The History of Oakington Airfield
(19:30 - February 24th, 2012)The History of Oakington Airfield
A Talk by Tony Cowley based on the work of John Hamlin
7.30pm in Rampton Village Hall.
Entry £3.50 including coffee/tea and biscuits
From 1940 a Royal Air Force base, RAF Oakington, was constructed at Oakington covering 540 acres and served as a base for Short Stirling bomber forces and reconnaissance planes. In the post war period it as used for flight training, in the last period with Vickers Varsity aircraft; however when the need for training on piston-engined planes reduced, it was converted to a barracks in 1975, which in turn closed in 1999. The site was then leased to the Home Office and was converted into Oakington Immigration Reception Centre, an immigration detention centre which itself closed in 2010.