# RAF Upwood - August 2009



## ukmayhem (Aug 16, 2009)

Visited with Me, Myself and I 

A 70mile drive from me is RAF Upwood wanted to see this place for a while so i made the trip one afternoon and chose the worst day i think. RAF Upwood has no sort of security you can just drive straight into the site and as i did i see loads of cars parked in the middle and a man in Camo walk past with a M16 with granade launcher attached i thought it was weird as its not a UK military weapon maybe the Americans were training abit more investigation revealed they were using the site for Airsoft. So i done what i could staying out the way until everyone left around 5pm. Then me and the sheep ( yep lots of sheep ) had full access to the site. Was i nice relaxed explore everything open no boarded windows etc.. most building are gutted but still nice to have a look i found the best place was the de-contamination bunkers with everything still intact inside also the Police Station complete with cell. I spent a good few hours here a really enjoyed it abit basic but its another off my list. This site is ideal for new explorers as no worry of security or access, Police drove around sometimes but never said anything.

*History*

RAF Upwood was a United States Air Force installation adjacent to the village of Upwood, Huntingtonshire in the United Kingdom and was home to 423d Air Base Group who now are headquartered at nearby RAF Alconbury.

It was a non-flying facility which was under the control of the United States Air Force, and was one of three RAF bases in Cambridgeshire used by the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).

Much of the RAF Upwood is unused, closed by the Ministry of Defence in 1994. Most of the base was vacated and the land and buildings sold off to civil ownership.

In 2004 Turbine Motor Works purchased a large amount of property on the former base including the four C-type hangars. Their plan is to convert the property into a state-of-the-art jet engine overhaul facility. Together with the Nene Valley Gliding Club and the Air Cadet Squadron, this facility will ensure that the former RAF base will continue its aviation legacy well into the 21st century.

*Pictures*












*Cell Door*






























*Buisness End Of A Tank*















*De-Contamination Bunker*





*De-Contamination Showers*



































*Firing Range*











All will be on my Flickr shorltly


Matt


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## cptpies (Aug 18, 2009)

Nice Pics

The vehicle looks like a BMP-1 or 2. Doesn't look like a runner though or I'd nip over there and and try a bit of Grand Theft AFV


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## klempner69 (Aug 18, 2009)

You may have just clinched what I could be doing at the bank holiday!!Great shots fella.


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## night crawler (Aug 19, 2009)

Hey good report spose you did not get a chance of the hangers though.


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## UrbanX (Aug 19, 2009)

Ha ha, we were draining very near herevery recently, and decided to pay a 'midnight visit'. The place is really different at night, excellent for star gazing too! Something odd about sitting in a tank in the middle of the night, but thats why I love this hobby so much!


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## shadowman (Aug 19, 2009)

Did you see the "Clinic" part of the site, It still had a USAF guard on it about 2 years ago??A pal of mine who used to work for BT said "ohh ther was far too may subscriber lines for a clinic?"


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## UrbanX (Aug 19, 2009)

The clinic is still in use by the military, however they do offer a dentistry service to the residents of upwood village. I know someone who was held under the terrorism act for taking a few too many pics on the derelict bit!


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## ukmayhem (Aug 23, 2009)

yeah i stayed clear as they had American Cars and Vans in the rear of Clinic you know the kind that sreeeeech up next to you the side door opens and you get dragged in then whips away in a cloud of smoke


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## james.s (Aug 23, 2009)

Looks very good, Like RAF newton but more older and more accessible 
Nice photos!


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## adamrobertson (Sep 3, 2009)

i explored upwood last weekend, and was highly disappointed with what was left, there was loads more fire damage and grafitti compared to a lot of photos i've seen of it, looks like kids have maybe been finishing destroying it on school holidays!

i did however climb the tower and did an art nude shoot at the top, man was it windy!


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## klempner69 (Sep 4, 2009)

Just goes to show how things appear to different people..we went to Upwood last week too and loved it..yeah there is fire dam and an incredible amount of mindless vandalism but I still loved the place neverthe less.The clinic only has about 6 peeps per day visit there and its well guarded too..we met a local ex-officer who asked us back to his for coffee and he was very helpful and informative.He was told the guardhouse is being preserved when the final plans have been accepted and work begins.The annual 40`s weekend is a must for wartime events and is a great time to visit if you know I mean.

http://www.rafupwood.co.uk/1940sweekend2009.htm


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