Throughout the 1950s, Strategic Air Command bomber units deployed on a regular rotational basis from the United States to the United Kingdom. The B-47 Stratojet was a familiar sight in the skies over RAF Mildenhall and RAF Upper Heyford at this time, as entire wings deployed on 90-day rotations.
In order to meet a perceived "continental threat", the British military developed the idea to site an RAF bomber base at Mildenhall in the late 1920s. Shortly thereafter, the government purchased the land in 1929, followed by the completion of the first buildings in 1931. Three years later, RAF Mildenhall opened on 16 October 1934, as one of the RAF’s largest bomber stations. On the same day, Wing Commander
F.J. Linnell, O.B.E. assumed his position as the base’s first station commander. Although open, the base had yet to receive its first complement of military aircraft.
Main
phone numbers: 011-44-1638-54-3000 or DSN 238-3000
Mailing
Address: RAF Mildenhall, APO AE 09459-5000
