Wattisham Flying Station, formerly Wattisham Airfield, is a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

airfield and barracks located near the village of

Wattisham Wattisham is a village and civil parish near to the town of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. From the 2011 Census the population of the parish was 110, according to the Office for National Statistics, included in the civil parish of Hitcham. Wa ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is home to the Army Air Corps'

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

attack helicopter force. A helicopter repair facility provided by 7 Aviation Support Battalion, REME and 132 Aviation Supply Squadron, RLC is also based at the airfield. The

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) maintains a presence at the airfield with a section of Survival Equipment Specialists who maintain survival equipment carried by Apache aircrew, including their helmets. The airfield covers a site of , with approximately 2,000 troops stationed on site.

History

Wattisham Airfield has had a long and distinguished history. First opening in April 1939, the airfield was used by the RAF before being lent to the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in 1942. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Wattisham became one of the

UK's The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

front-line air force fighter airfields during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, with aircraft on

Quick Reaction Alert Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) is state of Combat readiness, readiness and ''modus operandi'' of Anti-aircraft warfare, air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces. The United States usually refers to Quick Reaction Alert as 'Ai ...

on a rotational basis with other UK fighter stations. Wattisham used to house 'B' Flight, 22 Squadron Royal Air Force with its

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(SAR) Sea King helicopters, until the privatisation of SAR provision in 2015, which led to 22 Squadron standing down. The closest SAR base under the new

Bristow Helicopters Bristow Helicopters Limited is a British civil helicopter operator originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, which is currently a part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group () which in turn has its corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S ...

contract is

Lydd Airport London Ashford Airport is east of the town of Lydd and south of Ashford, Kent, Ashford in the district of Folkestone and Hythe (District), Folkestone and Hythe, in Kent, England. Originally named Lydd Ferryfield, it is now also known as Lon ...

in Kent. As of 1 November 2018, there were 852 personnel assigned to 3 and 4 Regiments and 429 to 7 Aviation Support Battalion. Apart from the military, the Anglia Gliding Club also operates from the airfield. (making it the oldest serving member of Wattisham, having been there as a

RAFGSA The Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association (RAFGSA) is a voluntary organisation which exists to provide recreational flying to all RAF servicemen and women, in particular those employed in ground duties. RAFGSA Centre The RAFGSA Centre ...

club when the RAF occupied). Also resident is No 1287 Sqn,

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

. There is a museum on site which tells the history of the airfield and this is open on Sundays during April to October.

Operational units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Wattisham Airfield.

Joint Aviation Command The Joint Aviation Command (JAC), previously known as Joint Helicopter Command (JHC), is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of all three services of the British Armed Forces and unmanned aerial vehicles of the B ...

1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team / Army Air Corps * 3 Regiment ** 653 Squadron – Boeing AH64E Apache ** 662 Squadron – AH64E Apache ** 663 Squadron – AH64E Apache * 4 Regiment ** 656 Squadron – AH64E Apache ** 664 Squadron – AH64E Apache * 6 Regiment ** Headquarters Squadron ** 677 Squadron

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...

* 7 Aviation Support Battalion ** HQ Company ** 71 Aviation Company (Aviation Support Company) ** 72 Aviation Company (Contingency Company) ** 132 Aviation Support Squadron (

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

)

References

External links

Wattisham Airfield by Wattisham Aviation Society

{{authority control

Airports in the East of England Army Air Corps airfields Gliderports in the United Kingdom Babergh District Mid Suffolk District

History

Operational units

Joint Aviation Command The Joint Aviation Command (JAC), previously known as Joint Helicopter Command (JHC), is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of all three services of the British Armed Forces and unmanned aerial vehicles of the B ...

See also

References

External links