EIGHT B-52 Stratofortress bombers flew into RAF Fairford in February 1991 as allied bombing of Iraqi military targets in the Gulf increased.

KC-135 tankers and transport aircraft also flew in and out.

Military traffic around the base increased and bomb dumps continued to be stocked.

Press spokesmen at RAF Fairford remained tight-lipped throughout the week as to how many B-52s would be based in Gloucestershire but estimates varied from 10-20.

Informed sources said that as many as 2,600 men were living on base, including 1,000 medics sent to man the military hospital at Little Rissington.

The decision to allow the Americans to use RAF Fairford was met with mixed reactions in the town.

Business was likely to boom in a way not seen since before the base closed the previous summer, although some were worried the war was brought so much closer to home.

Local peace group activists were horrified by the arrival of the bombers.

CND spokesman Roger Franklin said: “This additional bombing capacity will increase the devastation and bloodshed in the Gulf and will also make the Cotswolds a prime target for retaliatory attack.”

Experts believed Fairford was chosen because it is one of very few airstrips in Europe capable of carrying the huge bombers, which were 160ft long with a wingspan of 185ft and were capable of carrying up to 70,000lbs of bombs.