Royal Air Force Bircham Newton or more simply RAF Bircham Newton 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) an ...
station located south east of
Docking,
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 Nor ...
and north east of
King's Lynn
King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, nor ...
, Norfolk, England.
History
The site was first used during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and received the largest British bomber of the time, the
Handley Page V/1500. They would have carried out bombing missions against
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
but the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
was arranged before any missions were actually flown.
There were several communication squadrons active at the airfield during 1919.
The airfield was equipped with one aircraft repair shed and three double bay general service sheds, although these had been demolished by 1937. It had two Belfast hangars, three C Type hangars, three
Bellman hangars and ten
Blister hangar
A blister hangar is a novel arched, portable aircraft hangar designed by notable British airport architect Graham R Dawbarn patented by Miskins and Sons in 1939. Originally made of wooden ribs clad with profiled steel sheets, steel lattice ribs ...
s.
It operated through 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 opposi ...
as part of
No. 16 Group RAF
No. 16 Group RAF was a Royal Air Force groups. It has existed over two periods in to different roles. First, No. 16 Group was a training group from 1918 to 1920 that had been transferred from the Royal Flying Corps. Secondly, it was a reconna ...
as part of
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
.
No. 206 Squadron RAF was one of the squadrons being based there, on maritime patrol duties. Two satellite airfields,
RAF Docking
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 ...
and
RAF Langham
Royal Air Force Langham or more simply RAF Langham is a former Royal Air Force station, located at Langham, northwest of Norwich in the English county of Norfolk. It operated between 1940 and 1961. The airfield was the most northerly of the w ...
were opened to accommodate units.
In 1965 the airfield was used for evaluation trials of the
Hawker Siddeley Kestrel
The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 are the British experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first ''vertical and/or short take-off and landing'' (V/STOL) jet fighter-bomber.
Develo ...
V/STOL aircraft.
Squadrons
;First World War and Inter war years
;Second World War
;Royal Navy
Units
;Second World War and Cold War
Current use
After closure as an operational airfield in 1966, the airfield became the home of the
Construction Industry Training Board
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is the industry training board for the UK construction industry.
History
The CITB was established on 21 July 1964 by the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964,Explanatory Note to The I ...
. The area of the airfield once occupied by the grass runways has disappeared under the activities of construction equipment, but the majority of buildings on the site remain in use by the CITB.
Airfield Archeology - Bircham Newton
The control tower was demolished in 2010 due to its poor condition.
In February 2020, the CITB announced it had sold the site to West Suffolk College
West Suffolk College is a Further Education college in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The college delivers a range of courses, including vocational and technical courses, apprenticeships, and an array of higher-apprenticeships and bachelor's degree ...
, based in Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...
, aiming to continue construction industry training provision at Bircham Newton.
See also
*List of Norfolk airfields
This is a list of current or former military airfields within the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia. They may have been used by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), Royal Air Force (RAF), Army Air Corps (AAC), ...
*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 ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
RAF Bircham Newton Memorial Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bircham Newton
Royal Air Force stations in Norfolk
Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom