RAF Wattisham

England

52.1206, 0.9443 — view on OpenStreetMap ↗

About

RAF Wattisham opened in Suffolk in 1939 as a light-bomber station in No. 2 Group, its Bristol Blenheims of Nos. 107 and 110 Squadrons attacking enemy shipping in the war’s early months. Handed to the USAAF in 1942, it became a fighter base, the 479th Fighter Group flying P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs from it. After the war it was a front-line RAF fighter station, flying Hunters, Lightnings and Phantoms on Quick Reaction Alert, before passing to the Army Air Corps in 1993 as Wattisham Flying Station.

Photographs

[RAF Wattisham](/airfields/6383/), 22 Sqn SAR. View of RAF 22 Sqn SAR SeaKing Helicopter based at RAF Wattisham from the old Bloodhound missile site at the Ringshall end of the Airfield
ⓘ licence & creditmartin more / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Wattisham,_22_Sqn_SAR_-_geograph.org.uk_-_96753.jpgView source & full licence →
[RAF Wattisham](/airfields/6383/) Memorial Memorial to RAF Wattisham Suffolk.http://www.wattishamairfieldmuseum.fsnet.co.uk/history%20of%20airfield.htm https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/252379
ⓘ licence & creditKeith Evans / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Wattisham_Memorial_-_geograph.org.uk_-_252382.jpgView source & full licence →
[RAF Wattisham](/airfields/6383/). View across the airfield from the top of a bunker on the Northern HAS site.
ⓘ licence & creditmartin more / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Wattisham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_96760.jpgView source & full licence →
[RAF Wattisham](/airfields/6383/). Inside RAF Wattisham, near to the main gate (perimeter fence is directly behind me, looking North.)
ⓘ licence & creditmartin more / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Wattisham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_95595.jpgView source & full licence →
Aerial photograph of [RAF Wattisham](/airfields/6383/) the control tower and airfield code are in front of the four C-Type hangars on the right, 27 May 1944, . Photograph taken by 14th Photographic Squadron, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, sortie number US/7GR/LOC348. English Heritage (USAAF Photography).
ⓘ licence & creditUnited States Army Air Forces / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Wattisham_-_27_May_1944_Airphoto.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. [Bristol Blenheim](/aircraft/8/) Mark IV, R3600, of [No. 110 Squadron](/squadrons/259/) RAF, undergoes an elaborate servicing for the photographer at [RAF Wattisham](/airfields/6383/), Suffolk. Armourers unload 250-lb GP bombs and Small Bomb Containers (SBCs) of incendiaries from a trolley, while other groundcrew refuel the aircraft and attend to the engines, the cockpit and the gun-turret, accompanied by a pet dog on the engine cowling.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Blenheim_-_Wattisham_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._CH364.jpgView source & full licence →
RAF Bomber Command 1940 Blenheim crews of [No. 110 Squadron](/squadrons/259/) at [Wattisham](/airfields/6383/) add Le Bourget to a list of recent targets, August 1940.
ⓘ licence & creditPress Agency photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Bomber_Command_1940_HU104640.jpgView source & full licence →
Nedging Tye water tower and part of [RAF Wattisham](/airfields/6383/) south HAS. Nedging Tye water tower and part of RAF Wattisham south HAS. Photographed from inside RAF Wattisham in Park Wood. Summer 1999.
ⓘ licence & creditmartin more / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nedging_Tye_water_tower_and_part_of_RAF_Wattisham_south_HAS_-_geograph.org.uk_-_95586.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditAdrian S Pye / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Another_Yarnold_Sangar_or_Yarnold_shelter_at_RAF_Wattisham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_4419300.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditAdrian S Pye / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Yarnold_Sangar_or_Yarnold_shelter_at_RAF_Wattisham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_4419295.jpgView source & full licence →
Aerial photograph of the USAAF 4th Strategic Air Depot at RAFWattisham looking north, 3 April 1946. Photograph taken by [No. 540 Squadron](/squadrons/443/), sortie number RAF/106G/UK/1365. English Heritage (RAF Photography).
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:4th_Strategic_Air_Depot_-_3_Apr_1946_Airphoto.jpgView source & full licence →

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People connected to this base

4 persons cross-referenced to this airfield — through a posting here, a squadron based here, or aircrew who flew from it.

NameRankConnectionDates
Buchanan, John George Flight Lieutenant Aircrew (squadron based here) —
O'Neill, Hugh Leo Flying Officer Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Sutherland, Ira Allison Squadron Leader Aircrew (squadron based here) —
Willis, Eric Samuel Flight Sergeant Aircrew (squadron based here) —