# RAF Alconbury 2014



## noiseboy72 (Mar 16, 2014)

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I work on the old RAF Alconbury site in Cambridgeshire. Our offices are in an old pilot's briefing building, complete with hardened shelter area, while we use a hardened U2 shelter and a ready shed for storage. 

I will steadily add more photos as I get time to photograph more of the buildings, but here are a few to start with.

Our main office is next to the old nissen hut that houses the famous 'Hog artwork and aircrew board, but recently part of this building has collapsed, so entry is now quite dangerous and the building is scheduled for demolition.



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Our office has little changed from USAF days, with original carpet, office layout and some fixtures surviving and in daily use. This corridor not changed at all!




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The interesting bit is of course the hardened area, which we only use for storage. It is accessed through a set of airlocks and de-contamination chambers, before opening out into the rooms you see below. It includes the old Telecoms room, command centre, plant room and other general purpose rooms. There is also a set of "hidden" rooms, accessible through another airlock, but I have not got into that section yet. 




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There is also a basement, but this is sealed off. I am trying to get permission to access this sometime in the future, but staff who have been down there say there is not much to see.

More pictures below, including some shots of our hangers and also on my Flickr feed. Please enjoy  http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157642425815453/




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## flyboys90 (Mar 16, 2014)

Just great this has made my Sunday! cracking photos of the site including flickr thanks for sharing.More please!


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## krela (Mar 16, 2014)

Very nice. Not a bad place to work!


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## noiseboy72 (Mar 16, 2014)

Glad you like them!
I only had my back up camera and no off-board flash, so might go back and revisit some areas and get a bit more creative.

Is there anywhere else (externally) on site you would like to see? I am currently practicing with my Quadcopter, so when the weather settles down, I will do some sweeps over the site as well.


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## flyboys90 (Mar 17, 2014)

noiseboy72 said:


> Glad you like them!
> I only had my back up camera and no off-board flash, so might go back and revisit some areas and get a bit more creative.
> 
> Is there anywhere else (externally) on site you would like to see? I am currently practicing with my Quadcopter, so when the weather settles down, I will do some sweeps over the site as well.



All of it, please,please,please!!!


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## krela (Mar 17, 2014)

I agree, all of it haha.


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## CSwift (Mar 17, 2014)

All of the above haha! Amazing site!


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## UrbanX (Mar 17, 2014)

Wow! What a place to work! 
Derelict Places mass permission visit by any chance?  
Brilliant shots, cheers for sharing them with us!


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## noiseboy72 (Mar 17, 2014)

It turns out that there is a network of tunnels that runs under our building and radiates out some way. One of our guys explored it about 10 years ago and got at least 500m before the intense dark, half opened blast doors and a failing torch made him chicken out!!

I don't think a mass visit is on the cards, but we _might_ be able to arrange a small visit at some point in the future, before it all starts to disappear under new development.


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## P Bellamy (Mar 18, 2014)

noiseboy72 said:


> I work on the old RAF Alconbury site in Cambridgeshire. Our offices are in an old pilot's briefing building, complete with hardened shelter area, while we use a hardened U2 shelter and a ready shed for storage.



You're over in Building 97 on the North Side right? I'm in Building 73 on the opposite side of the runway.

Here's a photo taken inside 97 when the 527th (Aggressor) Squadron had it:






Good to know the lectern still exists.


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## noiseboy72 (Mar 18, 2014)

Love the photo 

My desk is pretty much where the photo was taken from. All that has happened in that room is that we have blocked up the screen and created 2 offices in front.

Original carpet still in place, with the seats stored down the other end of the building. 

Anything exciting in '73?


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## P Bellamy (Mar 18, 2014)

Other than a nice bit of artwork in the entrance corridor, not much.
It was just a series of classrooms forming the Field Training Facility.


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## saex69 (Mar 18, 2014)

What a awesome place would love the Hardened vehicle store for my work shop garage.


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## noiseboy72 (Mar 19, 2014)

P Bellamy said:


> Other than a nice bit of artwork in the entrance corridor, not much.
> It was just a series of classrooms forming the Field Training Facility.



You are welcome to pop over one lunchtime and have a mooch round our block and the 2 hangers. 

I am in Eire until a week on Friday, but could set something up after that if you are interested?


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## P Bellamy (Mar 22, 2014)

Sounds good to me, thanks.


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## steveT (Apr 2, 2014)

*Good 'ol Alconbury*

I was stationed at Alconbury from 1982 till 1985 in the 2166 Communication Squadron. I worked in the Communication Center. When you entered the building an armed guard asked for the password which changed every week. During a training exercise all 5 blast / airlock doors were closed. This was a decontamination chamber against chemical weapons. Very good pics! Would love to see more of the base and how it has changed over the years. Thanks.


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## P Bellamy (Apr 2, 2014)

Sad to say the ComCen has been comprehensively trashed internally in recent years, being used for police training etc. It's unsafe to enter now as much of the floor is missing.

However, most of the USAF fixtures and fittings were removed prior to that and helped to complete the restored ComCen at Bentwaters.


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