RAF Sutton Bridge stood on the edge of the Wash in Lincolnshire and was an armament-practice and gunnery station from 1926. In the war it became a fighter operational training unit and then the home of the Central Gunnery School — the first of its kind in the world, training fighter and bomber gunnery instructors together — flying Hawker Hurricanes, Supermarine Spitfires and other types. The station closed in 1958 and the site is now used for agricultural research, with a few wartime buildings surviving.
Confidential German Target Dossier for RAF Sutton Bridge Airfield, Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, England. The classified document discloses the latest German intelligence about the British airfield installation (dated January 1943): 1. Designation of Target: Airfield 2. Significance: Airbase without [paved] start runway with training operations of the R.A.F. 3. Description of Target: Rail connection not present; a) Transport connections: Sutton Bridge Railway Station 300 metres NNW; b) Total extent: Runway approximately 900 x 1500 metres, Built-up Area: approximately 22,000 square metres; c) Type of installations and facilities, construction, design, air sensitivity, fire hazard, flight obstacles: On the west side of the airfield, there are three medium-sized aircraft hangars with a floor area of around 5,000 square metres, as well as numerous accommodation and storage barracks with a total built-up area of around 12,000 square metres. There are 10 aircraft box hangars scattered around ⓘ licence & creditGermany. Luftwaffe (German Air Force) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Target_Dossier_for_Sutton_Bridge,_Lincolnshire,_England_-_DPLA_-_d158d131f783f728fc32e5342fde2455_(page_2).jpgView source & full licence →Confidential German Target Dossier for RAF Sutton Bridge Airfield, Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, England. The classified map discloses the following key installations: 1. 3 Aircraft Hangars, 2. Accommodation and Administrative Buildings, 3. Anti-Aircraft Machine Guns, 4. Small Combat Facilities (usually Military Pillbox defense posts). ⓘ licence & creditGermany. Luftwaffe (German Air Force) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Target_Dossier_for_Sutton_Bridge,_Lincolnshire,_England_-_DPLA_-_d158d131f783f728fc32e5342fde2455_(page_1).jpgView source & full licence →Air Ministry airfield site R.A.F. Practice Camp Sutton Bridge in Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, England, late 1920s. View from west side airfield embankment main entrance. Photograph partially shows from the airfield's main entrance (left side) the Mechanical Transport (MT) Shed and on-site airfield road leading down towards four Bessonneau hangars and the airfield ground beyond. Visible on the right the airfield windsock and two Royal Air Force biplanes, one stationary and one inflight, both probably RAF Armstrong Whitworth Siskin IIIA or RAF Bristol Bulldog Mk. IIA biplanes. From its establishment in September 1926, R.A.F. Practice Camp Sutton Bridge airfield site continued to be expanded; from January 1932 it was officially renamed to No. 3 Armament Training Camp Sutton Bridge, subsequently No. 3 Armament Training Station Sutton Bridge, and later simply RAF Sutton Bridge.{{Location |52|45|34.36|N|0|11|25.15|E ⓘ licence & creditLilian Ream / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sutton_Bridge_Armament_Practice_Camp_late_1920s.pngView source & full licence →Air Ministry airfield site No. 3 Armament Training Camp, Royal Air Force, Sutton Bridge in Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, England, during the 1930s. View from west side airfield embankment main entrance. Photograph shows the airfield's main entrance gate and guard house, leading down towards the Mechanical Transport (MT) Shed, Bessonneau hangars and the airfield ground beyond. Visible in the far left background is the new Hinaidi type aircraft hangar built during the 1930s replacing two of the airfield's original four Bessonneau type aircraft hangars. From its establishment in September 1926, R.A.F. Practice Camp Sutton Bridge airfield site continued to be expanded; from January 1932 it was officially renamed to No. 3 Armament Training Camp Sutton Bridge, subsequently No. 3 Armament Training Station Sutton Bridge, and later simply RAF Sutton Bridge.{{Location |52|45|35.72|N|0|11|26.31|E ⓘ licence & creditPostcard Publisher: H. Coates and Sons, Wisbech. Photographer: Unknown. / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No.3_Armament_Training_Camp_RAF_Sutton_Bridge.pngView source & full licence →Squadron Leader J M Checketts RNZAF, during the period of his command of the Air-to-Air Combat Squadron of the Central Gunnery School at Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, stands in front of a Supermarine Spitfire. ⓘ licence & creditOfficial Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CH_011675.jpgView source & full licence →
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