RAF West Raynham
RAF West Raynham
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| Near Fakenham, Norfolk in England | |||||||||
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 RAF West Raynham
Shown within Norfolk
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| Coordinates | 52°47′21″N 000°44′08″E / 52.78917°N 0.73556°ECoordinates: 52°47′21″N 000°44′08″E / 52.78917°N 0.73556°E | ||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||
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| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1939 | ||||||||
| In use | 1939-1994 | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 77 metres (253 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
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Royal Air Force West Raynham or more simply RAF West Raynham is a former Royal Air Force station located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of West Raynham, Norfolk and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) southwest of Fakenham, Norfolk, England.
The airfield opened during May 1939 and was used by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War with the loss of 86 aircraft.
The station closed in 1994, though the Ministry of Defence (MoD) retained it as a strategic reserve. Having laid derelict since closure, the MoD elected in 2004 that it was surplus to requirements, and the site was sold in 2006 to the Welbeck Estate Group who sold the entire site in October 2007. The site is now managed by FW Properties of Norwich, acting for administrators Moore Stephens.
The site has now been given planning permission for installation of a 49.9MW solar farm with plant housing and perimeter fence, operated by Good Energy. Work is due to start early in 2014.
Built between 1938 and 1939, RAF West Raynham was an expansion scheme airfield. The grass landing area was aligned roughly north-east to south-west. The main camp, with housing and headquarters, was located immediately west of the landing area. To the south-east were bomb stores. The airfield was originally equipped with a Watch Office with Tower (Fort Type), of pattern 207/36 (made from concrete), although the tower was later removed and new control room built to pattern 4698/43. Later in the war the station was provided with a "Control Tower for Very Heavy Bomber Stations" to pattern 294/45, one of only four such towers to be built.
101 Squadron – a detachment of Bristol Blenheim which was part of 2 Group – were moved to West Raynham in May 1939. The only squadron based at RAF West Raynham, 101 Squadron were held in reserve by 2 Group until they were used as target tugs in February 1940. In 1940, RAF West Raynham also acted as a temporary base for 18 and 139 squadrons after they suffered losses in the Blitzkrieg.
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