The Station

RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire is a Joint Force Command Station and home to the Joint Force Intelligence Group and the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence, which provide intelligence support to the Armed Forces deployed on operations around the globe.

 

Commander

Wing Commander K R Farley-West MA BSc (Hons) RAF

Wing Commander Farley-West commissioned into the RAF in 2003. Following Officer and Professional training she was posted to the Air Warfare Centre and then to serve on 1(F)Squadron with the Harrier Force. She completed operational tours across the Middle East. 

As a Squadron Leader, she held plans and Command roles within Joint Forces Command. Upon promotion to Wing Commander she assumed Operations and Branch & Trade roles.

On completion of the Advanced Command and Staff Course, Wing Commander Farley-West assumed Command of RAF Wyton in 2021.

Who's based here

Key dates

  • 1916 - Airfield opened as a training airfield for the Royal Flying Corps.
  • 1939 - Aircraft from RAF Wyton took part in some of the first bombing raids of the Second World War.
  • 1942 - The Pathfinder Force was formed here under Group Captain Don Bennett.
  • 1956 - Joint School of Aerial Photographic Interpretation was founded.
  • 2013 - Pathfinder building opened to house the Joint Force Intelligence Group.

History

The Airfield at Wyton first became associated with the Armed Forces in 1916, when the Royal Flying Corps began training pilots at the Station. In 1918 the Royal Air Force was formed and Wyton continued to train units for overseas operations.

The first sortie of the World War Two took off from RAF Wyton in 1939 and Wyton aircraft took part in the last Bomber Command raid on Germany in 1945. The legendary Pathfinder Force was created in 1942 and RAF Wyton was chosen to be the Headquarters as well as one of the Flying Stations.

In 1945 the Pathfinder Force disbanded. In 1953 the first Photographic Reconnaissance Units (PRUs) arrived; however, re-equipment soon took place with the new PR version of the Canberra. In 1971 the first Nimrod aircraft arrived. In April 1975 the last of the Victor aircraft departed. Throughout the next two decades Canberra units came and went.

In 1994 Wyton ceased to be an independent unit and was merged with RAF Brampton, on 2 April 2012 RAF Wyton once again became an individual RAF Station, control of the station transferred from HQ Air Command to the newly established Joint Forces Command (JFC) and Joint Forces Intelligence Group (JFIG) continues to be based at RAF Wyton.

Connect with RAF Wyton