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RAF Woodbridge
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RAF Woodbridge
Royal Air Force Woodbridge, or more simply RAF Woodbridge, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Woodbridge and around 7 miles north-east of Ipswich, in the county of Suffolk, England.
Constructed in 1943 as an RAF military airfield during the Second World War to assist damaged aircraft to land on their return from raids over Germany it was later used by the United States Air Force during the Cold War, being the primary home for the 79th and 78th Tactical Fighter Squadrons and squadrons of the 81st Fighter Wing under various designations until 1993. For many years, the 81st also operated from nearby RAF Bentwaters, with Bentwaters and Woodbridge being known as the "Twin Bases".
Since 2006, it has been known as MOD Woodbridge, incorporating Woodbridge Airfield and Rock Barracks. Woodbridge Airfield is used by Army Air Corps aircraft for training and Rock Barracks are home to the newly formed 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) of the Royal Engineers.
In 1943, RAF Woodbridge (initially called RAF Sutton Heath) was one of three airfields constructed along the east coast of England, set up to accept distressed aircraft returning across the North Sea from raids over Germany, and was therefore laid out with extra-long, extra-wide runways (the other two sites being at RAF Manston in Kent and RAF Carnaby in Yorkshire). These ELG (Emergency Landing Ground) airfields were intended for use by returning bombers suffering from low-fuel and suspected damage to their pneumatic (wheel brake) and/or hydraulic (undercarriage lowering) systems. All three airfields were equipped with a single runway, 9,000 ft (2,700 m) long and 750 ft (230 m) wide. (5 times the normal width) There was a further clear area of 1,500 ft (460 m) at each end of the runway. At each of the three airfields, the runway was divided into three 250 ft (76 m) lanes. The northern and central lanes were allocated by flying control, while the southern lane was the emergency lane on which any aircraft could land without first making contact with the airfield. The site at Woodbridge was chosen as it was 'nearly fog-free and had no obstructions for miles', although more than a million trees had to be cleared from Rendlesham Forest to take the new base. Its first use, however was in July 1943, when it was used by a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber of the United States Army Air Forces.
In the spring of 1944, Woodbridge was considered as a base for Operation Aphrodite, a plan to strip all interior equipment and armament from well-used B-17s, pack them with explosives, and fly them to difficult targets using radio-control equipment. In early July, several B-17s, modified into BQ-7 drones, from the 562d Bomb Squadron of the 388th Bomb Group arrived at Woodbridge. No Aphrodite mission was ever flown from Woodbridge because, after one aborted attempt, the unit moved up to RAF Fersfield, near Diss, Norfolk.
On 13 July 1944, a Luftwaffe Ju 88 G-1 night fighter of 7 Staffel/NJG 2, bearing aircraft code 4R+UR, on North Sea night patrol landed at Woodbridge. This aircraft carried recent versions of the FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar, Naxos-Z and FuG 227 Flensburg homer which were being successfully used to intercept RAF bombers. The German crew had only just completed 100 hours of flight training, and had flown by compass heading, but had proceeded in exactly the wrong direction and thought they were over their own airfield. Within days, the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) had analysed the radar equipment and devised countermeasures.
About 30% of the emergency landings were caused by bad weather, especially fog which could be dispersed by Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) where up to 450,000 litres (99,000 imp gal; 120,000 US gal) of petrol per hour was pumped through a system of pipes along the side of the runway and burnt to produce a wall of flames which would lift the fog. Fuel was transported to Melton railway station before being piped to the airfield.
By the end of the Second World War 4,200 aircraft had made emergency landings at RAF Woodbridge. After the war the airfield was used for some experimental work by the RAF with Avro Lancasters being based there, dropping Grand Slam bombs on Orford Ness, and the Blind Landing Experimental Unit (BLEU) was located at Woodbridge. Eventually it was closed on 14 March 1948 and put into 'care and maintenance' status.
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RAF Woodbridge
Royal Air Force Woodbridge, or more simply RAF Woodbridge, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Woodbridge and around 7 miles north-east of Ipswich, in the county of Suffolk, England.
Constructed in 1943 as an RAF military airfield during the Second World War to assist damaged aircraft to land on their return from raids over Germany it was later used by the United States Air Force during the Cold War, being the primary home for the 79th and 78th Tactical Fighter Squadrons and squadrons of the 81st Fighter Wing under various designations until 1993. For many years, the 81st also operated from nearby RAF Bentwaters, with Bentwaters and Woodbridge being known as the "Twin Bases".
Since 2006, it has been known as MOD Woodbridge, incorporating Woodbridge Airfield and Rock Barracks. Woodbridge Airfield is used by Army Air Corps aircraft for training and Rock Barracks are home to the newly formed 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) of the Royal Engineers.
In 1943, RAF Woodbridge (initially called RAF Sutton Heath) was one of three airfields constructed along the east coast of England, set up to accept distressed aircraft returning across the North Sea from raids over Germany, and was therefore laid out with extra-long, extra-wide runways (the other two sites being at RAF Manston in Kent and RAF Carnaby in Yorkshire). These ELG (Emergency Landing Ground) airfields were intended for use by returning bombers suffering from low-fuel and suspected damage to their pneumatic (wheel brake) and/or hydraulic (undercarriage lowering) systems. All three airfields were equipped with a single runway, 9,000 ft (2,700 m) long and 750 ft (230 m) wide. (5 times the normal width) There was a further clear area of 1,500 ft (460 m) at each end of the runway. At each of the three airfields, the runway was divided into three 250 ft (76 m) lanes. The northern and central lanes were allocated by flying control, while the southern lane was the emergency lane on which any aircraft could land without first making contact with the airfield. The site at Woodbridge was chosen as it was 'nearly fog-free and had no obstructions for miles', although more than a million trees had to be cleared from Rendlesham Forest to take the new base. Its first use, however was in July 1943, when it was used by a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber of the United States Army Air Forces.
In the spring of 1944, Woodbridge was considered as a base for Operation Aphrodite, a plan to strip all interior equipment and armament from well-used B-17s, pack them with explosives, and fly them to difficult targets using radio-control equipment. In early July, several B-17s, modified into BQ-7 drones, from the 562d Bomb Squadron of the 388th Bomb Group arrived at Woodbridge. No Aphrodite mission was ever flown from Woodbridge because, after one aborted attempt, the unit moved up to RAF Fersfield, near Diss, Norfolk.
On 13 July 1944, a Luftwaffe Ju 88 G-1 night fighter of 7 Staffel/NJG 2, bearing aircraft code 4R+UR, on North Sea night patrol landed at Woodbridge. This aircraft carried recent versions of the FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 radar, Naxos-Z and FuG 227 Flensburg homer which were being successfully used to intercept RAF bombers. The German crew had only just completed 100 hours of flight training, and had flown by compass heading, but had proceeded in exactly the wrong direction and thought they were over their own airfield. Within days, the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) had analysed the radar equipment and devised countermeasures.
About 30% of the emergency landings were caused by bad weather, especially fog which could be dispersed by Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) where up to 450,000 litres (99,000 imp gal; 120,000 US gal) of petrol per hour was pumped through a system of pipes along the side of the runway and burnt to produce a wall of flames which would lift the fog. Fuel was transported to Melton railway station before being piped to the airfield.
By the end of the Second World War 4,200 aircraft had made emergency landings at RAF Woodbridge. After the war the airfield was used for some experimental work by the RAF with Avro Lancasters being based there, dropping Grand Slam bombs on Orford Ness, and the Blind Landing Experimental Unit (BLEU) was located at Woodbridge. Eventually it was closed on 14 March 1948 and put into 'care and maintenance' status.
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