RAF Bentwaters

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RAF Bentwaters
Rendlesham, Suffolk in England
A Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II assigned to the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, which was based at RAF Bentwaters between 1951 and 1993.
RAF Bentwaters Location in Suffolk
Coordinates	52°07′41″N 001°26′07″E / 52.12806°N 1.43528°E / 52.12806; 1.43528
Type	Royal Air Force station
Code	BY[1]
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Air Force (1942–1949) United States Air Force (1951–1993)
Controlled by	RAF Bomber Command 1944 RAF Fighter Command 1944- * No. 11 Group RAF
Condition	Closed
Site history
Built	1941 (1941)/44
In use	April 1944–1993 (1993)
Fate	Site sold and became a business park and TV/film location known as Bentwaters Parks with airfield infrastructure and buildings remaining. Bentwaters Cold War Museum opened in 2007.
Events	European theatre of World War II Cold War
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA: BWY, ICAO: EGVJ, WMO: 035963
Elevation	24 metres (79 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 07/25 2,725 metres (8,940 ft) Concrete 00/00 Wartime  Concrete/Tarmac 00/00 Wartime  Concrete/Tarmac

Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of London and 10 miles (16 km) east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken from two cottages ('Bentwaters Cottages') that had stood on the site of the main runway during its construction in 1943.

The station was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War, and by the United States Air Force (USAF) during the Cold War, being the primary home for the 81st Fighter Wing under various designations from 1951 to 1993. For many years the 81st Fighter Wing also operated RAF Woodbridge, with Bentwaters and Woodbridge airfields being known by the Americans as the "Twin Bases".

RAF Bentwaters was the location of an 13–14 August 1956 nighttime radar and visual sighting of multiple UFOs (the Lakenheath-Bentwaters incident); it is also near the location of the alleged December 1980 UFO incident in Rendlesham Forest.

The site is now known as Bentwaters Parks. The Bentwaters Cold War Museum is located on the site, there are offices and warehouses, and the site is also used for television and film making.^[2]