♫ Claire ♫
Hangar, RAF Woodbridge
RAF Woodbridge, is a former Royal Air Force military airbase situated to the east of Woodbridge, Suffolk. It is famous for its wide runway which, along with the two at the former RAF bases at Manston in Kent and Carnaby in Yorkshire - were originally constructed to assist damaged aircraft to land on their return from raids over Germany.
Woodbridge was used by the RAF during World War II, and by the United States Air Force during the Cold War, being the primary home for the 79th Fighter Squadron and squadrons of the 81st Fighter Wing under various designations from 1951 to 1993. For many years, the 81st Fighter Wing also operated from nearby RAF Bentwaters, with Bentwaters and Woodbridge being known as the "Twin Bases".
In 1943, Woodbridge was constructed as one of three airfields set up to accept damaged or fuel-short bombers returning from raids over Germany, and was therefore fitted with long, heavy-duty runways. It was initially called RAF Station Sutton Heath. The site at Woodbridge was chosen as it was 'nearly fog-free and had no obstructions for miles', although more than a million trees had to be cleared from Rendlesham Forest to take the new base. Its first use was in July 1943 when it was used by an American B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. By the end of World War II 4,200 aircraft had made emergency landings at RAF Woodbridge.
In the spring of 1944, Woodbrige was considered to be the operational base for Operation Aphrodite, a secret plan for drone B-17s (redesignated as BQ-7s), to be used against German V-1 flying bomb sites, submarine pens, or deep fortifications that had resisted conventional bombing. In early July, several B-17s, modified into BQ-7 drones, from the 562d Bomb Squadron, 388th Bomb Group arrived at Woodbrige. The aircraft were stripped of all interior equipment and armament and packed with explosives. The plane would be flown by a pilot until over the English Channel, then turned over to radio control with a primitive television system. Another B-17 would act as a 'mother' ship, guiding the drone.
No Aphrodite mission was ever flown from Woodbridge because, after one aborted attempt, the unit moved up to RAF Fersfield, near Diss, Norfolk.
On 13 July 1944, a Luftwaffe Ju 88 G-1 night fighter of 7 Staffel/NJG 2, bearing aircraft code 4R+UR, on North Sea night patrol landed at Woodbridge. This aircraft carried recent versions of the FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar, Naxos-Z and FuG 227 Flensburg homer[1] which were being successfully used to intercept RAF bombers. The German crew had only just completed 100 hours of flight training, and had flown by compass heading, but had proceeded in exactly the wrong direction and thought they were over their own airfield. Within days, the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) had analysed the radar equipment and devised countermeasures.
With the war's end in 1945, Woodbridge was used for some experimental work by the RAF with Lancasters being based there, dropping Grand Slam bombs on Orford Ness, and the Blind Landing Experiment Unit was located there. Eventually it was closed on 14 March 1948 and put into 'care and maintenance' status.
As a result of the Cold War USAF buildup in Europe, Woodbridge was made available to the Americans by the Ministry of Defence in early 1952. With the end of the Cold War, the USAF presence at Woodbridge was gradually phased down. The last A-10 aircraft departed Woodbridge on 14 August 1993, and the airfield was closed as a U.S. military facility. With the deactivation, the USAF returned control of Woodbridge to the UK Ministry of Defence.
Since 1 September 2006, RAF Woodbridge is now officially known as MoD Woodbridge, including Woodbridge Airfield and Rock Barracks. It is now home to the newly formed 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) of the British Army.
Hangar, RAF Woodbridge
RAF Woodbridge, is a former Royal Air Force military airbase situated to the east of Woodbridge, Suffolk. It is famous for its wide runway which, along with the two at the former RAF bases at Manston in Kent and Carnaby in Yorkshire - were originally constructed to assist damaged aircraft to land on their return from raids over Germany.
Woodbridge was used by the RAF during World War II, and by the United States Air Force during the Cold War, being the primary home for the 79th Fighter Squadron and squadrons of the 81st Fighter Wing under various designations from 1951 to 1993. For many years, the 81st Fighter Wing also operated from nearby RAF Bentwaters, with Bentwaters and Woodbridge being known as the "Twin Bases".
In 1943, Woodbridge was constructed as one of three airfields set up to accept damaged or fuel-short bombers returning from raids over Germany, and was therefore fitted with long, heavy-duty runways. It was initially called RAF Station Sutton Heath. The site at Woodbridge was chosen as it was 'nearly fog-free and had no obstructions for miles', although more than a million trees had to be cleared from Rendlesham Forest to take the new base. Its first use was in July 1943 when it was used by an American B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. By the end of World War II 4,200 aircraft had made emergency landings at RAF Woodbridge.
In the spring of 1944, Woodbrige was considered to be the operational base for Operation Aphrodite, a secret plan for drone B-17s (redesignated as BQ-7s), to be used against German V-1 flying bomb sites, submarine pens, or deep fortifications that had resisted conventional bombing. In early July, several B-17s, modified into BQ-7 drones, from the 562d Bomb Squadron, 388th Bomb Group arrived at Woodbrige. The aircraft were stripped of all interior equipment and armament and packed with explosives. The plane would be flown by a pilot until over the English Channel, then turned over to radio control with a primitive television system. Another B-17 would act as a 'mother' ship, guiding the drone.
No Aphrodite mission was ever flown from Woodbridge because, after one aborted attempt, the unit moved up to RAF Fersfield, near Diss, Norfolk.
On 13 July 1944, a Luftwaffe Ju 88 G-1 night fighter of 7 Staffel/NJG 2, bearing aircraft code 4R+UR, on North Sea night patrol landed at Woodbridge. This aircraft carried recent versions of the FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar, Naxos-Z and FuG 227 Flensburg homer[1] which were being successfully used to intercept RAF bombers. The German crew had only just completed 100 hours of flight training, and had flown by compass heading, but had proceeded in exactly the wrong direction and thought they were over their own airfield. Within days, the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) had analysed the radar equipment and devised countermeasures.
With the war's end in 1945, Woodbridge was used for some experimental work by the RAF with Lancasters being based there, dropping Grand Slam bombs on Orford Ness, and the Blind Landing Experiment Unit was located there. Eventually it was closed on 14 March 1948 and put into 'care and maintenance' status.
As a result of the Cold War USAF buildup in Europe, Woodbridge was made available to the Americans by the Ministry of Defence in early 1952. With the end of the Cold War, the USAF presence at Woodbridge was gradually phased down. The last A-10 aircraft departed Woodbridge on 14 August 1993, and the airfield was closed as a U.S. military facility. With the deactivation, the USAF returned control of Woodbridge to the UK Ministry of Defence.
Since 1 September 2006, RAF Woodbridge is now officially known as MoD Woodbridge, including Woodbridge Airfield and Rock Barracks. It is now home to the newly formed 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) of the British Army.