 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2013) |
| Sculthorpe Training Area previously RAF Sculthorpe    | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near Fakenham, Norfolk in England | |||||||||||
 1946 aerial photograph of RAF Sculthorpe | |||||||||||
  RAF Sculthorpe Location in Norfolk  RAF Sculthorpe RAF Sculthorpe (the United Kingdom) | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°50′54″N 000°45′38″E / 52.84833°N 0.76056°E | ||||||||||
| Grid reference | TF 85993 31439 | ||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force flying station (former), relief military training airfield (current) | ||||||||||
| Code | SCTH (SPEC 024 Code)[1] | ||||||||||
| Area | 539 hectares (1,332 acres)[1] | ||||||||||
| Height | 65 metres (213 ft) | ||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence (MoD) | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force (1943–1945) United States Air Force (1952–1992) | ||||||||||
| Open to the public | airfield & MOD training areas closed to public | ||||||||||
| Condition | airfield in continued (limited) military use | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1942 | ||||||||||
| Built by | Bovis Construction | ||||||||||
| In use | 15 January 1943 – 2 October 1992[2] | ||||||||||
| Fate | airfield retained by MoD; now known as Sculthorpe Training Area;[1] technical and administrative buildings, and base housing sold off | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Sculthorpe Training Area,[1][3] previously Royal Air Force Sculthorpe / (RAF Sculthorpe), is a military training site administered by the Defence Training Estate, part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). It is approximately 3 miles (4.8 kilometres) west of Fakenham in the county of Norfolk in England.
The training area occupies the larger part of the former RAF Sculthorpe, a military airbase used by RAF bombers in the later stages of the Second World War (1942–45), by United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) units from 1952 to 1962, and thereafter temporary visiting airmen and support crews of both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Air Force (USAF) until its closure as an active airfield on 2 October 1992. In 1997, the Ministry of Defence sold the technical, domestic and administrative site, but retained the airfield itself, including the runways, taxiways, dispersal areas and the adjacent dispersed secure weapon storage area.[4][5]
- ^ a b c d "Defence Estates Development Plan (DEDP) 2009 - Annex A – Estate Baseline - 2009" (PDF). GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2009. p. 16. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ "Sculthorpe". ABCT.org.uk. Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. n.d. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ Lancaster, Mark (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State) (18 June 2015). "The Sculthorpe Training Area Byelaws 2015 – UK Statutory Instruments → 2015 No. 1492 – Defence". legislation.gov.uk. Ministry of Defence, Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Lancaster, Mark (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State) (18 June 2015). "The Sculthorpe Training Area Byelaws 2015 – UK Statutory Instruments → 2015 No. 1492 – Schedule – Byelaws maps and location map". legislation.gov.uk. Ministry of Defence, Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Into the Sky Aviation Videos (20 October 2022). RAF Sculthorpe - Apaches on base (October 2022). Sculthorpe Training Area. Retrieved 21 August 2023 – via YouTube.
Whilst its usual purpose is to facilitate training for the USAF; primarily the CV-22 Ospreys and C130 Hercules' based at RAF Mildenhall, this week we have had the British Army Air Corps up at RAF Sculthorpe with their Apaches. The one in this video is specifically ZJ221, a Westland WAH-64 Apache built in 2002 and based at Wattisham.