Royal Air Force Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham was, between 1939 and 1993, the name of a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front-line air force base, operating Quick Reaction Alert (South), before closing as an Royal Air Force station in 1993. Since 1993 it has been operated by the British Army as Wattisham Flying Station.
History
Royal Air Force use
RAF Wattisham opened on 5 April 1939 as a medium bomber station, the squadrons there being equipped with Bristol Blenheim bombers. Part of No. 2 Group, No. 107 Squadron and No. 110 Squadron were stationed there on the outbreak of war as No. 83 Wing. On 4 September 1939, just 29 hours after the declaration of war, bombers from Wattisham took off on the first attack of the war, against enemy shipping in Wilhelmshaven harbour.
Work ceased on the runways leaving only the E-W with a concrete surface and short stretches of the other two. The main SW-NE runway was finished off with steel matting while the remaining NW-SE runway continued to be grass-surfaced for most of its length.
4th Strategic Air Depot
The 4th Strategic Air Depot (originally the 3rd Advanced Air Depot and then 3rd Technical Air Depot) serviced many types of aircraft but, by late 1943, was concentrating on fighter types. An additional technical area with four T2 hangars, some eighteen hardstands and a taxiway loop joining the airfield perimeter track, were constructed on the south side of the airfield. An engineering complex in temporary buildings was built around this area, chiefly in the village of Nedging Tye. The group was part of the 65th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command. Aircraft of the group had no cowling colour markings as did other Eighth Air Force fighter groups and were marked only with coloured tail rudders. The initial inventory of the Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, many of which were hand-me-downs from other groups painted in olive drab camouflage, used geometric symbols on the tail to identify squadrons, white for camouflaged aircraft and black for unpainted (natural metal finish) Lightnings.
The group consisted of the following squadrons:
- 434th Fighter Squadron (L2).
- 435th Fighter Squadron (J2). and was inactivated in December 1945.
The Air Ministry Servicing Development Unit formed here on 1 January 1947 with a number of aircraft including the Avro York I, Hawker Tempest V, Gloster Meteor F.4 & T.7, Avro Anson T.20 and the de Havilland Vampire F.3. The squadron disbanded on 1 June 1950 at RAF Wittering. In the mid 1950s, the Black Arrows display team 111 squadron operated out of Wattisham, flying Hawker Hunters.
thumb|left|[[English Electric Lightning|English Electric Lightning F.1A of the Wattisham Target Facilities Flight in 1971.]]
In 1949, new runways were laid, and the following year No. 152 Squadron arrived with Meteor NF.12 night fighters, In 1954, Hawker Hunters, from No. 257 and 263 Squadrons, the UK's next generation fighter after the Meteor, arrived to secure Wattisham's future as a major fighter station.
The Station Commander, Group Captain Edwards, had artificial legs, like Douglas Bader before him. The Wing Commander was one of the four Sowerey brothers, all of whom held senior RAF posts. The Officer Commanding No. 257 Squadron was Major Howard E Tanner, a USAF exchange pilot.
There was also a Station Flight which received and serviced visiting aircraft and also had its own aircraft for various purposes. These included a de Havilland Vampire, a de Havilland Dragon Rapide and a Hunter used by the Station Flight commander.
The Black Arrows aerobatic display team, flying the Hunter, moved to Wattisham from RAF North Weald with air displays becoming a regular feature from 1959. No. 56(F) Squadron followed on 9 July, arriving with their Phantoms from RAF Coningsby. From Wattisham, the Phantoms continued the role of playing a major part in defending Britain's airspace which largely involved intercepting the Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 Bear aircraft, as part of Quick Reaction Alert (South). Between 4 November and early December 1976, No. 23(F) Squadron deployed to RAF Luqa, Malta, for an Armament Practice Camp (APC). No. 56(F) Squadron deployed for an APC at RAF Luqa between 13 October and November 1977.
Following the Falklands War, it was decided to base Phantoms on the Falklands Islands. In March 1983, No. 23(F) Squadron relocated from RAF Wattisham to Stanley Airport, leaving the Firebirds as the sole based squadron. On 19 October 1984, No. 74(F) Squadron stood-up at RAF Wattisham equipped with the unique McDonnell Douglas F-4J(UK) Phantom. Delivered in three batches, the squadron was brought up to full strength of 15 jets on 5 January 1985.
In 1990, the Options for Change defence review laid out the plan to withdraw the Phantoms from RAF service. In January 1991, the Phantom F-4J(UK) was withdrawn from use, with the Tigers converting over to the Phantom FGR.2.
No. 56(F) Squadron disbanded on 31 July 1992, reforming as the Panavia Tornado F.3 OCU at RAF Coningsby. No. 74(F) Squadron continued to operate at RAF Wattisham until disbanding on 1 October 1992.
Closure
RAF Wattisham's future hung in the balance as a major air force base and it was decided that with the Cold War threat gone it was no longer needed by the RAF. Wattisham stood down as a fighter base on 31 October 1992. The station was transferred to the control of the British Army in September 1993. The Army Air Corps soon moved in and it rapidly became a major Army airfield, operating it as Wattisham Flying Station. The Royal Air Force returned to operate Westland Sea King Search and Rescue helicopters on the site of the former QRA hangars.
Former RAF units
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Squadron
!Present
!Aircraft
!Notes
|-
|No. XIII Squadron
|July 1941 – 1 August 1942
|Bristol Blenheim IV
|Detachment from RAF Odiham
|-
|No. XVII Squadron
|9 September 1939 – 16 December 1939
|Hawker Hurricane I
|Detachment from RAF Debden
|-
|No. 18 Squadron
|9 December 1941 – 24 August 1942
|Bristol Blenheim IV
|Relocated to RAF West Raynham
|-
|No. 23(Fighter) Squadron
|25 February 1976 – 30 March 1983
|McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2
|Relocated to Stanley, Falkland Islands
|-
|No. XXV Squadron
|1 March 1983 – 1 October 1989
|Bristol Bloodhound
|'C' Flight Detachment from RAF Wyton, disbanded
|-
|No. 29(F) Squadron
|10 May 1967 – 31 December 1974
|English Electric Lightning F.3
|Disbanded
|-
|No. 34 Squadron
|11 February 1949 – 20 July 1949
|Supermarine Spitfire LF.16e / Miles Martinet TT.1 / North American Harvard T.2B / Airspeed Oxford T.2 / Bristol Beaufighter TT.10
|Detachment from RAF Horsham St. Faith
|-
|No. 41(F) Squadron
|5 July 1958 – 31 December 1963
|Gloster Javelin FAW.4/FAW.5/FAW.8
|Disbanded
|-
|No. 56(F) Squadron
|10 July 1958 – 11 May 1967
|Hawker Hunter F.5/F.6 (1958–1961) English Electric Lightning F.1A/F.3 (1960–1967)
|Relocated to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus
|-
|No. 56(F) Squadron
|21 January 1975 – 29 June 1976
|English Electric Lightning F.3/F.6
|Briefly relocated to RAF Coningsby to convert to the Phantom FGR.2
|-
|No. 56(F) Squadron
|9 July 1976 – 31 July 1992
|McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2
|Transferred to RAF Coningsby to form the Tornado F.3 Operational Conversion Unit
|-
|No. 107 Squadron
|11 May 1939 – 3 March 1941
|Bristol Blenheim I/IV
|Relocated to RAF Leuchars
|-
|No. 110 (Hyderabad) Squadron
|11 May 1939 – 17 March 1942
|Bristol Blenheim IV
|Relocated to RAF Drigh Road
|-
|No. 111(F) Squadron
|18 June 1958 – 30 September 1974
|Hawker Hunter F.5/F.6 (1958–1961) English Electric Lightning F.1A/F.3 (1960–1974)
|Disbanded
|-
|No. 114 (Hong Kong) Squadron
|31 May 1940 – 10 June 1940
|Bristol Blenheim IV
|Relocated to RAF Horsham St. Faith
|-
|No. 152 Squadron
|30 June 1954 – 18 June 1956
|Gloster Meteor NF.12/NF.14
|Relocated to RAF Stradishall
|-
|No. 236 Squadron
|9 February 1942 – 3 July 1942
|Bristol Beaufighter Ic
|Relocated to RAF Oulton
|-
|No. 257 Squadron
|27 October 1950 – 10 June 1956
|Gloster Meteor F.8
|Relocated to RAF Wymeswold
|-
|No. 257 Squadron
|15 January 1957 – 31 March 1957
|Hawker Hunter F.2
|Disbanded
|-
|No. 695 Squadron
|7 May 1947 – 11 February 1949
|Supermarine Spitfire LF.16e / Miles Martinet TT.1 / North American Harvard T.2B / Airspeed Oxford T.2 / Bristol Beaufighter TT.10
|Detachment from RAF Horsham St. Faith, disbanded
|-
|No. 17 Blind Approach Training Flight
|October 1941
|Airspeed Oxford Mk.I
|Relocated to RAF Ipswich
|-
|No. 1517 Beam Approach Training Flight
|October 1941 – 4 November 1941
|
|
|-
|No. 1517 Beam Approach Training Flight
|19 May 1942 – 14 November 1942
|
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