The first Air Tattoo was held at North Weald, Essex in 1971. North Weald was then still owned by the Ministry of Defence although inactive, so had to be re-activated for the event.  North Weald also hosted the Air Tattoo in 1972 but in 1973 the M11 motorway was being built close to North Weald’s main runway so a new location was found for the Air Tattoo at RAF Greenham Common. Greenham Common hosted more aircraft and 2 days were allocated for the event. Due to its success it was also hosted there in 1974. In 1975 with the loss of the Director of the IAT, the withdrawal of a major sponsor, and an international fuel crisis there wasn’t an Air Tattoo. However a proposal was put to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund which decided to support future Air Tattoos at Greenham Common. In 1976 the show became the International Air Tattoo (IAT). The 1977 IAT was the last of the annual International Air Tattoos, as it was then held every other year.The International Air Tattoos in 1979, 1981, and 1983 became bigger and better with the 1983 IAT being the last to be held at Greenham Common due to the build up of cruise missile facilities and the reduced area for a large airshow. In 1985, RAF Fairford was chosen as the venue to host the Air Tattoo with the static display stretching for nearly 2 miles which was the longest single line-up ever presented in the UK. Fairford hosted the event biennially until 1993 and annually since then. In recognition of its unique status, the current title of ‘Royal International Air Tattoo’ was granted by Her Majesty The Queen in 1996. During 2000 and 2001 the Royal International Air Tattoo was held at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland because RAF Fairford was having its runways resurfaced.  RIAT returned back to RAF Fairford in 2002. Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford (IATA: FFD, ICAO: EGVA) is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in 1991. It is the US Air Force's only European airfield for heavy bombers. RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK. As well as having a sufficiently long runway for a shuttle landing (the runway is 3,046 m (9,993 ft) long), it also had NASA-trained fire and medical crews stationed on the airfield. The runway is rated with an unrestricted load-bearing capacity, meaning that it can support any aircraft with any type of load. RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), an annual air display. RIAT is one of the largest airshows in the world, with the 2003 show recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest military airshow ever, with an attendance of 535 aircraft. The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), the world's largest military air show, is held annually at Fairford over the third weekend in July. RIAT is held in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust and has attracted an attendance of up to 185,0000 spectators over the weekend, with several hundred military aircraft belonging to air-arms from around the world taking part in static and flying displays. In November 2018, it was announced that the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron and 488th Intelligence Squadron would relocate to Fairford by 2024. The squadrons, based at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, are both part of the 55th Operations Group and support Boeing RC-135 surveillance aircraft when forward deployed on temporary duty to the UK from the United States. The move, part of the US Department of Defense's European Infrastructure Consolidation programme, will see 500 personnel and RC-135 operations transfer to Fairford. A £20m contract for repair and upgrade work to Fairford's taxiways and hard standings is expected to be awarded by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) in the second quarter of 2019.