[2] Much of this training was for Commonwealth pilots (Canadians, South Africans, Australians, and New Zealanders) on Handley Page Hampdens, Bristol Blenheims, and Vickers Wellington bombers.

RAF Brackley (Croughton) would remain open with its flare paths illuminated irrespective of enemy activity in the area.

23 Squadron of RAF Flying Training Command (FTC) was desperately seeking a suitable airfield to re-house its No.

[2] Its then home was a small airfield at RAF Thame in Buckinghamshire and FTC felt it inadequate for glider training.

It also gave newly qualified pilots experience with flying in British weather and handling heavier aircraft.

Of the planned 1,000 trained glider pilot target figure, to be reached by April 1945, the RAF proposed to fill 500.

1 GTS leaving RAF Croughton, its remaining aircraft, Hotspurs and Masters worth preserving, moved to No.

Over the next several decades the units stationed at RAF Croughton changed many times, but the mission remained communications.

In just over ten years the mission and unit grew to the point that it needed to redesignate to the 2130th Communications Group (CG).

By 1977, the 2130 CG controlled USAF communication resources from as far south as Cornwall, England and as far north as Keflavík, Iceland.

[2] With the formation of the 2147th Communications Group at RAF Mildenhall and the realignment of many squadrons, detachments, and Operating Locations in 1980, the 2130 CG inactivated.

The mission increased in December 1985 when the Giant Talk station at RAF Croughton began operations.

With the projected inactivation of the 20th Fighter Wing at RAF Upper Heyford and closure of that station the 2130 CG redesignated to the 630th Communications Squadron.

This changed on 1 July 1994 when United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) conducted another command-wide reorganization.

This resulted in a change that led to the alignment of three UK and one Norway Geographically Separate Units (GSUs) under the 100 ARW.

Third Air Force issued an order, effective 24 May 1996, assigning all personnel formally attached to the 603 RSG and its subordinates to the 100 ARW for administrative control.

For RAF Croughton this led to the inactivation of the 603 CS and the activation of the 422nd Air Base Squadron (422 ABS) on 1 August 1996.

[4] In November 2013 Tom Watson MP, was reported as saying that there was: "an urgent need for "public scrutiny" of the activities at RAF Croughton.

[8] In 2016 the United States Department of Defense announced that a £200 million Joint Intelligence Analysis Centre would be built at the base, to house up to 1,250 staff analysing intelligence from Europe and Africa, some transferred from the Joint Analysis Center at RAF Molesworth.

[9] However an Office of the Inspector General investigation found that financial analysis leading to this decision was inaccurate.

[10][11] The 2017 Office of the Inspector General report recorded that the base provided command, control, communications, and computer support to Department of Defense and civilian agencies across Europe, and was staffed by about 265 U.S. military personnel, 140 Department of Defense civilians, and 200 UK Ministry of Defence employees.

[11] In August 2019 Harry Dunn, a local teenager, was killed in a collision with a vehicle driven on the wrong side of the road by Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US government employee working on the Royal Air Force station used by the United States Air Force.

[13] On 9 July 2020 an adjournment debate on RAF Croughton, in the House of Commons, was led by local Member of Parliament Andrea Leadsom, who called for the expansion of the airfield to be stopped and for the base entrance to be moved to the A43 main road.

[14] On 22 March 2021 the 501 CSW announced that the United States Department of the Air Force had completed its business case analysis and determined it was not cost effective to consolidate support facilitates at RAF Molesworth.

Subsequently the U.S. Department of Defense submitted, and UK Ministry of Defence approved, a request to allow RAF Alconbury to remain open and to continue as the primary location for Joint Intelligence Analysis Center support.

[15] RAF Croughton houses the 422nd Air Base Group whose function is to provide installation support, services, force protection, and worldwide communications across the entire spectrum of operations.

The group sustains more than 410 C2 circuits and supports 25 percent of all European Theater to continental United States (CONUS) communications.