Royal Air Force Upwood or more simply RAF Upwood is a former Royal Air Force station adjacent to the village of Upwood, Cambridgeshire, England, in the United Kingdom. It was a non-flying station which was under the control of the United States Air Force from 1981, and one of three RAF stations in Cambridgeshire used by the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). Upwood, along with RAF Molesworth and RAF Alconbury are considered the "Tri-Base Area" due to their close geographic proximity, and interdependency. History First World War The Royal Flying Corps requisitioned of farmland near the village of Upwood in 1917. In September of that year the station opened as Bury (Ramsey). This initial name referred to its location near the village of Bury and the larger market town of Ramsey. Initially there were no permanent flying units assigned to the station. Instead, No. 75 Squadron flying BE.2 aircraft out of nearby Elmswell, Suffolk, used the station as a night-landing ground and satellite field. Upon opening, there were no permanent buildings at the airfield. By the summer of 1918 a number of huts and five hangars were in place. It was during this time that the field was renamed Upwood. In July 1918, No. 191 (Night) Training Squadron moved to Upwood. In addition to BE.2s, 191 NTS also flew the DH.6. Whilst at Upwood they converted to the FE.2b. In October 1918, No. 190 (Night) Training Squadron arrived flying the 504K. After the end of the Great War First World War in November 1918, the squadrons were no longer needed and were disbanded in May and June 1919. The airfield itself was returned to the local community and the buildings cleared. This ended the first round of activity at RAF Upwood. The Inter-War years In the early 1930s, Britain realised its air defence capabilities were in urgent need of expansion. The major expansion of the Royal Air Force announced in 1934 resulted in many new airfields opening over the remainder of the decade. One of these was RAF Upwood. The old First World War airfield site was selected to be reactivated and expanded. The new station was designed to accommodate two medium bomber squadrons with room for a third. By 1936, construction had begun in earnest with two of five C-type hangars started. On 27 February 1937 the first flying unit arrived at Upwood in the form of