Thursday 23rd February 2006

Steve Marginson

Appeared in Journal 495

25 persons attended the February meeting of which only 12 were members. Those present were treated to an excellent talk by Alan Smith on the history of Martlesham Heath Airfield. Alan is a member of the Martlesham Heath Aviation Society and knows the history and people involved in the working of the airfield in great detail.

The airfield was commissioned in 1916 on a large area of heath land adjacent to Ipswich. Its main purpose was Aircraft Testing and the Armament and Aircraft Testing wing was moved to Martlesham in 1917. The aircraft back then were bi-planes and tri-planes, many of then unreliable and some unsafe, leading to accidents and the loss of some of the pioneering aviators associated with these planes.

After the First World War 2 squadrons were based at Martlesham. No 15 tested all new armaments including bombs and bombing gear. No 22 squadron tested all new aircraft types, both military and civil. The hangers for 22 squadron were where Tesco now is! Alan reckons some 5,000 different aircraft were tested at Martlesham between the wars. Many top aviators were based at the airfield during this period and we were treated to many slides of the aircraft and crews from this period.

The second World War saw the experimental squadrons move to Boscombe Down in Wiltshire away from the East Coast. No 11 Fighter Group took up residence flying Hurricanes, Spitfires and Hawker Typhoons in the Battle of Britain and subsequent operations. In 1943 the US Army Aor Force arrived with P47 Thunderbolts and later with P51 Mustangs. The main task were escorting bombers to Germany and back.

Limited flying continued after the war up to the final flight in 1979 and subsequent closure and redevelopment of the base in the eighties and nineties. The final squadron based at the Heath was 22 Air, Sea Rescue squadron. The squadron continues with this function based at RAF Wattisham. Many of the buildings were demolished in the name of redevelopment but the officer’s quarters still remain. The most important building remaining is the Control Tower, which is run by the Martlesham Heath Aviation Society as a museum with many artefacts and the full history of the base. It is open on Sundays 14.00 to 16.30 hrs between April and October.

This was a talk of great local historic interest and Alan did us proud with his narration of the history, events and people based at the Heath throughout its working life. This was accompanied by an excellent selection of slides, many of rare and unusual aircraft and of the hangers, buildings and facilities at the base that have long gone.

Front Cover. Refurbished FEC 39480 had just received a traditional gold underlined Eastern Counties fleetname when photographed at Great Yarmouth. Photo by Graham Bessey.

Rear Cover Top. G757 UYT, the latest addition to the Carters fleet resting at Ipswich Old Cattle Market Bus Station on the 16th March. Photo by Peter Horrex.