Royal Air Force Oulton or more simply RAF Oulton is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

satellite airfield located west of Aylsham, Norfolk and northwest of

Norwich, Norfolk Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, w ...

, England. The airfield was built over 1939 and 1940 as a bomber airfield with T2 type hangars and grass runways, the facility operating as a satellite airfield of nearby

RAF Horsham St. Faith RAF Horsham St Faith is a former Royal Air Force station near Norwich, Norfolk, England which was operational from 1939 to 1963. It was then developed as Norwich International Airport. RAF Bomber Command use The airfield was first develope ...

between July 1940 and September 1942 after which it operated as a satellite airfield of

RAF Swanton Morley The former Royal Air Force Swanton Morley, more commonly known as RAF Swanton Morley, was a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, England, located near to the village of Swanton Morley. The site, now known as Robertson Barracks, is occupied by t ...

History

In September 1943, Oulton was transferred from 2 Group to 3 Group and closed to flying for re-construction as a heavy bomber base with concrete runways, taxiways and parking areas. The work was completed in April 1944 and the airfield transferred to

No. 100 Group RAF No. 100 (Bomber Support) Group was a special duties group within RAF Bomber Command. The group was formed on 11 November 1943 to consolidate the increasingly complex business of electronic warfare and countermeasures in one organisation. The g ...

. Flying operations ceased at the end of July 1945, after which it was taken over by

RAF Maintenance Command RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973. History ...

which used it to store

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

s until November 1947. ;Additional Units: * No. 18 Heavy Glider Maintenance Section * No. 274 Maintenance Unit RAF * No. 1428 (Ferry Training) Flight RAF * No. 2873 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2874 Squadron RAF Regiment

Current use

The site is now farmland.

Museum

The RAF Oulton Museum is housed on the

Blickling Hall Blickling Hall is a Jacobean architecture, Jacobean stately home situated in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure, near the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England, Norfolk, England. The mansion was built on the ...

estate, belonging to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Bowyer, J.F. ''Action Stations 1: Wartime military airfields of East Anglia 1939''. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Limited, Second edition, 1990. . *"Your Questions Answered...Oulton, Norfolk". ''Air Pictorial'', October 1967. p. 373.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oulton Royal Air Force stations in Norfolk Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom