RAF Weybourne was a
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 opposi ...
anti-aircraft establishment. 'X' Flt, No 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit were based at the station between 16 May and 14 September 1939, with 'T' Flt, No 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit there between 25 February and 29 April 1942. No 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit were based there between 7 December 1942 and 30 November 1943.
Associated with the anti-aircraft gunnery, the station operated the
De Havilland DH-82B Queen Bee target drone aircraft, a radio-controlled target tug version of the Tiger Moth II.
Postwar
Although the published closure date known for this airfield relates to the World War II airfield, the Army maintained an Anti Aircraft training camp across from RAF Weybourne using
Bofors 40 mm gun Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors:
*Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s
...
s linked to AA4 mk7 gun-laying radar. When that closed in 1958 the radars were transferred to the RAF. A very small permanent detachment was maintained there using the obsolete radar into the 1980s for cross-tell training, decoy work and to extend low level coverage. In the late 1980s, after the obsolete radars were removed, trials were carried out to confirm the site's suitability for deployment of the new mobile radars that were coming into service.
A Marconi Type 91 'Martello' radar was moved from
RAF Trimingham
Remote Radar Head Trimingham or RRH Trimingham is a TPS-77 radar station situated on the coast in the English county of Norfolk. The site is located on the coast road between Cromer and Mundesley, 1 kilometre east of the village of Triming ...
to
Weybourne in September 1996, operated by 432 Signals Unit acting as a Ready Platform (along with
RAF Hopton and Trimingham) for the IUKADGE Series II (United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment) Radar System controlled from the R3 underground control centre at
RAF Neatishead
Remote Radar Head Neatishead ( ) or RRH Neatishead is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force. It is located approximately north east of Norwich in Norfolk, England.
It was established during the Second World War and consi ...
.
In October 1997 the Type 91 at RAF Weybourne was de-built; replaced when the Type 93 at RAF Trimingham became operational.
A History Of Royal Air Force Neatishead
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See also
* Royal Air Force station
*List of former Royal Air Force stations
This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force.
The stations are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the du ...
*List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
Squadrons are the main form of flying unit of the Royal Air Force (RAF). These include Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) squadrons incorporated into the RAF when it was formed on 1 April 1918, during the First World ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weybourne
Royal Air Force stations in Norfolk
Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom