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Royal Air Force Station Greenham Common or RAF Greenham Common is a former Royal Air Force station in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located to the south-east of Newbury, Berkshire, about west of London. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993. The airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public park-land. ==Second World War== Before the building of an airfield, Greenham Common was a piece of common land. It was used for troop movements during the English Civil War and in the nineteenth century. In late 1943, Greenham Common airfield was turned over to the USAAF Ninth Air Force. An American advance party soon arrived to ready the airfield for the incoming units. Greenham Common was known as USAAF Station AAF-486 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and it was referred to by this name instead of by location. Its USAAF Station Code was "GC". The first arrival was the 51st Troop Carrier Wing Headquarters, arriving in September 1942. The 51st TCW controlled the three troop carrier groups at RAF Keevil (62nd TCG), RAF Aldermaston (60th TCG) and RAF Ramsbury (64th TCG) as part of Twelfth Air Force. The Wing Headquarters was located in requisitioned Bowdown House, a mansion on the northeast end of the airfield, and made use of the runways for its communication and courier flights. The 51st TCW HQ followed its groups to North Africa as part of Operation Torch in November 1942. ===354th Fighter Group=== As troop carrier groups began arriving in the UK in late 1943 and deployed in the Greenham area, Greenham Common was one of the airfields used by the Ninth Air Force for fighter groups arriving from the United States. On 4 November the 354th Fighter Group arrived from Portland Army Air Field, Oregon and they were informed they were to fly the North American P-51 Mustang. This was a change of equipment for the group, as they had trained with Bell P-39 Airacobras. The group stayed at Greenham Common for only a few days, being transferred to RAF Boxted in Essex on 13 November. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「RAF Greenham Common」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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