Wattisham Airfield Museum
Discussion
Had a request for pics I took when we visited last year.
My Grandfather landed a Lightning at Wattisham back in the 60s with the aid of the catch netting. Drag chute failed to deploy.
Museum is set up in an old mess hall, then an old readiness hangar on the other side of the airfield. It's a good ten minute drive between the two. The hangar has a Lightning cockpit section, a complete Hunter, and a helicoptory thing. A Gazelle, I think.
Musuem is open by appointment only. The staff were fabulously helpful, we all had to be security checked to get on to the base (currently used by Army flyers). They presented my Grandfather with the mach meter from a Hunter (a plane which he flew many times) as a memento, which was a lovely surprise.
My Grandfather landed a Lightning at Wattisham back in the 60s with the aid of the catch netting. Drag chute failed to deploy.
Museum is set up in an old mess hall, then an old readiness hangar on the other side of the airfield. It's a good ten minute drive between the two. The hangar has a Lightning cockpit section, a complete Hunter, and a helicoptory thing. A Gazelle, I think.
Musuem is open by appointment only. The staff were fabulously helpful, we all had to be security checked to get on to the base (currently used by Army flyers). They presented my Grandfather with the mach meter from a Hunter (a plane which he flew many times) as a memento, which was a lovely surprise.
Sod
Army bloody Aviation don't spend any time looking after the old place's heritage do they?
I remember Wattisham at its prime.
Took a squadron of ATC cadets there in the seventies.
Lightnings in their pomp.
And No 1ACC on the other side of the airfield, fabulous visit in there.
(I'd have to kill you, I won't)
I had my first ever experience driving an HGV there on the elderly Bedford C type bus the cadets were driven around in.
111 were there but I can't remember who else, Mk3s I think.
What shocked me into this post was the state of the Lightning front end.
Surely someone could clean the perspex a bit, it's fogged to buggery.
It's great to see your pictures though, I think you were lucky to get that visit.
I'd love to go back but when it's full of "brown jobs" it just wouldn't be the same..
Army bloody Aviation don't spend any time looking after the old place's heritage do they?
I remember Wattisham at its prime.
Took a squadron of ATC cadets there in the seventies.
Lightnings in their pomp.
And No 1ACC on the other side of the airfield, fabulous visit in there.
(I'd have to kill you, I won't)
I had my first ever experience driving an HGV there on the elderly Bedford C type bus the cadets were driven around in.
111 were there but I can't remember who else, Mk3s I think.
What shocked me into this post was the state of the Lightning front end.
Surely someone could clean the perspex a bit, it's fogged to buggery.
It's great to see your pictures though, I think you were lucky to get that visit.
I'd love to go back but when it's full of "brown jobs" it just wouldn't be the same..
The original Wattisham Quick Reaction Alert hangar has been rebuilt at Bruntingthorpe by the Lightning Preservation Group and houses a couple of live Lightnings 
English Electric Lightning 'XR728' by imulford, on Flickr
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Hangar by imulford, on Flickr
English Electric Lightning F.6 - XS904 by imulford, on Flickr
(The back wall has been finished since I took the pictures)
Rebuild pictures http://www.lightnings.org.uk/PhotoQShed.aspx
English Electric Lightning 'XR728' by imulford, on Flickr
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Hangar by imulford, on Flickr
English Electric Lightning F.6 - XS904 by imulford, on Flickr
(The back wall has been finished since I took the pictures)
Rebuild pictures http://www.lightnings.org.uk/PhotoQShed.aspx
I visted RAF Wattisham on a school field day when it flew Lightnings; unforgettable.
I like small museums like this, tucked away in nowheresville, staffed by a couple of veterans and each piece of twisted wreckage labelled with a typewritten card. Parham near Woodbridge is another : www.parhamairfieldmuseum.co.uk/
One name rings a bell - one of your photos is captioned 'George Aird' and that must be the same guy who, five years later, famously did this:
http://www.rafjever.org/118sqnper002.htm
I like small museums like this, tucked away in nowheresville, staffed by a couple of veterans and each piece of twisted wreckage labelled with a typewritten card. Parham near Woodbridge is another : www.parhamairfieldmuseum.co.uk/
One name rings a bell - one of your photos is captioned 'George Aird' and that must be the same guy who, five years later, famously did this:
http://www.rafjever.org/118sqnper002.htm
I joined the Wattisham ATC squadron around 1982 and worked for the MoD there for a couple of years (85/6ish) based in one of the engineering hangar offices overlooking the pan. Used to continually try and catch a flight in anything going but was never quite managed. I did get friendly with the sim section though and for a while I'd go play with their big toy in between knocking off work and start of ATC squadron night (F4 sim).
During one particular exercise they put a fire drill in our section and evacuated all the military staff to the pan and had a line up to check everyone was out. Apparently the unit that tests the defenses during these times (forget what they were called) had nicked a landrover and drove down the line up letting off a stream of blanks from a GPMG in the back and took out the entire section; saw some very glum NCO faces traipsing back in after that (and many junior ranks desperately trying not to wet themselves with laughter).
This was also the time when they brought in the "Armed Forces youth Training Scheme". As if there wasn't enough fodder for winding up new recruits as it was, they start bringing in 16 year olds? They lost one of them for a whole day around the base on the "Can you go to this place and ask for a long weight?" not to mention the one who was sent to the two older ladies in the stationery stores for a "Mediterranean Underwater Fact Finding Diving" course form.
During one particular exercise they put a fire drill in our section and evacuated all the military staff to the pan and had a line up to check everyone was out. Apparently the unit that tests the defenses during these times (forget what they were called) had nicked a landrover and drove down the line up letting off a stream of blanks from a GPMG in the back and took out the entire section; saw some very glum NCO faces traipsing back in after that (and many junior ranks desperately trying not to wet themselves with laughter).
This was also the time when they brought in the "Armed Forces youth Training Scheme". As if there wasn't enough fodder for winding up new recruits as it was, they start bringing in 16 year olds? They lost one of them for a whole day around the base on the "Can you go to this place and ask for a long weight?" not to mention the one who was sent to the two older ladies in the stationery stores for a "Mediterranean Underwater Fact Finding Diving" course form.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff