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Fairford, Gloucestershire, UK - July 14th, 2018: Belgian Air Force Lockheed Martin General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon completes its Aerobatic Display at Fairford International Air Tattoo RIAT
Morane Saulnier MS 505A Criquet (Storch). G-BIRW. 1945. Photograph taken November 2011 whilst on a visit to East Fortune Airfield East Lothian Edinburgh
Discovered on my second visit, after the very overgrown hedge had been cut back. A partly buried World War II Type 22 Pillbox, possibly outer defence for RAF Snetterton Heath airfield (USAAF Station 138).
The Type 22 Pillbox is a regular hexagon in plan with embrasures/loopholes in five of the six faces and a half or full-height entrance, sometimes with a porch to protect the entrance. The loopholes are suitable for either rifle or light machine gun. Some have a low entrance that allows an extra loophole above. Each wall is about 6ft long and was generally built to the bulletproof standard of 12 inch thick walls, although there is a shellproof versions with walls around 40 inches thick which is commonly found on airfields. Internally there is either a Y or T-shaped anti-ricochet wall (the top of the Y/T is nearest to the entrance) the internal wall also helps support the roof. The roof is sometimes covered with earth and vegetation to camouflage its appearance. The Type 22 Pillbox is the second most common pillbox type with 1,347 recorded as being extant. It is easily confused with the common Type 24 Pillbox, which is an irregular hexagon and the less common octagonal shape.
RAF Snetterton Heath airfield was constructed by Taylor Woodrow Ltd, in 1942 at a cost of £950,000 to Class-A specifications. The main runway was 6,000ft long with two secondaries of 4,200ft each. Originally thirty-six hardstands of the ''frying pan'' type were constructed as when work started, the base was intended for RAF use. When rescheduled for the USAAF, the number was increased to fifty, all of them being on the south and eastern side of the airfield as a railway line and the A11 road restricted dispersed locations. Total area of concrete laid in its construction was 530,000 square yards with storage provided for 144,000 gallons of fuel.
The airfield was allocated for USAAF use in 1943, designation was Station 138, Station ID 'SN'. At one stage, it was planned to add an air depot, known as Eccles on the northern side of the airfield, access being across the A11. Four additional T-2 Hangars were constructed on this site. Apparently a reduction in the number of heavy bombers being sent to the U.K led to this depot becoming surplus to Eighth Air Force requirements and construction was stopped before all facilities were completed. From 13th September 1943 though 18th June 1945, RAF Snetterton Heath served as Headquarters for the 45th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 3rd Bomb Division.
The airfield was used by the USAAF Eighth Air Force 386th Bombardment Group (Medium) which arrived at RAF Snetterton Heath from Lake Charles AAB, Louisiana on 3rd June 1943. The 386th Bomb Group was assigned to the 3rd Bombardment Wing and flew Martin B-26B/C Marauder twin-engine Medium Bombers. Its Operational Squadrons were:
▪︎337th Bombardment Squadron (AW)
▪︎338th Bombardment Squadron (BX)
▪︎339th Bombardment Squadron (QJ)
▪︎413th Bombardment Squadron (MZ)
After the war, the airfield was used by No. 262 Maintenance Unit RAF between December 1945 and November 1948. At the end of 1948 the airfield was closed and fell into disuse. With the end of Military control, RAF Snetterton Heath was privately purchased in 1952 with a view to using the runways and perimeter tracks as a motor racing circuit. The first motor cycle meeting was held in 1953 and the first motor races the following year.
Information sourced from –
– A.M.W.D Works Services Building (Building 147) –
RAF Ludham airfield opened late on in 1941 as a satellite to RAF Coltishall. This fighter airfield was home mostly to Supermarine Spitfire units throughout its life, the first of which was from No. 19 Squadron, arriving from RAF Matlaske for a mixture of offensive and defensive duties. In the spring of 1942 No. 19 Squadron’s Spitfire's essentially swapped airfields with No. 610 Squadron as more Spitfire's moved in from RAF Hutton Cranswick. Unusually for a Spitfire squadron, the squadron was employed to counter increased German nocturnal activity by German bombers.
No. 610 switched with No. 167 Squadron at RAF Castletown, bringing many Dutch pilots with more Spitfires to RAF Ludham. Hawker Typhoons were also a rare different type to operate from the airfield, arriving in May 1943 for a short period to fly more offensive and defensive missions. The site did suffer from a number of German fighter-bomber attacks during this time.
Major redevelopment took place in 1944 with the intention of RAF Ludham becoming a U.S.A.A.F fighter station (Station 177), three hard runways and fifty new dispersals being built. However, the Americans never arrived and instead the Fleet Air Arm moved in, RAF Ludham becoming HMS Flycatcher from the summer of 1944.
The following units were here at some point –
▪︎No. 1 Squadron RAF
▪︎No. 19 Squadron RAF
▪︎No. 91 Squadron RAF
▪︎No. 167 Squadron RAF
▪︎No. 195 Squadron RAF
▪︎No. 602 Squadron RAF
▪︎No. 603 Squadron RAF
▪︎No. 610 Squadron RAF
▪︎No. 611 Squadron RAF
▪︎No. 1489 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight RAF
▪︎No. 2819 Squadron RAF Regiment
▪︎No. 2893 Squadron RAF Regiment.
It was home to the headquarters of the Mobile Naval Airfield Organisation from 4th September and a number of their Mobile Naval Air Bases (MONAB's). MONAB's were a series of mobile self-contained units able to repair and prepare aircraft, engines and components for ships of the Fleet. Each MONAB was initially commissioned at Ludham before the headquarters moved to AAC Middle Wallop on 16th February 1945.
Two squadrons with more Spitfire's arrived a few days later to carry out the same duties as in earlier times, attacking air and ground targets. After leaving in April these units were replaced by No. 91 Squadron and a month later No. 1 Squadron, also with Spitfire's. Both units departed in July and the airfield was put under Care and Maintenance. Having transferred to No. 60 Group the airfield was used for housing personnel from nearby RAF sites, before activity essentially ceased by the end of 1945.
The airfield finally closed in the first half of 1946. By the early 1960's the Air Ministry had sold the land and farmers eventually reacquired the airfield. Although most of the runways were broken up a small stretch was kept and used from later the same decade as a private airstrip for light aircraft and cropsprayers. Unusually, one of the wartime Blister hangars was later re-erected at the end of the surviving runway, obstructing take offs and landings. The two control towers both survive and were restored in the early 2000's. Part of the perimeter track also remains, although most of the other buildings have been demolished.
Information sourced from –
The Romney Hut is a prefabricated steel structure used by the British military, developed during World War II to supersede the Iris Hut. At the outbreak of World War II, the British military developed a series of prefabricated huts to supplement the World War I era Nissen Hut. The Iris Hut was one of these, a medium-scale hut of 35 feet span and from 60 feet to 96 feet in length, with bays of 4 feet sectional length able to be added as required.
However, the Iris Hut had a major design flaw: it was unable to resist the weight of snow lying on the roof and had a tendency to collapse after snowfalls. For this reason, it was superseded by the Romney Hut by 1941. Both the Iris Hut and the Romney Hut were constructed of a clamped tubular steel frame with a central entrance. The hut was used to accommodate facilities for which abnormal roof spans were required. On some airfields, two or more Romney or Iris Huts would be erected to accommodate large stores and workshops, or occasionally used as aircraft hangars. It was invented by Lt Col Edgar Frank Brawn of the Royal Engineers.
Building 45A – Fuel Store, Air Ministry Drg No: 591-2/25.
▪︎MARTLESHAM HEATH AIRFIELD – “The Cradle of British Aviation”▪︎
Martlesham Heath has enjoyed a long and varied aviation history, over many different periods of peace and war. They have attempted to summarise this into a number of key highlights.
For more information, facts, figures and insights please visit the MHAS Museum – They look forward to your visit !
▪︎World War I – Early beginnings –
The Royal Flying Corps came into being on 13th March 1912 and the Central Flying School was established at Upavon in Wiltshire at around the same time. Upavon soon began to expand its activities and in 1915 the Armament Experimental Flight of the Experimental Flying section of the Central Flying School was moved to Orfordness in Suffolk. Soon it became apparent that the Aircraft Testing Flight, which was still at Upavon, should be sited nearer to the Armament Flight.
Under the leadership of Henry Tizard, a technical officer, a survey was carried out to locate a suitable site, close to Orfordness and a railway station to London, capable of containing both the Armament Experimental Flight and the Aircraft Testing Flight. Martlesham Heath was chosen and thus began the aviation history of this area. The new airfield was dedicated on the 16th January 1917 but prior to its dedication, in late 1916, the Aeroplane Experimental Flight moved in and the new airfield was named as the Aeroplane Experimental Station.
▪︎Between the Wars –
On 1st April 1918, the RFC merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to become the Royal Air Force, with Martlesham’s importance continuing to grow, eventually being renamed the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) in 1924. The A&AEE carried out the evaluation and testing of over 400 different aircraft types, both military and civilian, during the inter-war years and much of the armament and other equipment that would later be used during the Second World War tested over Orfordness.
▪︎World War II – The Battle of Britain 1940 –
The A&AEE moved to RAF Boscombe Down on 9th September 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War and RAF Martlesham then undertook a key role in the “Battle of Britain”, becoming the most northerly station of No. 11 Group RAF Fighter Command. During the course of the battle several squadrons rotated through RAF Martlesham operating Bristol Blenheim's, Boulton Paul Defiants and Hawker Hurricane's.
During the latter stages of the ''Battle of Britain'', the German Luftwaffe targeted many RAF Fighter Command airfields and RAF Martlesham came under attack on the 15th August 1940, with the resulting extensive damage taking a full day to repair. On 11th November 1940 shortly after the end of the ''Battle Of Britain'', one of RAF Martlesham’s resident Hurricane squadrons (257) were involved in air to air combat with elements of the Italian Air Force’s Regia Aeronautica over the coast near Harwich claiming a number of Fiat BR.20 bombers and CR.42 biplane fighters destroyed.
▪︎World War II – On to the Offensive 1941–1942 –
During 1941-42 RAF Fighter Command operated a policy whereby their squadrons were regularly rotated to ensure that they did not become ‘battle weary’. This meant that often a squadron might only be based at an airfield for a few weeks and during this time RAF Martlesham saw around 30 different units stationed there. The RAF had an international flavour to it and squadrons of Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Poles, Czechs, Belgians and Norwegians were all based there.
As the Hawker Hurricane became obsolete these squadrons were primarily equipped with newer marks of the Supermarine Spitfire such as the Vb and at least four squadrons of the RAF’s new fighter bomber, the Hawker Typhoon. In early 1941 the RAF were mainly engaged in Home Defence duties, patrolling the coast line against German raiders or protecting convoys. By early 1942 however RAF Fighter Command’s primary objective was to take the war to the enemy over occupied Europe. This new offensive saw the RAF’s fighter squadrons embarking on a variety of routine operations, each type given a specific codename.
''The Eagle Squadrons'' – The Eagle Squadrons were three fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force (71, 121 and 133), formed with volunteer pilots from the United States prior to America's entry into the war in December 1941. Under American law, it was illegal for United States citizens to join the armed forces of foreign nations. In doing so, they lost their citizenship. Even so many American citizens volunteered to fly with the Royal Air Force before America officially entered the war in December 1941. Although all three squadrons flew from RAF Martlesham only 71 Squadron were based at there on a permanent basis.
''AirSea Rescue'' – Sharing the airfield with the fighter squadrons between 1942 and the end of 1944 was an Air Sea Rescue unit - 'A' Flight, of 277 Squadron. The unit flew a variety of aircraft including Supermarine Walrus flying boats, Boulton Paul Defiants, Westland Lysander's and a number of ‘war weary’ Spitfire Mk. II’s & VB’s.
''Famous Faces'' – A number of ‘high profile’ pilots served at RAF Martlesham Heath with the most notably were Douglas Bader, Robert Stanford Tuck, Peter Townsend and John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway the last known surviving ''Battle Of Britain'' pilot.
▪︎World War II – Enter the USAAF 1943–1945 –
In 1943, RAF Martlesham Heath became one of a group of grass-surfaced airfields earmarked for use by fighters of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force. The airfield was assigned the USAAF designation Station 369 and subsequently ‘hardened’ through the laying of asphalt runways, on top of a base of compressed sand.
The Control Tower (now the museum), a USAAF requirement, was built to centralize aircraft and vehicle movements. During this period, the RAF jointly occupied the airfield, with 56 Squadron flying Hawker Typhoon's attacking targets in Europe and shipping in the North Sea as well as 277 Squadron continuing to provide their Air Sea Rescue Role. The airfield was first used by the P-47 Thunderbolt’s of the 356th Fighter Group, 8th USAAF in October 1943, arriving from RAF Goxhill after a period of training. The 356th Fighter Group consisted of three squadrons:
▪︎359th Fighter Squadron (OC)
▪︎360th Fighter Squadron (PI)
▪︎361st Fighter Squadron (QI)
The 356th flew combat from October 1943, initially operating as escorts for the B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberator's of the 8th Air Force’s Bomb Groups. From early 1944 they began undertaking bombing and strafing missions against a range of targets in occupied Europe and these intensified in the run up to the D-Day landings on 6th June 1944. The 356th also played a critical role in support of ''Operation Market Garden'' (the Arnhem operation) in September 1944 to neutralize enemy gun emplacements, suffering heavy losses in the process. For this action they were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation.
The 356th relinquished their Thunderbolt’s in November 1944 to be replaced by the P-51 Mustang. Unlike the P-47’s which carried no unit markings other than squadron codes, the 356th‘s Mustang's were among the most strikingly marked in the 8th AF and carried a red/blue diamond pattern on their engine cowlings as well as spinners, canopy rails and rudders in the individual squadron colours of Yellow for the 359FS, Red for the 360FS and Blue for the 361FS.
Between the first mission on 15th October 1943, and their final mission on 7th May 1945, the 356th was credited with destroying 277 enemy planes, probably destroying 23 more, and damaging a further 192. In addition, although exact numbers are unknown they were credited with the destruction of hundreds of vehicles, trains, rail cars, tanks, bridges, buildings, flak emplacements, munitions and fuel dumps, barges and a host of other ground targets. The 356th lost 122 aircraft in action and 71 pilots made the ultimate sacrifice either in combat or due to accidents. By October 1945 the 356th had left RAF Martlesham for home and the unit was formally deactivated on 10th November 1945.
▪︎Postwar - A return to aircraft research & development role –
With the departure of the USAAF, the airfield reverted to the RAF in a research and development role, although significantly scaled down from the pre-war days. In the immediate postwar years, Fighter Command squadrons were in residence at RAF Martlesham but the proximity to Ipswich and the physical limitations on lengthening the runways restricted jet operation. In an effort to improve the station and allow jet aircraft to operate the main runway was extended in 1955, by the addition of concrete aprons at the ends of the main runway.
The Blind Landing Experimental Unit and the Bomb Ballistics Unit both became operational in September 1945 at RAF Martlesham. The two units eventually merged and were finally moved from RAF Martlesham airfield to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough and Bedford.
The Battle of Britain Flight moved to the airfield in 1958 and left in 1961. It consisted of Hurricane's and Spitfire's but without a Lancaster. Much later It was renamed “The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.” once the Lancaster joined the unit. Following this, the airfield reverted to care and maintenance status, and passed the time as a Gliding and air experience unit for Air Training Corps (A.T.C), flying mainly at weekends. the Air Ministry closed the facility on 25th April 1963.
▪︎Today - A new role and focus –
RAF Martlesham Heath has now become a flourishing residential and industrial area, but much evidence of the airfield still remains. Nearby, on the old RAF parade ground, stands a memorial erected to the memory of 73 members of the 356th Fighter Group who lost their lives in World War II. Alongside is a memorial to those of the RAF (British and Commonwealth and Dominion Air Forces (French, Czech, Polish, Norwegian etc.) who flew with or worked alongside the RAF. In between the two memorials is a special one remembering the Scientists and Engineers from the British Aircraft industry, who mostly died in flying accidents whilst testing and helping develop aircraft at RAF Martlesham Heath. The Control Tower, built in the Second World War, has now been repurposed to become the location of the MHAS Museum since 2000 – keeping the story of the airfield alive.
Information sourced from – Airfield History share.google/cU9HNPi0fsN4QAm0u
Fairford, Gloucestershire, UK - July 14th, 2018: Belgian Air Force Lockheed Martin General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon completes its Aerobatic Display at Fairford International Air Tattoo RIAT
Morane Saulnier MS 505A Criquet (Storch). G-BIRW. 1945. Photograph taken November 2011 whilst on a visit to East Fortune Airfield East Lothian Edinburgh