RAF Langham

RAF Langham
Langham, Norfolk

WWII ground-to-air training dome
RAF Langham
Coordinates 52°56′17″N 0°57′29″E / 52.938°N 0.958°E / 52.938; 0.958
Type Royal Air Force station
Site information
Owner Air Ministry
Controlled by  Royal Air Force
Site history
Built 1940 (1940)
In use 1940-1961 (1961)
Battles/wars Second World War, Cold War
Garrison information
Garrison RAF Coastal Command

Royal Air Force Langham or more simply RAF Langham is a former Royal Air Force station, located 27.2 miles (43.8 km) North-West of Norwich, Norfolk, England, from 1940 to 1961. The airfield was the most northerly of the Norfolk wartime RAF airfields and its position, being just 3.3 miles (5.3 km) from the North sea at Blakeney.[1] made it a desirable location to be used by Coastal Command[1] which had come into prominence since the outbreak of the Second World War. Originally the base was built as a dispersal and satellite station to RAF Bircham Newton during the first few months of the war and it became operational in the summer of 1940.[1]

History

The airfield was originally laid out with three grass runways when it opened as a satellite station for RAF Bircham Newton in 1940. The station became fully self-supporting in 1942, when it was upgraded with three concrete runways (tar-covered), 3 T2 type and 4 Blister hangars, encircling perimeter track and 36 spectacle-shape hardstandings, plus a Type 12779/41 control tower and normal Mk 2 approach lighting for night operations.

Primarily used by Coastal Command of the RAF throughout hostilities it was placed on Care and Maintenance in 1947, but reactivated during the Korean War. It was later used as an emergency landing strip for RAF Sculthorpe, before final closure in 1961.

Langham aircraft

Several types of aircraft were based Langham, including:

Langham units

Station Operations and Events

On the 2 October 1944[3] six Beaufighters of Coastal Command took off from Langham to carry out a night patrol along the Frisian Islands of the coast of the Netherlands. Their task was to randomly attack any enemy shipping encountered there. One of the aircraft (NT 909) was piloted by New Zealander Warrant Officer Douglas Mann. His navigator was English and he was Flight Sergeant Donald Kennedy. Close to the island of Borkum the plane went into an attack on a convoy, but in poor visibility the plane struck an unknown obstacle causing Mann to lose control. The Convoy’s flak ships opened fire on the stricken plane shooting it down and, after some difficulty, Mann and Kennedy took to their rescue dinghy. After several abortive rescue attempts the airmen were finally rescued by High Speed Launch 2679,[3] stationed at Gorleston-on-Sea, on the 10 October[3] after being in the sea for eight days. When the Skipper of the Launch, Flying Officer David Ross located them and pulled them aboard the men were both suffering from acute hypothermia and immersion foot. They were taken to Great Yarmouth naval Hospital were both men made a full recovery. Douglas Mann was eventually returned to 489 Squadron and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.[3][4]

Current use

The station was purchased by Bernard Matthews, who constructed turkey sheds on the runways. The turkey farm is now operated by another farmer, but the construction of the sheds has preserved large sections of the runways.[5]

A small aircraft repair and maintenance facility is based in buildings to the south side of the airfield, and uses the southern perimeter track and adjacent grass area for flying operations.

Surviving buildings on the site include the control tower and a dome trainer building used for the instruction of ground-to-air anti-aircraft gunnery.[6] Langham Dome, which sits on the edge of the former base, is one of only six remaining training domes in the country and was built in 1942. The others are at Pembrey, Limavady, Mildenhall, Wyton and Shoreham.[7] Film of enemy planes was projected onto its walls for target practise. The concrete structure has been restored and a museum has been installed following grants from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.[8] On 17 May 2015 a documentary about the dome, entitled The Dome: A Secret of World War II, narrated by Stephen Fry, was broadcast by BBC One.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Smith, Graham (2007). Norfolk Airfields in the Second World War. Section 17 – Langham – Reference to location, usage and operational timeline. Countryside Books. p. 143. ISBN 9781853063206.
  2. ↑ Smith, Graham (2007). Norfolk Airfields in the Second World War. Section 17 – Langham – Reference to the No 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units Hawker Henleys. Countryside Books. p. 143. ISBN 9781853063206.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Pitchfork, Graham (2005). Shot Down and in the Drink. Description of the mission and the rescue of Mann and Kennedy. The National Archives – UK. p. 168 to 171. ISBN 9781903365878.
  4. ↑ "Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 May 1945" (PDF). Annocment of DFC for D Mann. Bad Penny Books. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  5. ↑ Turkey sheds on runway at Langham
  6. ↑ Views of Langham airfield
  7. ↑ "Airfield Information Exchange". Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "WW2 Langham training dome restoration complete". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "BBC One - The Dome: A Secret of World War Two". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
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