In 1994, five years after the end of the Cold War, the US handed back to the British Government the airbase at Upper Heyford. For over 40 years this airbase was home to the US airforce and a fleet of nuclear armed bombers. It was the frontline in a very serious conflict, that between communism and capitalism. Fortunately, the place was never fully utilised to its full effect.
Some people consider that what happened there a crime, others that the place served as a bulwark against the threat of communism. It may now be falling into ruin and dereliction, but this does not diminish the significance of the place to 20th Century military history.
In 2008 and 2009 I photographed what remains of this once hidden and secretive battleground.
Richard Smith 2009
© Richard Smith 2009