme. That kind of work was less visible than headline raids, but it was essential: the night bomber offensive depended on a constant stream of newly trained crews, navigators, wireless operators, gunners, and ground staff.
Training stations had their own rhythm: circuits and landings that wore down airframes, night cross-countries in poor weather, navigation exercises, bombing practice, and endless checks of procedures. Upper Heyford’s runways and infrastructure were improved during the war, and units moved in and out as the station adapted to the RAF’s changing needs. By 1945 the training focus included de Havilland Mosquitos – fast, high-performance aircraft that demanded a different level of skill from crews and ground engineers.
The human story at Upper Heyford is the story of preparation. Every crew that went on to operational squadrons carried the imprint of places like this: instructors who drilled habits, maintenance teams who kept training aircraft serviceable under punishing schedules, and station staff who managed accidents, weather delays, and the steady administrative churn of wartime aircrew production. It also meant a constant connection to loss: training accidents were tragically common across the RAF, and stations like Upper Heyford lived with the reality that learning to fly and fight could be deadly even far from the front line.
Upper Heyford’s later Cold War fame can sometimes overshadow its Second World War contribution, but in WW2 terms it represents something vital: the RAF’s ability to generate and regenerate combat power. It was a base that bridged eras – born in the world of biplane bombers, retooled for modern training, and geared toward the practical business of turning recruits into crews ready for operational service.