Galloper

Can anyone steer me to research media on "Galloper" - airfield expansion in the UK for the USAF during the early 1950s?

I can't find a reference to Galloper but chances are the answers are somewhere at the National Archives - not necessarily under the Galloper name. AIR 20/8551 is indexed as "USAF airfield requirements" with dates of 1952 to 1956. For that same period, AIR 20/8550 is indexed as "Airfield Programme". No doubt there will be other, relevant files.

My recollection is that, amongst other things, this phase anticipated a need for extra facilities to accomodate the need for long range, jet fighters to escort the USAF's bombers. That theory was progressively discredited once the USSR showed its capabilities in rocketry and we entered the Missile Era.

I've struggled with this one too. My first encounter was researching 42 Group, when I came across:

In 1950 the requirements of Bomber Command were reassessed under 'Plan Galloper' and it was decided to rationalise the ammunition supply situation by replacing the present large number of airfield sites with a maximum of seven units which would be called Permanent Ammunition Depots. An initial recommendation was that a new construction at Barnham, plus a disused airfield site would suffice, each likely to cost in the region of £1M. By September a large number of airfields had been investigated and Fulbeck and Faldingworth were proposed, though plans were also considered to replace Barnham by a second airfield site.

Have come across it accidentally on a few more recent occasions, but never any detail - just a comment.

Thanks folks. Galloper is a term I've not come across before. I'm bumping in to it in connection with the development of East Kirkby for the USAF and its possible use as an all-weather jet OCU. My own references have cropped up in documents in AIR2.

Perhaps East Kirkby was to have been one of those fighter locations. Carnaby, Woodbridge and Manston were others. Also the USAF were keen to get their bombers further inland - hence Greenham Common et al