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RAF Wattisham | |||||||
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Wattisham, Suffolk in England | |||||||
Coordinates | 52°07′41″N 0°57′22″E / 52.128°N 0.956°E | ||||||
Grid reference | TM025510[1] | ||||||
Type | Royal Air Force flying station | ||||||
Area | 409 hectares | ||||||
Site information | |||||||
Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||
Operator | Royal Air Force (1939–1942 and 1946–1993) United States Army Air Forces (1942–1946) | ||||||
Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command (1946-) | ||||||
Condition | Closed | ||||||
Site history | |||||||
Built | 1938 | ||||||
Built by | John Laing & Son Ltd | ||||||
In use | 1939–1993 | ||||||
Fate | Transferred to the British Army's Army Air Corps and became Wattisham Flying Station. | ||||||
Airfield information | |||||||
Identifiers | ICAO: EGUW, WMO: 03590 | ||||||
Elevation | 89 metres (292 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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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.