Cold War
In response to the perceived threat by the Soviet Union, especially after the 1948 Berlin Blockade and the 1950 invasion of South Korea by the Korean People's Army, on 23 April 1951, RAF Greenham Common was made available to the United States Air Force by the British Ministry of Defence as a Strategic Air Command base, with joint operations with the Royal Air Force units.
Between 1951 and 1953, major construction work was performed on the base, as post-war jet bombers required a much greater runway length for take off versus those of World War II, and the Strategic Air Command spent over £2 million building a new 3,000 metres (9,800 ft)-long runway that extended onto Greenham Common and across the A339. To give the desired 3,000-metre (9,800 ft) run, the A339 was diverted, and a new length of roadway was built to the south through Sandleford Common. In addition to the runway, massive new hard-standings were built, and extensive rebuilding also occurred for ramp areas and new structures.
Two 300 metres (980 ft) overshoots were added to the runway in 1958. To the south-west of the runway, a new munitions area was built. Eight 1 million gallon underground fuel tanks were also constructed at the base.
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