Site Aerial Photo, Cold War, Nuclear Weapon Storage Facility, Gorse Industrial Estate, RAF Barnham.
Construction of the Bomb Store on Thetford Heath, known as RAF Barnham, began in 1953 or 1954 and was complete by 1955. It was built specifically to store and maintain atomic weapons, and this is directly reflected in its layout. The principal storage buildings are divided into two main groups, large stores designed to hold the bomb casings and high explosive components and smaller stores to hold fissile cores. By the early 1960's this specialised facility was obsolete, as free-fall nuclear bombs were superseded (as the principal British nuclear deterrent) by the stand-off missile ''Blue Steel'', and the storage and maintenance of nuclear weapons was moved to the V-Bomber airfields. The last nuclear weapons were probably removed from the site by April 1963.
The site was sold to its present owner in 1965, and since that date it has been used as a light industrial estate. The plan form of the Bomb Store remains virtually unmodified, the majority of the buildings survive intact, generally with little alteration; the boundary fences and watch towers also remain. RAF Barnham was one of two such sites built in England, the other is at RAF Faldingworth in Lincolnshire which has the same types of building and is almost identical in overall plan form.
Modern military occupation on Thetford Heath began in the early years of the Second World War. By 1942 the Air Ministry had taken control of the eastern part of Thetford Heath, bounded by Elveden Road to the south, Bury Road to the east and a forest boundary known as the Boundary Belt to the north. The western boundary was delimited by an almost north to south fence to the west of Aughton Spinney, which comprised two separate pieces of woodland, a nearly north to south strip called Aughton Spinney Belt with a detached oval portion to the north, the whole giving the appearance of an inverted exclamation mark. The bottom south-east corner of the area was cut by the (now dismantled) Bury St Edmunds to Thetford railway line.
The requisitioned area on the heath was part of Forward Filling Depot No.1 Barnham Heath (TL 862 803) - its function was to store and fill bombs with mustard gas. The filling depot lay at the eastern end of Thetford Heath and was enclosed by a fence with pillboxes at its corners. Most of the depot was destroyed when the present RAF camp was built in the late 1950’s. One traversed high explosive magazine area and some railway cuttings survived into the 1970's, and were mapped by the Ordnance Survey as earthworks. To the west and north of the fenced filling depot an area of land, in a roughly 'L' shaped configuration, was used for open storage. The area was divided by unmade tracks, and the munitions were stored under temporary linear shelters. Associated with this depot was another gas storage and filling depot 1.2 miles to the south, at Triangle Plantation (TL 853 778). The gas depots were probably maintained until the 1950's, when Britain disposed of her remaining stockpiles of mustard gas.
In the early 1950's the programme to deploy an independent British nuclear deterrent was extremely complex, and involved co-ordinating many diverse and innovative technological programmes. These included developing atomic weapon technology from one-off experimental units to a production run which could be issued to the RAF. In parallel with this work went the development of jet bombers capable of carrying these bombs. On the ground new airfield facilities were needed to handle new aircraft types and specialised storage units were established to maintain the new weapons. It was against this background that the decision was taken to build two specialist storage and maintenance depots for atomic weapons, one at Barnham in Suffolk and the other at Faldingworth in Lincolnshire.
Code letters on the site plans for RAF Barnham indicate that planning for the site began in 1952, although the majority of the drawings were prepared in 1953. The site was purchased by the Air Ministry on 28th September 1954, which suggests part of the heath had been derequisitioned since the war. An air photograph indicates that building work on the site was substantially complete by August 1955. Nonetheless, minor building work to provide accommodation for the police dog section probably continued until early 1956.
The station became operational on 1st September 1956, commanded by Wing Commander G Steele: But the British nuclear deterrent was probably not fully operational until the end of 1956, or early 1957. Administratively RAF Barnham was commanded by No.40 Group, and formed part of No.94 MU (Maintenance Unit) with its headquarters at RAF Honington. in the late 1950’s, it was intended that this group would supply the airfields at RAF Honington, RAF Marham and RAF Watton.
To understand the form of RAF Barnham it is necessary briefly to describe the types of weapons it was designed to store. The first nuclear weapon issued to the RAF, and therefore stored at RAF Barnham, was code-named ''Blue Danube''. This was a relatively large weapon, 24 ft in length, 5 ft in diameter, and weighing 10,000 Ibs. It had the appearance of a standard free-fall high explosive bomb, with a pointed nose and rear stabilising fins. Also in common with conventional bombs it appeared that the tail unit was a detachable section. It was lifted by means of a lifting beam attached to lugs on top of the central section of the bomb, which were also used to secure it in the bombay of an aircraft.
Nuclear weapons are technologically complex products, which require specialised storage and continuous maintenance to remain serviceable. ''Blue Danube'' appears to describe a series of closely related weapons, which were continuously modified. The first system worked on the implosion system, using a fissile core of plutonium 239 or uranium 235, where the sub-critical masses were propelled together in a device resembling a gun barrel. In a later modification, probably used in the bombs issued to the RAF, the sub-critical plutonium fissile core was machined to form a hollow sphere at the centre of which was a neutron source. The core was surrounded by a carefully machined sphere of high explosives. When initiated this would produce a spherical pressure wave on the sub-critical core imploding it to form a critical mass.
The ''Blue Danube'' bomb may therefore be seen to comprise two principal elements, the precisely shaped pieces of radioactive plutonium and the finely machined high explosive lenses wrapped around the core. In storage the two elements were kept apart. This was partly to avoid the obvious dangers of storing assembled nuclear weapons, but was also done to maintain the effectiveness of the bomb. For, if stored in an assembled form, the highly radioactive plutonium core emitted neutrons and gamma rays which could damage the mechanical and electronic components within the bombs. The early atomic bombs required an initiator made of polonium and (probably) Iithium. Polonium is a highly unstable element, with a half-life of only 138 days.
Any cores containing this material would therefore need to be reassembled every few months. The high explosive was a specialised composition which required careful manufacturing and machining to create the lenses around the radioactive core. This too needed to be kept in a carefully monitored environment. During the operational life of RAF Barnham, second and third generation British nuclear weapons were introduced, ''Red Beard'', and ''Yellow Sun'' Mk. I and II. It is, however, uncertain whether or not these were stored at RAF Barnham. It is also unclear if any American nuclear weapons supplied for use by RAF Valiant's at RAF Marham were held at RAF Barnham. The Operational Record Book of No.40 Group does not give any details of the weapons stored at RAF Barnham.
Storage of nuclear weapons at RAF Barnham probably ceased in spring 1963. The last date that the lightning conductors were tested on the fissile store buildings was in April 1963 and the security status of the site was withdrawn in July of that year. RAF personnel, nevertheless, remained at the station until November. The closure of the station is probably directly linked to the operational deployment of the stand-off missile ''Blue Steel'' from late 1962, which replaced free fall nuclear bombs - the type stored at RAF Barnham. The site was retained by the RAF until late 1965 when it was offered for sale. Since then the buildings have been put to a variety of light industrial uses.
Information sourced from English Heritage.
Site Aerial Photo, Cold War, Nuclear Weapon Storage Facility, Gorse Industrial Estate, RAF Barnham.
Construction of the Bomb Store on Thetford Heath, known as RAF Barnham, began in 1953 or 1954 and was complete by 1955. It was built specifically to store and maintain atomic weapons, and this is directly reflected in its layout. The principal storage buildings are divided into two main groups, large stores designed to hold the bomb casings and high explosive components and smaller stores to hold fissile cores. By the early 1960's this specialised facility was obsolete, as free-fall nuclear bombs were superseded (as the principal British nuclear deterrent) by the stand-off missile ''Blue Steel'', and the storage and maintenance of nuclear weapons was moved to the V-Bomber airfields. The last nuclear weapons were probably removed from the site by April 1963.
The site was sold to its present owner in 1965, and since that date it has been used as a light industrial estate. The plan form of the Bomb Store remains virtually unmodified, the majority of the buildings survive intact, generally with little alteration; the boundary fences and watch towers also remain. RAF Barnham was one of two such sites built in England, the other is at RAF Faldingworth in Lincolnshire which has the same types of building and is almost identical in overall plan form.
Modern military occupation on Thetford Heath began in the early years of the Second World War. By 1942 the Air Ministry had taken control of the eastern part of Thetford Heath, bounded by Elveden Road to the south, Bury Road to the east and a forest boundary known as the Boundary Belt to the north. The western boundary was delimited by an almost north to south fence to the west of Aughton Spinney, which comprised two separate pieces of woodland, a nearly north to south strip called Aughton Spinney Belt with a detached oval portion to the north, the whole giving the appearance of an inverted exclamation mark. The bottom south-east corner of the area was cut by the (now dismantled) Bury St Edmunds to Thetford railway line.
The requisitioned area on the heath was part of Forward Filling Depot No.1 Barnham Heath (TL 862 803) - its function was to store and fill bombs with mustard gas. The filling depot lay at the eastern end of Thetford Heath and was enclosed by a fence with pillboxes at its corners. Most of the depot was destroyed when the present RAF camp was built in the late 1950’s. One traversed high explosive magazine area and some railway cuttings survived into the 1970's, and were mapped by the Ordnance Survey as earthworks. To the west and north of the fenced filling depot an area of land, in a roughly 'L' shaped configuration, was used for open storage. The area was divided by unmade tracks, and the munitions were stored under temporary linear shelters. Associated with this depot was another gas storage and filling depot 1.2 miles to the south, at Triangle Plantation (TL 853 778). The gas depots were probably maintained until the 1950's, when Britain disposed of her remaining stockpiles of mustard gas.
In the early 1950's the programme to deploy an independent British nuclear deterrent was extremely complex, and involved co-ordinating many diverse and innovative technological programmes. These included developing atomic weapon technology from one-off experimental units to a production run which could be issued to the RAF. In parallel with this work went the development of jet bombers capable of carrying these bombs. On the ground new airfield facilities were needed to handle new aircraft types and specialised storage units were established to maintain the new weapons. It was against this background that the decision was taken to build two specialist storage and maintenance depots for atomic weapons, one at Barnham in Suffolk and the other at Faldingworth in Lincolnshire.
Code letters on the site plans for RAF Barnham indicate that planning for the site began in 1952, although the majority of the drawings were prepared in 1953. The site was purchased by the Air Ministry on 28th September 1954, which suggests part of the heath had been derequisitioned since the war. An air photograph indicates that building work on the site was substantially complete by August 1955. Nonetheless, minor building work to provide accommodation for the police dog section probably continued until early 1956.
The station became operational on 1st September 1956, commanded by Wing Commander G Steele: But the British nuclear deterrent was probably not fully operational until the end of 1956, or early 1957. Administratively RAF Barnham was commanded by No.40 Group, and formed part of No.94 MU (Maintenance Unit) with its headquarters at RAF Honington. in the late 1950’s, it was intended that this group would supply the airfields at RAF Honington, RAF Marham and RAF Watton.
To understand the form of RAF Barnham it is necessary briefly to describe the types of weapons it was designed to store. The first nuclear weapon issued to the RAF, and therefore stored at RAF Barnham, was code-named ''Blue Danube''. This was a relatively large weapon, 24 ft in length, 5 ft in diameter, and weighing 10,000 Ibs. It had the appearance of a standard free-fall high explosive bomb, with a pointed nose and rear stabilising fins. Also in common with conventional bombs it appeared that the tail unit was a detachable section. It was lifted by means of a lifting beam attached to lugs on top of the central section of the bomb, which were also used to secure it in the bombay of an aircraft.
Nuclear weapons are technologically complex products, which require specialised storage and continuous maintenance to remain serviceable. ''Blue Danube'' appears to describe a series of closely related weapons, which were continuously modified. The first system worked on the implosion system, using a fissile core of plutonium 239 or uranium 235, where the sub-critical masses were propelled together in a device resembling a gun barrel. In a later modification, probably used in the bombs issued to the RAF, the sub-critical plutonium fissile core was machined to form a hollow sphere at the centre of which was a neutron source. The core was surrounded by a carefully machined sphere of high explosives. When initiated this would produce a spherical pressure wave on the sub-critical core imploding it to form a critical mass.
The ''Blue Danube'' bomb may therefore be seen to comprise two principal elements, the precisely shaped pieces of radioactive plutonium and the finely machined high explosive lenses wrapped around the core. In storage the two elements were kept apart. This was partly to avoid the obvious dangers of storing assembled nuclear weapons, but was also done to maintain the effectiveness of the bomb. For, if stored in an assembled form, the highly radioactive plutonium core emitted neutrons and gamma rays which could damage the mechanical and electronic components within the bombs. The early atomic bombs required an initiator made of polonium and (probably) Iithium. Polonium is a highly unstable element, with a half-life of only 138 days.
Any cores containing this material would therefore need to be reassembled every few months. The high explosive was a specialised composition which required careful manufacturing and machining to create the lenses around the radioactive core. This too needed to be kept in a carefully monitored environment. During the operational life of RAF Barnham, second and third generation British nuclear weapons were introduced, ''Red Beard'', and ''Yellow Sun'' Mk. I and II. It is, however, uncertain whether or not these were stored at RAF Barnham. It is also unclear if any American nuclear weapons supplied for use by RAF Valiant's at RAF Marham were held at RAF Barnham. The Operational Record Book of No.40 Group does not give any details of the weapons stored at RAF Barnham.
Storage of nuclear weapons at RAF Barnham probably ceased in spring 1963. The last date that the lightning conductors were tested on the fissile store buildings was in April 1963 and the security status of the site was withdrawn in July of that year. RAF personnel, nevertheless, remained at the station until November. The closure of the station is probably directly linked to the operational deployment of the stand-off missile ''Blue Steel'' from late 1962, which replaced free fall nuclear bombs - the type stored at RAF Barnham. The site was retained by the RAF until late 1965 when it was offered for sale. Since then the buildings have been put to a variety of light industrial uses.
Information sourced from English Heritage.