Sculthorpe Training Area

Sculthorpe Training Area previously Royal Air Force Sculthorpe
NearFakenham,Norfolkin England
1946aerial photographof RAF Sculthorpe depicting theclass A airfielddesign. The mainrunway(06/24) runs diagonally (bottom-left to top-right), the technical site and bomb dump on the left. The bomb dump was subsequently relocated to adispersedsecureweapon storage areato the north-east of the airfield accessed from near the runway 24threshold.
RAF Sculthorpe Location in Norfolk RAF Sculthorpe RAF Sculthorpe (the United Kingdom)
Coordinates	52°50′54″N000°45′38″E
Grid reference	TF 85993 31439
Type	Royal Air Force flying station (former), relief military training airfield (current)
Code	SCTH (SPEC024 Code)
Area	539 hectares (1,332 acres)
Height	65 metres (213 ft)
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence(MoD)
Operator	Royal Air Force(1943–1952) United States Air Force(1959–1964) Royal Air Force (1964–1992)
Open to the public	airfieldclosed to public, remainder of site full public access
Condition	airfield in continued use
Site history
Built	1942(1942)
Built by	Bovis Construction
In use	15 January 1943(1943-01-15)– 2 October 1992(1992-10-02)
Fate	airfield retained in military use by the MoD and known as the Sculthorpe Training Area technical and administrative buildings sold for civilian use and now form Tattersett Business and Leisure Park former military housing refurbished to createWicken Green Village
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA:ZXE,ICAO:EGUP
Runways Direction Length and surface 06/24 2,743 metres (9,000 ft)asphalt concrete 13/31 1,829 metres (6,000 ft)concrete 18/36 1,829 metres (6,000 ft) asphalt concrete

Sculthorpe Training Area,previouslyRoyal Air Force Sculthorpeand commonly abbreviatedRAF Sculthorpe,is a training site owned by the BritishMinistry of Defence(MoD). It is approximately 3 miles (4.8 kilometres) west ofFakenhamin thecountyofNorfolkinEngland.It forms part of theDefence Training Estate.

The training area is part of the former largerRoyal Air Force Sculthorpe,a militaryairbasewhich officially closed as anRAF stationon 2 October 1992(1992-10-02).Theairfieldhad been home to many visiting airmen and support crews of theRoyal Air Force(RAF) andUnited States Air Force(USAF). In1997,the Ministry of Defence sold the entire technical, domestic and administrative site, including the married quarters site previously occupied by the USAF to theWelbeck Estate Group.After the sale, the airfield, along with thedispersedsecureweapon storage area,was retained formilitary trainingusage.

History

Second World War

RAF Sculthorpe was built between the villages ofSculthorpe(to its east) andSyderstone(to its west-north-west) as the second satelliteairfieldofRAF West Raynham(itself a few miles to the south), the first satellite airfield beingRAF Great Massingham.Work began on Sculthorpe in the spring of 1942(1942),and the airfield was laid out as one of only twoRoyal Air Force(RAF)heavy bomberairfields (the other was the nearbyRAF Marham), with the familiar wartimetriangular three runway layoutexpanded by50 per cent,the mainrunwaybeing 9,000 feet (2,743 metres) long (compared to the standard 6,000 feet (1,829 metres)) and the subsidiary runways being 6,000 feet (compared to around 4,000 feet (1,219 metres). The work involved construction of theconcreterunways,dispersalssite,messfacilities, and accommodation. Much of the work was completed byIrishlabour working for the companyBovis Construction.

As work was drawing to a close in May 1943(1943-05),the firstaircraft squadronsstarted to arrive. The first wasNo. 342 Squadron (Lorraine)of theFree French Air ForceswithinNo. 2 Group RAFfrom RAF West Raynham. Thissquadronoperated twoflightsof theDouglas Bostonaircraft, along with the related Douglas Havoc aircraft for training. No. 342 Squadron stayed until 19 July 1943, when they moved toRAF Great Massingham.

On 20 July 1943(1943-07-20),theRoyal New Zealand Air Force(RNZAF) andRoyal Australian Air Force(RAAF) moved in withNo. 487 Squadron RNZAFandNo. 464 Squadron RAAFtaking up residence, with theirLockheed Venturaaircraft having moved fromRAF Methwold,before converting at Sculthorpe onto thede Havilland Mosquito.On 20 September 1943,21 Squadronmoved in fromRAF Oulton,also with Mosquitos, to form the Sculthorpe Wing (No. 140 Wing RAF). Thewingstayed at Sculthorpe, completing more than 100 missions, before departing forRAF HunsdoninHertfordshireon 31 December 1943.

In January 1944,No. 214 Squadron RAFof100 Group RAFmoved in withBoeing B-17 Flying Fortressaircraft for use inelectronic warfaresupport ofRAF Bomber Command,to be joined by crews from theUnited States Army Air Forces(USAAF)96th Bomb GroupfromRAF Snetterton Heath,known at Sculthorpe and thereafter as the803rd Bomb Squadronof the USAAF. In April 1944, the 803rd and 214 Squadron departed for RAF Oulton, leaving Sculthorpe empty for its redevelopment as a 'very heavy bomber base', with the work not being completed until the spring of 1946.

A number of units were also posted here:

• No. 11 Heavy Glider Maintenance Section RAF
• No. 140 Airfield RAF
• No. 1699 (Fortress Training) Flight RAF
• No. 2755 Squadron RAF Regiment
• No. 3207 Servicing Commando RAF
• Mosquito Conversion Flight RAF

Cold War

47th Bombardment Wing patch

Douglas B-66B-DL Destroyer,serial 55-0309, of the84th Bomb Squadron,47th Bomb Wing,at RAF Sculthorpe, circa 1958.

AKB-50J Superfortressof the420th Air Refueling Squadronfrom RAF Sculthorpe refuelling twoRepublic F-105Dfighter jets over Germany from the36th TFW,Bitburg Air Basein West Germany, circa 1950s-1960s.

RAF Sculthorpe was refurbished for use by theUnited States Air Force(USAF) during theBerlin Crisisin 1949, and then later, in 1952, it became home for the49th Air Division (Operational)(49th AD) and the47th Bombardment Wing(47th Bomb Wg), who were to stay for a decade. The 49th Air Division maintained operational control of the 47th Bomb Wg and the20th Fighter-Bomber Wing(20th FB Wg), which providedtactical nuclear weaponssupport to theSupreme Allied Commander Europe(SACEUR). Later, the81st Fighter-Bomber Wing(81st FB Wg) was provided a nuclear capability and assigned to the operational control of the 49th Air Division.

TheSoviet Union's enormous conventional force ineastern Europeposed a major problem forNATO,due to the Soviets' maintaining high personnel levels afterWorld War II,when most of the American andBritish forceshad demobilised.

To counter this Soviet threat to Western Europe, NATO decided to expand their tactical nuclear force by introducing theNorth American B-45 Tornadoto the United Kingdom. The U.S.Tactical Air Commandhad about 100 of these four-engine jet bombers, each capable of delivering five tactical nuclear bombs. In the summer of 1952,The Pentagondecided to forward-deploy the 47th Bomb Wing to Sculthorpe in Norfolk, from its then home base ofLangley Air Force BaseinVirginia,USA. The movement of the 49th AD, 47 Bomb Wg and the 20th FB Wg was the first unit deployment since World War II.

47th Bombardment Wingsquadrons and their aircraft based at RAF Sculthorpe

unit	aircraft	from	to
84th Bombardment Squadron	B-45,B-66	17 November 1952	22 June 1962
85th Bombardment Squadron	B-45, B-66	17 November 1952	22 June 1962
420th Air Refueling Squadron	KB-29,KB-50	25 September 1955	23 March 1962
86th Bombardment Squadron	B-45, B-66	23 March 1954	22 June 1962
19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron	RB-45C	7 May 1954	1 December 1958

Due to a shortage of space at Sculthorpe, the 86th BS operated fromRAF Alconburyas a detachment of the 47th. In addition to the B-45 squadrons at Sculthorpe, the 47th's sister wing, the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing with the nuclear capableNorth American F-84G Thunderjetwere transferred toRAF WethersfieldinEssex.

From 1954 to 1958, the19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron(19th TRS) also flew theaerial reconnaissanceversion of theNorth American B-45 Tornadoknown as the RB-45. The 19th TRS was assigned to the 47th Bomb Wing from May 1954 to December 1958. When the 19th TRS began to re-equip withDouglas RB-66'sin 1957, its RB-45's were transferred to other squadrons of the 47th Bomb Wing.

By 1957, hosting 10,000 personnel it was the biggestUnited States Air Forces in Europe(USAFE) base in Europe. In May 1958, the re-equipping of the 47th Bombardment Wing began andDouglas B-66 Destroyersbegan to replace the B-45s. With this equipment change, the 47th's squadrons were redesignated 'Bombardment Squadron (Tactical)'.

During 1960 to 1962, the 47th performedaerial refuellingmissions assigningBoeing KB-50J tankersto the420th Air Refueling Squadronfrom 15 March 1960 to 22 June 1962. The KB-50s were specially equipped with twoGeneral Electric J47turbojet engines that enabled the tanker aircraft to match the speed of the fasterjet fightersduring refuelling; however most of the KB-50s were more than fifteen years old, and were too slow to refuel the faster tactical jets of USAFE. The 420th ARS was inactivated on 25 March 1964.

In 1962,Project Clearwaterhalted large scale rotational bomber deployments to Britain with Sculthorpe, along withRAF Fairford,RAF Chelveston,andRAF Greenham Common,being turned over to USAFE for tactical air use. As a result, the 47th Bomb Wing was inactivated on 22 June 1962. A number of the aircraft were reassigned to the42d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron(42nd TRS),10th Tactical Reconnaissance WingatRAF Chelveston,and modified with theelectronic counter-measurestail system. With the inactivation of the 47th, Sculthorpe was put under the command of the7375th Combat Support Group,the 7375th was later replaced by the Detachment 1,48th Tactical Fighter Wing.

Visiting aircraft

In 1976, Many of the F-100's used by France were flown to Sculthorp and held for de-commissioning.

In 1979,Handley Page Victoraerial tankers from55and57 Squadrons,and Canberra target towing aircraft of100 Squadronoperated from Sculthorpe when therunwayatRAF Marhamwas re-surfaced.

In spring 1982, units fromRAF Coltishallin north-east Norfolk moved to Sculthorpe while the Coltishall runway was resurfaced.

During the spring and summer of 1983, units of the48th Tactical Fighter Wingdeployed to RAF Sculthorpe because their home station,RAF Lakenheathwas having its runway resurfaced.

During the summer of 1984, theMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIF-4Eand F-4G squadrons fromSpangdahlem Air Base,West Germany,operated from RAF Sculthorpe to allow runway re-surfacing at Spangdahlem to take place.

During most of 1988 and part of 1989, deployingLockheed C-130 Herculesunits from the463rd Tactical Airlift Wing(Dyess Air Force Base,Texas), the314th Airlift Wing(Little Rock Air Force Base,Arkansas), and the317th Airlift Group(Pope Air Force Base,North Carolina), were forced to operate from RAF Sculthorpe due to runway resurfacing atRAF Mildenhall.

In August 1989, theLockheed TR-1Asquadron fromRAF Alconburyoperated from RAF Sculthorpe whilst Alconbury's runway was re-surfaced.

Post RAF use

Royal Air Force Sculthorpe became inactive at the end of the Cold War and was officially closed on 2 October 1992(1992-10-02).

The airfield, together with thedispersedsecureweapon storage area,known as theSculthorpe Training Areasince 18 October 2015 and occasionally known asMoD Sculthorpe,is retained by theMinistry of Defence(MoD), and forms part of theDefence Training Estate,in accordance with theMilitary Lands Act 1892(55 & 56 Vict.c. 43).

During the mid-1990s the entire technical and domestic site was sold to Roger Byron-Collins' Welbeck Estate Group byDefence Estates.The domestic married quarters site included a number of single storey 'tobacco houses'. The housing estate was renamedWicken Green Villageand, after refurbishment, the houses were sold on the open market. The remaining technical site includingbarrack blocks,post exchange (PX), church, guardroom, gymnasium, community centres, and extensive storage and industrial units were sold to a single purchaser and there is now a fledgling industrial park. The Welbeck Estate Group went on to acquire the nearby technical and married quarters estate at RAF West Raynham.

During 2016 it was used by the USAF352nd Special Operations Group(352nd SOG), based atRAF Mildenhall,to perform training in low flyingairdropsand rescue and recovery missions. Theseexerciseswere conducted byLockheed MC-130Hercules andCV-22 Ospreys.In October 2022, aAgustaWestland ApacheAH.1, military registration ZJ221, operated by theArmy Air Corps(AAC) fromWattisham Flying Station(formerly known asRAF Wattisham) in Suffolk was witnessed conducting exercises, including ground refuelling on the airfield.This activity has continued into 2024 with aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando II (16–5839) operating over the Sculthorpe area.

ADSB DATA APRIL 24

The only military buildings on the airfield that had remained were thecontrol tower,the fire station (next to the control tower) and a small half-moon concrete shelter,,now used by a farmer for machinery and equipment storage. As of week commencing 21 February 2022, demolition of the control tower had begun.The fire station is to be retained, for USAF use.

Heritage centre

RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre opened in a room at Green Park Rural Centre, Wicken Green Village, in August 2019. It features many Sculthorpe-related items and has parts of aDouglas RB-66 Destroyerincluding itsAllison J71jet engine, which is the only known surviving example in the country.Queen Elizabeth IImade a private visit to the centre and met the curator and volunteers in February 2022.

As of January 2023, the Heritage Centre is moving into its new home in the former Chapel building. This will include the UK's only B-29 wreckage on public display.

See also

• List of Royal Air Force stations
• United States Air Forces in Europe
• United States Air Force in the United Kingdom
• Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom

Further reading

• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977.Office of Air Force History.
• Endicott, Judy G.USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995.Office of Air Force History.
• Menard, David W.Before Centuries. USAFE Fighters 1948-1959.
• Martin, Patrick (1994).Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings.
• "USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF aircraft serial numbers – 1908 to present".JoeBaugher.com.

External links

• RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre
• Sculthorpe – 1940s plans and aerial photos— at theAmerican Air Museum
• 47th Bombardment Wing – bomber units
• 420th Refueling Squadron— archived in July 2008 via Archive.org
• Ministry of Defence: byelaws review— at GOV.UK
• Ministry of Defence Byelaws Website— fromDefence Estates,archived in January 2010 via Archive.org

Videos (YouTube)

• Sculthorpe memories
• US Air Secretary at Sculthorpe (1952)— fromBritish Pathe
• US airmen return (1963)— fromBritish Pathe
• Norfolk Uncovered: wartime relics: RAF Sculthorpe (part 1)— 6 minute documentary video on 21 Nov 2010
• Norfolk Uncovered: wartime relics: RAF Sculthorpe (part 2)— 6 minute documentary video on 21 Nov 2010
• RAF Sculthorpe - Norfolk— 31 minute documentary video on 24 January 2020 of the former technical site by IKS Exploration
• RAF Sculthorpe (2001 - 2005)— 10 minute photo-video montage by Mark Nicholson, showing (amongst others) the remote weapons storage area