Reading, Berkshire, GB 🇬🇧 Closed Airport
GB-0090
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340 ft
GB-ENG
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 51.370253° N, -1.141376° E
Continent: EU
Type: Closed Airport
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1950
Military conversion. The airfield was closed to flying operations and transferred to the Ministry of Supply to become the site for the newly established Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE), now known as AWE, as part of the UK's post-war nuclear program.
The site is now the location of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston. It is a high-security facility that designs, manufactures, and supports the warheads for the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. The original airfield layout, including runways and taxiways, has been almost entirely obliterated by the construction of the extensive AWE complex, although faint outlines are visible in some aerial imagery.
RAF Aldermaston was a significant airfield during World War II. Opened in 1942 for RAF Bomber Command, it was transferred to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in 1943 and designated USAAF Station 467. Its most critical role was as a major troop carrier base for the D-Day Normandy landings. On the night of June 5-6, 1944, C-47 Skymaster aircraft from the 434th Troop Carrier Group departed from Aldermaston carrying paratroopers of the US 101st Airborne Division ('Screaming Eagles') for the invasion of occupied France. After D-Day, it was used for casualty evacuation and resupply missions. It returned to RAF control in February 1945 and was used by Transport Command before its closure as an airfield.
None. There are no plans or prospects for reopening RAF Aldermaston as an airport. The site's current use as the high-security Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), a critical component of UK national security, makes any conversion back to an aviation facility completely infeasible.
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