RAF Methwold
Encyclopedia
RAF Methwold was a Royal Air Force
airfield in the west of the county
of Norfolk
in the United Kingdom
which operated during and after World War II
.
in the Winter of 1938. Wellington bombers from Feltwell continued to use the site as a satellite base until the grass airfield was transferred to No. 2 Group
in the exchange of bases with No. 3 Group
, in the summer of 1942. Several asphalt hardstandings were put down for aircraft during 1940-1941.
In August 1943 the airfield was closed to flying while it was upgraded to A standard. Three concrete runways were built, the main aligned on 06-24 (2000 yards), 11-29 (1,600 yards) and 17-35 (1,500 yards). 36 hardstandings were built, 35 of the loop type and a single pan. The original asphalt pans were not retained.
Following this work, RAF Methwold was a higher standard base than its parent at Feltwell. The airfield was returned to No. 3 Group and became a sub-station of RAF Mildenhall
.
43 aircraft either failed to return or crashed during the operations from RAF Methwold; 25 Venturas, 6 Stirlings, and 12 Lancasters.
Several types of aircraft have operated out of Methwold, among these:
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
airfield in the west of the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
which operated during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
History
RAF Methwold opened as a dispersal airfield for RAF FeltwellRAF Feltwell
RAF Feltwell is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, East Anglia that is currently used by the United States Air Forces Europe. The station is located about 10 miles west of Thetford, and is in the borough of King's Lynn at approximate Ordnance Survey grid reference .A former Second World War...
in the Winter of 1938. Wellington bombers from Feltwell continued to use the site as a satellite base until the grass airfield was transferred to No. 2 Group
No. 2 Group RAF
Number 2 Group is a Group of the Royal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was reactivated in 2000, and is today part of Air Command....
in the exchange of bases with No. 3 Group
No. 3 Group RAF
Number 3 Group of the Royal Air Force was an RAF group first active in 1918, again in 1923-26, part of RAF Bomber Command from 1936 to 1967, and part of RAF Strike Command from 2000 until it disbanded on 1 April 2006.-The 1930s and World War II:...
, in the summer of 1942. Several asphalt hardstandings were put down for aircraft during 1940-1941.
In August 1943 the airfield was closed to flying while it was upgraded to A standard. Three concrete runways were built, the main aligned on 06-24 (2000 yards), 11-29 (1,600 yards) and 17-35 (1,500 yards). 36 hardstandings were built, 35 of the loop type and a single pan. The original asphalt pans were not retained.
Following this work, RAF Methwold was a higher standard base than its parent at Feltwell. The airfield was returned to No. 3 Group and became a sub-station of RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...
.
43 aircraft either failed to return or crashed during the operations from RAF Methwold; 25 Venturas, 6 Stirlings, and 12 Lancasters.
Current use
After closure as an operational airfield in April 1946, the airfield remained under care and maintenance until it was finally sold in the 1960s. Today the majority of the site has been returned to agriculture, with two hangars remaining in use as agricultural grain stores and two others used for salad preparation and packing for supermarkets.Methwold aircraft
- Vickers WellingtonVickers WellingtonThe Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
- Lockheed VenturaLockheed VenturaThe Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
- Short StirlingShort StirlingThe Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...
- Avro LancasterAvro LancasterThe Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
- Airspeed HorsaAirspeed HorsaThe Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...
- North American HarvardT-6 TexanThe North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
Methwold squadrons
- No. 37 Squadron RAFNo. 37 Squadron RAF-History:No. 37 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Orfordness, Suffolk, on 15 April 1916 but ceased to exist a month later. In September of that year, it was re-formed, with headquarters at Woodham Mortimer, in Essex. It responsibilities included defending London against aerial attack...
- No. 214 Squadron RAFNo. 214 Squadron RAF-History:No 214 Squadron was formed from No. 14 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service , itself formerly No. 7A Squadron RNAS only taking on the new number in 9 December 1917. With the creation of the RAF from the Royal Flying Corps and the RNAS on 1 April 1918 it received the number 214. It was later...
- No. 21 Squadron RAFNo. 21 Squadron RAFNo. 21 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1915 and was disbanded for the last time in 1979.The squadron is famous for Operation Jericho: on 18 February 1944, the crews of de Havilland Mosquitoes breached the walls of a Gestapo prison at Amiens, France, allowing members of the French...
- No. 464 Squadron RAAFNo. 464 Squadron RAAFNo. 464 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force bomber squadron during World War II.-History:The Squadron was officially formed on 1 September 1942 at RAF Feltwell, Norfolk in the United Kingdom, under the Empire Air Training Scheme. No...
- No. 487 Squadron RNZAFNo. 487 Squadron RNZAFNo. 487 Squadron was a Royal New Zealand Air Force bomber squadron, formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme. It served in the European theatre during World War II, under the operational command of the Royal Air Force.-History:No...
- No. 149 Squadron RAFNo. 149 Squadron RAFNo. 149 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron between 1918 and 1956. Formed 1918 in the Royal Flying Corps as a night-bomber unit, it remained in that role for the rest of its existence which spanned three periods between 1918 and 1956.-World War I:...
- No. 218 Squadron RAFNo. 218 Squadron RAFNo. 218 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was also known as No 218 Squadron after the Governor of the Gold Coast and people of the Gold Coast officially adopted the squadron.-World War I:...
- No. 207 Squadron RAF
See also
- Norfolk AirfieldsNorfolk AirfieldsThis is a list of current or former military airfields within the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia. They may have been used by the Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force, Army Air Corps or the United States Air Force....
- Royal Air Force station
- List of RAF stations
- List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons