RAF West Raynham

52.7870, 0.7377 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF West Raynham opened in Norfolk in 1939 as a Bomber Command station in No. 2 Group, its Bristol Blenheims of Nos. 101 and 114 Squadrons among the first to fly from it. After the war it was home to the Central Fighter Establishment and later a Bloodhound surface-to-air missile unit. The RAF left in 1994, and the site is now a business park and solar farm, several of its buildings listed.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including RAF West Raynham — Wikipedia and West Raynham — Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Photographs

Original photograph taken by an employee of the British government. Image found on: http://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/British/mosquito_49
ⓘ licence & creditPublic domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosquito_Fighter-bomber.jpgView source & full licence →
Across stubble towards control tower of former RAF West Raynham See http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/s32.html for information on the airfield.
ⓘ licence & creditNigel Jones / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Across_stubble_towards_control_tower_of_former_RAF_West_Raynham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_530628.jpgView source & full licence →
Accommodation block, former RAF West Raynham Picture snatched on the corner of the grid square through a gap in the overgrown hedge. As the base remained open until 1994, there is an extensive estate still remaining including accommodation blocks and married quarters. All of it, as far as I can tell, is empty but in good order as the boundary fences are intact and a security firm guards the entrances. It obviously raises questions about affordable housing and housing shortages. Interestingly North Norfolk District Council passed this resolution in December 2005: 'To request that Norman Lamb MP [MP for North Norfolk] takes up with the Government, the issue of why the Ministry of Defence Minister is not following advice on sustainable development in respect of the RAF West Raynham site.'
ⓘ licence & creditNigel Jones / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Accommodation_block_at_RAF_West_Raynham.jpgView source & full licence →
Old abandoned building at Raf West Raynham near Fakenham in Norfolk.
ⓘ licence & creditNorfolks disused railways / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abandoned_building_Raf_West_Raynham.jpgView source & full licence →

No people are cross-referenced to this airfield yet. Links appear as squadron postings, crews and service records are added.