On foreign soil: Find out where the US Air Force's 13 bases are located in the UK
Since 1942, the United States has maintained a continuous presence in the UK – with the US Air Force currently having 13 bases on British soil.
There were approximately 100 US bases in the UK after the Second World War.
The remaining 13 bases are RAF Lakenheath, RAF Croughton, RAF Welford, RAF Fairford, RAF Feltwell, RAF Barford St John, RAF Blenheim Crescent, RAF Fylingdales, RAF Menwith Hill, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Alconbury, RAF Molesworth and RAF Upwood
RAF Lakenheath
Some of these USAF bases, such as RAF Lakenheath, act as airfields for US fighter planes.
Lakenheath is home to F-35A Lightning IIs and F-15E Strike Eagles.
It plays host to the USAF in Europe's only fourth and fifth-generation fighter wing, which it said brings "unique air combat capabilities to the fight, such as the most advanced Joint Direct Attack Munitions used by the F-35A & F-15E".
The base provides all-weather, day or night air superiority and air-to-ground precision combat capability and multi-staged improvement programme avionics.
RAF Mildenhall
Mildenhall is home to the USAF's 100th Air Refuelling Wing.
The wing provides the critical air refuelling "bridge" that allows the Expeditionary Air Force to deploy around the globe at a moment's notice.
The base has units from four different major commands – Air Combat Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Mobility Command and USAF in Europe.
The units at RAF Mildenhall have a wide variety of missions occurring simultaneously.
Their aim is to provide a "ready force and Strategic Forward Base, projecting airpower through unrivalled air refuelling across Europe and Africa".
RAF Feltwell
Feltwell is mainly concerned with logistics and also acts as a hub for housing, schools and other services.
The airfield is used as a housing estate for USAF personnel stationed nearby at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath.
RAF Feltwell also houses the only Middle School for Lakenheath and Mildenhall, which covers most of the station.
RAF Fairford
Fairford has been used by the USAF nearly continuously since it was first built for D-Day operations in 1944.
It is home to the 501st Combat Support Wing Headquarters and the 420th Air Base Squadron and serves as the preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe for USAF Global Strike Command.
The 420th Air Base Squadron provides mission support to receive, bed down and sustain deployed forces to enable US and Nato warfighters to conduct a full spectrum of flying operations.
The US base has one of the longest flightlines in the UK and supports a variety of missions and exercises throughout the year.
RAF Croughton
The Royal Air Force base is a United States Air Force communications site in Northamptonshire.
422nd Air Base Group uses the base, and it operates one of Europe’s largest military switchboards and handles nearly a third of all US military communications in Europe.
RAF Welford
The 420 Munitions Squadron are deployed there.
It is the second biggest conventional weapons storage in Europe and serves to aid RAF Fairford.
RAF Blenheim Crescent
The US military primarily operates branch offices at the base.
The European Office of Aerospace Research and Development, US Army International Technology Centre Atlantic, the Office of Naval Research Global, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Joint Nato National Support Element, the Defence Energy Support Centre and the Fleet Industrial Centre can all be found there.
RAF Fylingdales
The station is based in North Yorkshire and gives a continuous ballistic missile early warning service to the UK and US governments, meaning that a shock missile attack cannot get through.
The radar can find and follow objects such as satellites and debris 3000 miles into space.
RAF Menwith Hill
Menwith Hill is close to Harrogate and offers communications and intelligence support to London and Washington.
RAF Alconbury
The US and UK have jointly operated from this base historically.
The 501st Combat Support Wing of the US Air Force currently utilises the station close to Peterborough.
RAF Molesworth
Three Major Command (MAJCOM) branch sites are in Molesworth.
The branches at the base include the United States European Command (USEUCOM), Joint Intelligence Operations Centre Europe Analytic Centre (JAC), United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM), Intelligence Knowledge Directorate-Molesworth (J2-M), Nato Intelligence Fusion Centre (IFC), and is garrisoned by the United States 423rd Air Base Group (423 ABG), found at RAF Alconbury.
RAF Barford St John
The US Air Force uses the base as a non-flying area.
It acts as a communication centre with large communications aerials, and it is a satellite of RAF Croughton.
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