RAF Mildenhall

RAF Mildenhall
Mildenhall, Suffolk in United Kingdom
A Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker of the 100th ARW at RAF Mildenhall.
Ut aquilae volent (Latin for 'That eagles may fly')
RAF Mildenhall Show map of Europe RAF Mildenhall Show map of the United Kingdom RAF Mildenhall Show map of Suffolk RAF Mildenhall Show map of North Atlantic
Coordinates	52°21′54″N 000°28′51″E / 52.36500°N 0.48083°E / 52.36500; 0.48083
Type	RAF station (US Visiting Forces)
Area	482 hectares[1]
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	US Air Force
Controlled by	US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA)
Condition	Operational
Website	www.mildenhall.af.mil
Site history
Built	1934 (1934)
In use	1934 – 1950 (Royal Air Force) 1950 – 1959 (Joint RAF/USAF) 1959 – present (US Air Force)
Garrison information
Garrison	100th Air Refueling Wing 352d Special Operations Wing 501st Combat Support Wing
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA: MHZ, ICAO: EGUN, WMO: 03577
Elevation	10.3 metres (34 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 10/28 2,808 metres (9,213 ft) Concrete/Asphalt
Source: UK MIL AIP Mildenhall[2]

Royal Air Force Mildenhall, or more simply RAF Mildenhall (IATA: MHZ, ICAO: EGUN), is a Royal Air Force station located near Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a Royal Air Force station, it primarily supports United States Air Force (USAF) operations, and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing (100 ARW).

During the Second World War, RAF Bomber Command used the station for operational combat missions until 1945. Placed on standby status after the war, it was reopened by the Royal Air Force and became a USAF-RAF joint operation base on 11 July 1950. It was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC), and began hosting B-50 Superfortresses in 1951, and KC-97 Stratofreighters from 1953 until 1958. The Military Air Transport Service transferred its main United Kingdom terminal to Mildenhall in 1958. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird operations took place from the base. On 8 January 2015, the United States Department of Defense announced that operations at RAF Mildenhall would end and be relocated to Germany (Spangdahlem Air Base) and elsewhere within the UK. After a period of uncertainty it was confirmed in July 2020 that the relocation of operations would no longer take place. RAF Mildenhall, alongside its sister base RAF Lakenheath, have the largest United States Air Force presence in the United Kingdom.^[3]