RAF Wattisham

RAF Wattisham
Wattisham, Suffolk in England
A McDonnell Douglas F-4J(UK) Phantom of No. 74 Squadron which was based at RAF Wattisham.
A McDonnell Douglas F-4J(UK) Phantom of No. 74(Fighter) Squadron which was based at RAF Wattisham.
Station badge
Supra mare supra terramque
(Latin for 'Above the sea and above the land')
RAF Wattisham is located in Suffolk
RAF Wattisham
RAF Wattisham
Location in Suffolk
Coordinates52°07′41″N 0°57′22″E / 52.128°N 0.956°E / 52.128; 0.956
Grid referenceTM025510[1]
TypeRoyal Air Force flying station
Area409 hectares
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
OperatorRoyal Air Force (1939–1942 and 1946–1993)
United States Army Air Forces (1942–1946)
Controlled byRAF Fighter Command (1946-)
ConditionClosed
Site history
Built1938 (1938)
Built byJohn Laing & Son Ltd
In use1939–1993 (1993)
FateTransferred to the British Army's Army Air Corps and became Wattisham Flying Station.
Airfield information
IdentifiersICAO: EGUW, WMO: 03590
Elevation89 metres (292 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
05/23 2,424 metres (7,953 ft) Asphalt

Royal Air Force Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham (ICAO: EGUW) was, between 1939 and 1993, the name of a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front-line air force base, operating Quick Reaction Alert (South), before closing as an Royal Air Force station in 1993. Since 1993 it has been operated by the British Army as Wattisham Flying Station.

  1. ^ Birtles 2012, p. 54.