RAF Feltwell

Royal Air Force Feltwell or more simply RAF Feltwell is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, East Anglia that is 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 TL 715 900.

A former Second World War bomber station, the airfield is used as a housing estate for United States Air Force personnel stationed nearby at RAF Mildenhall as part of the 100th Air Refueling Wing and RAF Lakenheath as part of the 48th Fighter Wing, while also containing the Mathies Airman Leadership School for USAF personnel in the UK, as well as being the home of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service's sole furniture store in the country. It also houses the only Middle School for Lakenheath and Mildenhall, which covers most of the station.

History

The airfield was built during the period of expansion of the RAF in the late 1930s and is similar in layout to many of the other RAF airfields of the period (for example RAF Marham, RAF Watton and RAF West Raynham). The airfield was home to a number of heavy bomber squadrons of the RAF during the Second World War. Post war RAF Thor Missiles were stationed here 1958-1963. After the departure of the Thor missiles in 1963, the RAF's Officer Cadet Training Unit was based on the station.

Feltwell

Coordinates: 52°29′11″N 0°31′10″E / 52.486413°N 0.519365°E / 52.486413; 0.519365

Feltwell is a village 10 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk, England, and is in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Feltwell has the largest area of any parish in Norfolk. It is a thriving community. The village has a large modern primary school which was originally built during the post WW2 building period to cope with the 1946-48 "baby-boom". The orinal school buildings are of late victorian era mock perpendicular flint faced single story buildings wich catered for all age groups on either side of Long Beck Road. The pubs, The Lodge originally a general grocery store and the West End, are popular spots for the village locals and there is also a Social Club. The village also has two churches St Mary's and St Nicholas (pictured) together with a Methodist chapel. The street known as Long Beck as against Short Beck obtained its name from the stream (depicted on OS maps as the common bank dyke) which was spring fed from a pond in the south east corner of the new primary school site. Feltwell in was virtually a sea-shore settlement during the Roman occupation, when the New Cut relief channel was excavated several roman villas were discovered along the excavation route of the river and were injudiciously destroyed.