Coins
On 1 September 1955 RAF Welford was again re-opened as a logistics site attached to the Third Air Force and was to remain in that role for the next 40 years. The 7531st Ammunition Squadron was the principal unit at Welford until it was replaced in 1959 by the 3115th Ammunition Squadron. A significant amount of new construction was made to the facility, with large numbers of ammunition bunkers being built over the World War II airfield.
From about 1954 the site was equipped with a comprehensive internal rail network connected by means of a dedicated branch line via the Lambourn Valley Railway to the main line at Newbury. Rail traffic lasted into the 1970s, bombs being transported in open wooden-bodied wagons sheeted with tarpaulins.
On 1 November 1962 the 7234th Ammunition Supply Squadron (ASUPS) arrived at Welford as the host unit until it was re-designated the 7551st ASUPS in 1972. In September 1986 the 7551st ASUPS was again re-designated now the 850th Munitions Maintenance Squadron (Theatre) MMS(t) USAFE and in September 1987 it became a direct reporting unit of the 3rd Air Force. In January 1993 the 850th MMS was re-designated Detachment 1, 100th Regional Support Group under the control of the 100th Air Refueling Wing, RAF Mildenhall. With the inactivation of the 100th RSG in 1994, Detachment 1 personnel were re-located to RAF Fairford as the 720 Air Base Squadron (720 ABS) until April 1995 when the unit was re-designated the 424th Air Base Squadron (420ABS). RAF Welford found itself a joint-user facility run by the 424th ABS and Royal Air Force being administered by RAF Brize Norton until April 1999 when the base was taken over by the newly formed MOD Defence Munitions Agency and for a while administered by the Royal Navy. In November 2002 RAF Welford was again back in USAF hands being the full responsibility of the 424th Air Base Squadron at RAF Fairford.
With the deactivation of 3rd Air Force on 26 May 2004, the unit reported to the 38th Combat Support Wing at Sembach Annex, Germany. The 38 CSW was in turn deactivated and replaced by the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury.
It is usually at its busiest when the US government deploys bombers to a forward air station at RAF Fairford. Due to the specialized use of Welford, a significant amount of its World War II configuration remains, with large numbers of loop dispersment pads remaining, its T-2 Hangars still in use, and much of the perimeter track. Many wartime buildings are still in use, including several configurations of nissen huts mixed in with modern buildings.
Full Wiki Page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Welford
Another Welford Page – http://sites.google.com/site/stratojetman/rafwelford