RAF Marham
RAF Marham AMSL | |||||||||
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Other airfield facilities | 3x V/STOL pads | ||||||||
Source: UK Military AIP[3] |
Royal Air Force Marham, commonly abbreviated RAF Marham (
.It is home to
History
Beginnings (1916–1919)
Opened in August
Outside of home defence, Marham also acted as a training base for night time flying, with this provided by No. 51 Squadron.[5] No. 191 (Night) Training Squadron was formed at Marham on 6 November 1917 to provide training for night time operations, who were based at Marham until moving to Upwood in January 1918.[7] No. 51 Squadron also assisted No. 190 Training Squadron and No. 193 Training Squadron, who were based nearby, throughout late 1917 and 1918.[5] To celebrate the Armistice on 11 November 1918, aircraft from Marham bombed Narborough with bags of flour who in return bombed Marham with bags of soot.[8] No. 51 Squadron departed Marham in May 1919 for Sutton's Farm, with the aerodrome closing shortly after.[5]
Rearmament (1935–1945)
In the first half of
The first squadron, No. 38, arrived on 5 May 1937 with Fairey Hendon bombers. In June, No. 115 Squadron re-formed at Marham with the Handley Page Harrow, initially sharing No. 38 Squadron's Hendons until Harrow deliveries were completed in August.[9] No. 38 Squadron received Vickers Wellington Mk.I bombers in December 1938, followed in April 1939 by No. 115 Squadron.[10] No. 218 Squadron moved to Marham on 27 Nov 1940, also operating Wellingtons. No. 218 Squadron began conversion to the Short Stirling in December 1941, and used the type on operations from 1942. De Havilland Mosquitos from No. 105 Squadron also arrived in 1941. Marham became part of the Pathfinder force. They also tested and proved the Oboe precision bombing aid.[11]
During March 1944, RAF Marham closed for the construction of new concrete
Cold War (1946–1982)
From 15 March to 31 October 1946, RAF Marham hosted seven
On 22 March 1950, the first four of an eventual 70
In the 1950s, Marham airfield was home to RAF units operating the
Tornado GR (1982–2019)
During 1980–83, twenty-four
No. 27 Squadron disbanded in September 1993, with its aircraft and crew transferring to No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron who moved to RAF Lossiemouth in January 1994.[21] No. 55 Squadron, the last of the RAF Victor squadrons, disbanded at Marham in October 1993, with the last Victor to leave departing in November.[21] In December, No. 39 (1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit) Squadron arrived at RAF Marham with its Canberra PR7s and PR9s from RAF Wyton.[26]
Following the 1998
No. 39 (1 PRU) Squadron disbanded on 31 July 2006, ending 52 years of Canberra operations at Marham.[26][28] Following the closure of RAF Coltishall in November 2006,[29] RAF Marham was officially granted the Freedom of the City of Norwich in 2008 and, as such, is allowed to march through the streets of Norwich with 'bayonets fixed'; this is usually carried out on occasions such as the annual Battle of Britain parade held on 12 September every year.[30]
On the night of 19/20 March 2011, No. IX (B) Squadron Tornado GR4s flew a 3,000 miles (2,600 nautical miles; 4,800 kilometres) round trip from Marham to carry out Storm Shadow strikes against targets in Libya as part of Operation Ellamy.[31][32] Following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, No. XIII Squadron was disbanded on 13 May 2011, followed by No. 14 Squadron on 1 June.[33][34]
On 26 September 2014, Tornado aircraft began airstrikes against
As part of the draw-down of the RAF's Tornado GR4 fleet, No. 12 (B) Squadron disbanded on 14 February 2018. Squadron personnel were reassigned to Marham's other Tornado squadrons, No. IX (B) Squadron and No. 31 Squadron.[39]
The last eight deployed Tornado GR4s returned home to RAF Marham from
Project Anvil (2016–2018)
Project Anvil was the £250 million programme of investment to provide Marham with new and upgraded infrastructure for F-35B Lightning operations.[46] The enabling works, worth £25 million, were undertaken by Balfour Beatty and Henry Brothers, with work commencing in May 2016. These works involved demolition of hangar no.3 located on the north side of the airfield. The hangar dated from the 1930s, and was last used for Tornado depth engineering. In its place, the new Lightning Maintenance and Finish Facility was completed.[47]
In late 2016, Wates Group was awarded a £27 million contract to construct a new squadron building for No. 617 (Dambusters) Squadron in the south west hardened aircraft shelters area. Construction began in March 2017, and was completed in spring 2018.[48]
The Lightning National Operating Centre (NOC) was constructed on the north-west side of the airfield, near the station golf course. The NOC was designed to accommodate around 125 personnel who form the Lightning Force Headquarters and Logistics Operating Centre.
The final construction contracts, worth £135 million, were awarded to Galliford Try and Lagan Construction in June 2017. The work included construction of a new hangar to replace hangar no.1, rebuilding of Marham's runways, installation of vertical landing pads, new taxiways, and refurbishment of 90% of existing taxiways and airfield operating surfaces.[51] Both runways were rebuilt during a three-week period (8–28 September 2017), which saw all flying cease and the laying of more than 18,000 tonnes of new asphalt.[52][53] The resurfacing works were completed by June 2018.[54] Project Anvil also included construction of servicing platforms and refurbishment of hardened aircraft shelters. Facilities for the operational conversion unit (OCU) were built between the No. 617 Squadron hardened aircraft shelters and the Integrated Training Centre.[47]
F-35B Lightning (2018–)
The
The first aircraft arrived at Marham on 6 June 2018, when four F-35Bs of
In late January 2020, F-35Bs from No. 207 Squadron departed for
On 3 September 2020, ten United States Marine Corps (USMC) F-35Bs from VMFA-211 arrived at RAF Marham to operate alongside the Dambusters.[63] On 22 September, both squadrons embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth for Exercise Joint Warrior.[64] In late October, both units participated in Exercise Crimson Warrior, the largest UK exercise in over a decade.[65]
Role and operations
Command
The airfield moved from No. 1 Group (Air Combat) to No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support Group) on 28 April 2023, becoming the lead station for the East Region, the site is also twinned with HMNB Portsmouth.[71]
F-35B Lightning operations
RAF Marham is home to No. 617 (Dambusters) Squadron, a front line squadron operating the F-35B Lightning, along with No. 207 Squadron; the F-35B operational conversion unit (OCU).[59]
Expeditionary Air Wing
Supported units
RAF Marham is the 'parent' RAF station for:
- RAF Holbeach— bombing range;
- RRH Neatishead (formerly parented by RAF Coltishall).
Based units
The following notable flying and non-flying units are based at RAF Marham:[73]
Royal Air Force
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British Army
Civilian
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Heritage
Station badge and motto
RAF Marhams's badge, awarded in October 1957 when it was home to part of the RAF V-Force, features a blue-coloured bull with its head lowered and facing towards the viewer. The bull, an animal considered to be aggressive to intruders entering its area, represented Marham's nuclear deterrence role. For the same reason, the station's motto is Deter.[75][76]
Gate guardians
Of the gate guardians at RAF Marham, in March 2020, its Panavia Tornado GR1 ZA407 was removed from the station entrance, to take up a role as fire fighting training aid.[77] It was replaced on the gate by Tornado GR4 ZA614.[78]
Marham has one other preserved aircraft on the station; an English Electric Canberra PR9 XH169, which has been on display within the main technical site since November 2007.[78] Until November 2020, outside the station headquarters building was Handley Page Victor K2 XH673, which was scrapped after failing to find a new owner.[79]
Former squadrons
See also
References
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- ^ "RAF Marham (EGYM) Aerodrome Chart" (PDF). AIDU.MoD.uk. UK Military AIP – No. 1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit, Royal Air Force. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
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- ^ Bowyer 1990, p. 148
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- ^ Cooper, Jonny; Howie, Michael (20 March 2011). "Libya as it happened: March 19". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
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- ^ a b "UK defence chief: F-35 jets are 'ready for operations'". DefenseNews.com. Defence News. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
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Bibliography
- Bowyer, Michael J. F. (1990). Action Stations 1. Wartime military airfields of East Anglia, 1939–1945 (2nd ed.). ISBN 1-85260-377-1.
- Cotter, Jarrod (2008). Royal Air Force celebrating 90 years. ISBN 978-0-946219-11-7.