Monument record 1317703000 - RAF Daws Hill

The American 8th Army Air Force had its headquarters at Wycombe Abbey School from 1942 following America's entry into the war. It was staffed by 12,000 U.S servicemen who were accommodated in huts at nearby Daws Hill House (B4).
Between 1942 and 1946 the school was requisitioned for 8th Bomber Command, then for the USAF's 8th Army Air Force. The Americans eventually left the Abbey but stayed at their Daws Hill base, which became the focus of peace marches in the 1960s and 1980s (B5).
A 3-storey underground command HQ codenamed 'Pinetree' constructed in the ground of Wycombe Abbey School at Daws Hill, used between 1942 and 1945 as the nerve centre for operations for USAAF's daytime bombing raids over Europe and co-ordination with the RAF's night-time raids. The bunker was refurbished in the mid 1950s and used by the US Strategic Air Command 7th Air Division as its European planning and operations centre. The bunker was unoccupied between about 1970 and 1981, before being refurbished in 1982 as the war time HQ for the US European Command and for computing aircraft and missile flight paths over Europe. Operational use of the bunker ceased in 1991. See report for detail (B6).
Bunker listed grade II+ and associated generator building listed grade II in October 2013. See listing descriptions for detail (B7-8).
The copmplex was provided with its own emergency power plant, housed in a partly buried reinforced concrete structure to the north of the main entrance. The bunker was betrayed by 4 large vents, three in a line marking its southern edge. The vents are massive features 4m tall. Full transcript filed (B11).