RAF Sedgeford was a

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 ...

airfield, located in the

East of England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...

county of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

History

RAF Sedgeford was used as an airfield in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, as a satellite airfield (officially called "Night Landing Grounds") of RAF Great Yarmouth.

First World War

During the First World War, the airfield was used for home defence duties, and was initially attached to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. By 1916, the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, a precursor to the current Royal Air Force, took over the facilities. After the conclusion of the war, RAF Sedgeford was abandoned around 1919 to 1920. ;Units * No. 3 Fighting School * No. 7 Training Squadron * No. 9 Training Squadron *

No. 13 Squadron RAF Number 13 Squadron, also written as XIII Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which operate the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle from RAF Waddington since reforming on 26 October 2012. The unit first formed as par ...

* 24th Aero Squadron *

No. 45 Squadron RAF Number 45 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron, which was established on 1 March 1916 as part of the Royal Flying Corps, currently provides flying training using Embraer Phenom T1s and operates under the command ...

* No. 53 Reserve Squadron *

No. 64 Squadron RAF No. 64 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was first formed on 1 August 1916 as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. It was disbanded on 31 January 1991 at RAF Leuchars. History 1916 to 1919 No. 64 Squadron Royal Flying Corps w ...

* No. 65 Reserve Squadron * No. 65 Training Squadron *

No. 72 Squadron RAF Number 72 (Fighter) Squadron of the Royal Air Force is a training squadron that is currently based at RAF Valley using the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II, Beechcraft Texan T.1 to deliver Basic Fast Jet Training (BFJT). It was previously based at RAF ...

No. 87 Squadron RAF No. 87 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during the First World War and Second World War. World War I 87 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was first formed on 1 September 1917 at Upavon from elements of the Central Flyi ...

No. 110 Squadron RAF No. 110 Squadron RAF was a unit of the British Royal Air Force, initially formed as a bomber squadron during the First World War. Re-formed during the Second World War, again as a bomber squadron, it was re-formed twice more post-war, firstly as ...

No. 122 Squadron RAF No. 122 (Bombay) Squadron was a Royal Air Force fighter squadron during the First and Second World Wars. History The squadron was formed on 1 January 1918 at Sedgeford as a day bomber unit with the Airco DH.4, the intention was to train the squ ...

Second World War

RAF Sedgeford was reused during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when it was classified as a 'Q-type' and 'K-type' bombing decoy. The buildings and hangars on site made it a dummy airfield, which prevented nearby, functional airfields from being bombed by enemy bombers. At night, the airfield was lighted up, and made to look like an active airfield in order to trick the enemy, again to prevent nearby airfields from being bombed. Official records recorded RAF Sedgeford to be in operation from June 1940 to August 1942.

Present state

Smaller buildings, dating back to the First World War, survive, as does an air raid shelter that was built during the Second World War.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Approximate location of RAF Sedgeford