RAF Marham

History

Beginnings (1916–1919)

Opened in August 1916 close to the former Royal Naval Air Station Narborough, later RAF Narborough, the Marham base was originally a military night landing ground on an 80 acre site within the boundary of the present day RAF Marham. In 1916, the aerodrome was handed over to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Throughout the First World War, Marham's role was focused on defending Norfolk from Zeppelin raids. No. 51 Squadron became the first RFC unit to be stationed at Marham upon their move in September 1916, flying home defence missions. On the night of 27/28 November 1916, Lt. Gaymer of No. 51 Squadron took off from Marham to intercept Zeppelin L21. However, he crashed his Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b and was killed after making no contact. L21 was later shot down near Lowestoft by Royal Naval Air Service crews.

Outside of home defence, Marham also acted as a training base for night time flying, with this provided by No. 51 Squadron. No. 51 Squadron also assisted No. 190 Training Squadron and No. 193 Training Squadron, who were based nearby, throughout late 1917 and 1918. No. 51 Squadron departed Marham in May 1919 for Sutton's Farm, with the aerodrome closing shortly after.

Rearmament (1935–1945)

In the first half of 1935, work started on a new airfield which became active on , with a resident heavy bomber unit from within No. 3 Group, RAF Bomber Command.

The first squadron, No. 38, arrived on 5 May 1937 with Fairey Hendon bombers. In June, No. 115 Squadron re-formed at Marham with the Handley Page Harrow, initially sharing No. 38 Squadron's Hendons until Harrow deliveries were completed in August. No. 218 Squadron moved to Marham on 27 Nov 1940, also operating Wellingtons. No. 218 Squadron began conversion to the Short Stirling in December 1941, and used the type on operations from 1942. De Havilland Mosquitos from No. 105 Squadron also arrived in 1941. Marham became part of the Pathfinder force. They also tested and proved the Oboe precision bombing aid.

On January 30, 1943, three Mosquitos from RAF Marham deliberately attacked the headquarters of the German state broadcasting company just as Hermann Göring, head of the German air force, and himself a World War I fighter pilot, began to speak. The sounds of aircraft engines and anti-aircraft guns could be heard before broadcast engineers cut Göring off and switched to classical music. All three Mosquitos returned safely to Marham.

During March 1944, RAF Marham closed for the construction of new concrete runways, perimeter track, and dispersal areas, marking the end of its wartime operations. The three new runways were of the familiar wartime triangular pattern of class A airfield, but Marham was one of only two sites built as a heavy bomber airfield (the other was nearby RAF Sculthorpe) with the runways substantially longer than the standard layout.

Cold War (1946–1982)

From 15 March to 31 October 1946, RAF Marham hosted seven B-17 Flying Fortressess and three modified B-29 Super Fortressess of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during Project 'Ruby', which was a series of trials to test the effectiveness of deep penetration bombs such as the Grand Slam and Disney against "massive reinforced concrete targets". Trials began on 25 March, and were undertaken by the USAAF B-29s and modified Lancasters of No. XV Squadron by attacking the Nordsee III U-boat pen at Heligoland and the U-boat assembly plant at Farge, Germany. Project 'Ruby' ended on 31 October after 22 trials had been completed, with results concluding that none of the bombs tested were capable of penetrating massive reinforced concrete. Nine B-29s of the 340th Bombardment Squadron arrived at Marham on 9 June 1947 as part of a 'goodwill' visit to the United Kingdom. Between March 1948 and March 1950, USAF B-29s and B-50s of the 2nd; 22nd; 43rd; 307th and 509th Bombardment Groups spent time based at Marham.

On 22 March 1950, the first four of an eventual 70 Boeing Washington B.1s arrived at Marham.

The airfield main runway was large enough for the operation of United States Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, and a number of these aircraft visited on exercises in the 1970s and 1980s.

Tornado GR (1982–2019)

During 1980–83, twenty-four hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) were constructed to house future strike aircraft, which would eventually see the arrival of the Panavia Tornado GR1 in 1982. These shelters were also equipped with the US Weapon Storage Security System (WS3), each able to store four WE.177 nuclear bombs. The first Tornado GR1 to be delivered to Marham was ZA601 on 24 April 1982 from BAe Warton, in preparation for the reformation of No. 617 (Dambusters) Squadron which stood up on 1 January 1983. This was shortly followed by No. 27 Squadron which reformed at Marham on 12 August.

No. 57 Squadron disbanded at RAF Marham on 30 June 1986, leaving No. 55 Squadron as the last Victor K2 unit at the base. In March 1987, the Tornado Weapons Conversion Unit (TWCU) relocated its Tornados from RAF Honington to Marham for a period of six months while runway repairs were carried out.

No. 27 Squadron disbanded in September 1993, with its aircraft and crew transferring to No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron who moved to RAF Lossiemouth in January 1994.

Following the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, it was decided to end the Royal Air Force's presence in Germany, No. IX (B) Squadron relocated from RAF Brüggen to RAF Marham on 17 July 2001, followed shortly by No. 31 Squadron on 17 August, who landed their Tornados at Marham at precisely 13:31 hrs BST.

No. 39 (1 PRU) Squadron disbanded on 31 July 2006, ending 52 years of Canberra operations at Marham. Following the closure of RAF Coltishall in November 2006, RAF Marham was officially granted the Freedom of the City of Norwich in 2008 and, as such, is allowed to march through the streets of Norwich with 'bayonets fixed'; this is usually carried out on occasions such as the annual Battle of Britain parade held on 12 September every year.

On the night of 19/20 March 2011, No. IX (B) Squadron Tornado GR4s flew a 3000 mi round trip from Marham to carry out Storm Shadow strikes against targets in Libya as part of Operation Ellamy. Following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, No. XIII Squadron was disbanded on 13 May 2011, followed by No. 14 Squadron on 1 June.

On 26 September 2014, Tornado aircraft began airstrikes against ISIL as part of Operation Shader. In 2015, four Tornados (ZA405, ZA456, ZA548, and ZD788) from RAF Marham received special markings to mark the 100th anniversaries of Nos. IX (B), 12 (B) and 31 Squadrons, as well as the 40th anniversary of Tornado service.

As part of the draw-down of the RAF's Tornado GR4 fleet, No. 12 (B) Squadron disbanded on 14 February 2018. Squadron personnel were reassigned to Marham's other Tornado squadrons, No. IX (B) Squadron and No. 31 Squadron.

The last eight deployed Tornado GR4s returned home to RAF Marham from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, on 4 and 5 February 2019. To mark the nearing Tornado retirement, RAF Marham held a series of 'farewell flypasts' across the United Kingdom on 19, 20 and 21 February. On 28 February, nine Tornado GR4s flew from RAF Marham for a diamond nine formation flypast over RAF Cranwell, which was holding a graduation parade, before returning to Marham to carry out several passes over the airbase. RAF Marham saw the final flight of an RAF Tornado (ZA463) on 14 March during the disbandment parade of No. IX (B) Squadron and No. 31 Squadron. The Tornado GR4 was completely retired from service on 1 April 2019, leaving the F-35 Lightning as the sole type based at RAF Marham.

Project Anvil (2016–2018)

Project Anvil was the £250 million programme of investment to provide Marham with new and upgraded infrastructure for F-35B Lightning operations. The enabling works, worth £25 million, were undertaken by Balfour Beatty and Henry Brothers, with work commencing in May 2016. These works involved demolition of hangar no.3 located on the north side of the airfield. The hangar dated from the 1930s, and was last used for Tornado depth engineering. In its place, the new Lightning Maintenance and Finish Facility was completed.

In late 2016, Wates Group was awarded a £27 million contract to construct a new squadron building for No. 617 (Dambusters) Squadron in the south west hardened aircraft shelters area. Construction began in March 2017, and was completed in spring 2018.

The Lightning National Operating Centre (NOC) was constructed on the north-west side of the airfield, near the station golf course. The NOC was designed to accommodate around 125 personnel who form the Lightning Force Headquarters and Logistics Operating Centre. In April 2016, Balfour Beatty were awarded a contract worth £82.5 million to construct a joint Lockheed Martin / BAE Systems Lightning European Maintenance Hub. The hub comprised an Integrated Training Centre (ITC), a Logistics Operations Centre, and a Maintenance and Finishing Facility (M&F) across three separate sites at Marham. The ITC was built on the south side of the airfield, and was designed to provide maintainer training and accommodate the Lightning Full Mission Simulators.

The final construction contracts, worth £135 million, were awarded to Galliford Try and Lagan Construction in June 2017. The work included construction of a new hangar to replace hangar no.1, rebuilding of Marham's runways, installation of vertical landing pads, new taxiways, and refurbishment of 90% of existing taxiways and airfield operating surfaces. Both runways were rebuilt during a three-week period (8–28 September 2017), which saw all flying cease and the laying of more than 18,000 tonnes of new asphalt. The resurfacing works were completed by June 2018. Project Anvil also included construction of servicing platforms and refurbishment of hardened aircraft shelters. Facilities for the operational conversion unit (OCU) were built between the No. 617 Squadron hardened aircraft shelters and the Integrated Training Centre.

F-35B Lightning (2018–)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced in March 2013 that the entire British fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning aircraft, which would be operated jointly by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, would be based at RAF Marham. The Lightning is a fifth-generation short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) multi-role combat aircraft designed to operate from the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers.

The first aircraft arrived at Marham on 6 June 2018, when four F-35Bs of No. 617 (Dambusters) Squadron, supported by three Voyagers and an Atlas, made an eight-hour transit flight across the Atlantic from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina. The RAF announced on 5 July 2017 that No. 207 Squadron will be the operational conversion unit (OCU) for the F-35 Lightning. No. 617 (Dambusters) Squadron, became the first operational unit on 11 January 2019. Six F-35Bs of No. 207 Squadron arrived at RAF Marham from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort on 16 July 2019, before the squadron officially reformed on 1 August 2019.

In late January 2020, F-35Bs from No. 207 Squadron departed for , becoming the first British squadron in a decade to operate jet aircraft from a British aircraft carrier in home waters. On 3 February 2020, Queen Elizabeth II visited personnel at the base and inspected the F-35B aircraft, her first official royal engagement of the new decade.

On 3 September 2020, ten United States Marine Corps (USMC) F-35Bs from VMFA-211 arrived at RAF Marham to operate alongside the Dambusters. On 22 September, both squadrons embarked on for Exercise Joint Warrior. In late October, both units participated in Exercise Crimson Warrior, the largest UK exercise in over a decade.

A replacement kennel facility for military working dogs was opened at Marham in September 2024. The facility cost £23 million and is separated into three blocks capable of accommodating 48 dogs. It includes exercise areas; a veterinary block with isolation kennels; and facilities for the RAF Police.

Future

In June 2025, the MOD announced plans to procure twelve Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning aircraft, capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons, including the B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bomb. The aircraft will form part of NATO's dual capable aircraft programme. The F-35A is expected to be based at RAF Marham. They will also be used in a training role for routine operations, as part of the No. 207 Squadron (OCU).

Role and operations

Command

Group Captain Phil Marr was appointed as RAF Marham station commander in July 2021. The station is close to the Royal Estate of Sandringham, and Queen Elizabeth II was the station's Honorary Air Commodore. The late Queen made a number of visits to the station, most recently on 3 February 2020.

The airfield moved from No. 1 Group (Air Combat) to No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support Group) on 28 April 2023, becoming the lead station for the East Region, the site is also twinned with HMNB Portsmouth.

F-35B Lightning operations

RAF Marham is home to No. 617 (Dambusters) Squadron, a front line squadron operating the F-35B Lightning, along with No. 207 Squadron; the F-35B operational conversion unit (OCU).

Expeditionary Air Wing

No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (No. 138 EAW) was formed at Marham on 1 April 2006 to create and facilitate a structure for a deployable air force.

Supported units

RAF Marham is the 'parent' RAF station for:

• RAF Holbeach — bombing range;
• RRH Neatishead (formerly parented by RAF Coltishall).

Based units

The following notable flying and non-flying units are based at RAF Marham:

Royal Air Force

;No. 1 Group (Air Combat)

• Lightning Air Wing
  • No. 207 Squadron – F-35B Lightning
  • No. 617 Squadron – F-35B Lightning ;No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support)
• Air Security Force
  • No. 2 RAF Police & Security Wing
    • No. 6 RAF Police (Lightning) Squadron Headquarters
• Combat Readiness Force
  • No. 3 RAF Force Protection Wing
    • No. 3 RAF Force Protection Wing Headquarters
    • No. 15 Squadron RAF Regiment
    • No. 2620 (County of Norfolk) Squadron (Royal Auxiliary Air Force) Regiment

British Army

;Royal Engineers

• 8 Engineer Brigade
  • 12 (Force Support) Engineer Group
    • 20 Works Group (Air Support)
      • 534 Specialist Team Royal Engineers (Airfields) (STRE)

Royal Navy

Fleet Air Arm

• 809 Naval Air Squadron – F-35B Lightning

Civilian

• RAF Marham Aero Club – Cessna 150

Heritage

Station badge and motto

RAF Marhams's badge, awarded in October 1957 when it was home to part of the RAF V-Force, features a blue-coloured bull with its head lowered and facing towards the viewer. The bull, an animal considered to be aggressive to intruders entering its area, represented Marham's nuclear deterrence role. For the same reason, the station's motto is Deter.

Gate guardians

Of the gate guardians at RAF Marham, in March 2020, its Panavia Tornado GR1 ZA407 was removed from the station entrance, to take up a role as fire fighting training aid. It was replaced on the gate by Tornado GR4 ZA614.

Marham has one other preserved aircraft on the station; an English Electric Canberra PR9 XH169, which has been on display within the main technical site since November 2007.

Former squadrons

References

Bibliography

References

1. (3 July 2009). "Defence Estates Development Plan 2009 – Annex A". [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom).
2. "RAF Marham - Commander". [[Royal Air Force]].
3. (16 July 2020). "RAF Marham (EGYM) Aerodrome Chart". UK Military AIP – No. 1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit, [[Royal Air Force]].
4. "World War One". Royal Air Force Marham.
5. "RAF Marham". [[Royal Air Force]].
6. "No 191 Squadron". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation.
7. "New Site". Royal Air Force Marham.
8. No. 38 Squadron received [[Vickers Wellington]] Mk.I bombers in December 1938, followed in April 1939 by No. 115 Squadron.{{Harvnb. Bowyer. 1990
9. (31 March 2018). "RAF 100: How Marham has played a key role". [[Eastern Daily Press]].
10. Graff, Corry. (1 June 2020). "When the RAF Buzzed Over Germany to Drown Out Nazi Broadcasts: The thundering mission that stifled the Germans during World War II.". Smithsonian Magazine.
11. "Mosquito daylight nuisance raid on Berlin – 30th January 1943". RAF Memorial Flight Club.
12. "RAF Marham, Norfolk, 1944". [[Imperial War Museum]].
13. Howell, Mark. (30 December 2009). "Project Ruby - a look at RAF Mildenhall's history". [[RAF Mildenhall.
14. "Project Ruby". RAF Marham.
15. (30 May 1946). "Bombs versus Concrete". Flight.
16. (30 May 1946). "Bombs versus Concrete". Flight.
17. (31 October 1946). "Comparative test of the effectiveness of large bombs against large reinforced concrete structures (Anglo-American bomb tests Project 'Ruby')". The Air Proving Ground Command.
18. Simmons, Graham M.. (2012). "B-29 Superfortress: Giant Bomber of World War Two and Korea". [[Pen & Sword]] Aviation.
19. "USAF Boeing B-52G 59-2583 at RAF Marham (1970)". The Aviation Photo Company.
20. (November–December 2004). "U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe, 1954–2004". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
21. "The Tornado Era". RAF Marham.
22. "Operations – United Kingdom". [[Panavia Aircraft GmbH]].
23. "No.57 Squadron". [[RAF Museum]].
24. "No.3 Squadron". [[RAF Museum]].
25. "Tornado Tactical Air Reconnaissance".
26. (15 June 2001). "RAF ends 56 years in Germany". [[BBC News]].
27. "Tanking". RAF Marham.
28. "Former RAF Coltishall timeline". Norfolk Heritage Explorer.
29. (12 September 2011). "RAF Marham servicemen celebrate Battle of Britain Week in Norwich". Evening News.
30. (20 March 2011). "Libya update". [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom).
31. (20 March 2011). "Libya as it happened: March 19".
32. (13 May 2011). "No XIII Squadron Disbandment – RAF Marham". [[Royal Air Force]].
33. (26 April 2011). "14 Squadron says goodbye with disbandment parade". [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom).
34. (2 October 2014). "RAF Tornado squadron saved from the scrap heap to bomb ISIL". [[Daily Telegraph]].
35. (17 September 2015). "Tornados get tail fin makeover".
36. (15 September 2015). "Tornado tails take to the skies". RAF Marham Facebook page.
37. Montgomery, Ben. (13 September 2015). "RAF special paint schemes 2015".
38. (13 March 2018). "12(B) Squadron bids farewell to the Tornado GR4". [[Royal Air Force]].
39. (5 February 2019). "Tornado fighter jets return to RAF Marham for retirement". [[BBC News]].
40. (19 February 2019). "Britain to celebrate iconic Tornado during farewell flypast". [[Royal Air Force]].
41. (1 March 2019). "East Anglian formation farewell to Royal Air Force icon". [[Royal Air Force]].
42. (14 March 2019). "Tornado squadrons disbandment parade". [[Royal Air Force]].
43. (14 March 2019). "The final flypast". RAF Marham (Facebook).
44. (1 April 2019). "A new era of air capability as the UK bids farewell to Tornado". [[BAE Systems]].
45. Bishop, Chris. (13 July 2017). "Project Anvil brings 1,200 jobs to Norfolk, as RAF Marham upgrade takes off". [[Eastern Daily Press]].
46. (April 2017). "News from the Lightning Basing Team". MarhamMattersOnline.co.uk.
47. (4 July 2017). "Wates' work on next generation aircraft base brings boost to Norfolk economy". [[Wates Group.
48. (2 February 2018). "Her Majesty the Queen Visits RAF Marham". [[Royal Air Force]].
49. (7 April 2016). "Balfour Beatty awarded £82.5 million F-35 contract at RAF Marham, Norfolk". [[Balfour Beatty]].
50. (21 June 2017). "£135M infrastructure contract marks milestone in UK F35 programme". [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom).
51. Bishop, Chris. (9 October 2017). "Runways ready for F35 Lightning jet at RAF Marham". Eastern Daily Press.
52. (October 2017). "News from the Lightning Basing Team". Marham Matters.
53. (4 June 2018). "Ready for F-35s: runway resurfaced at RAF Marham". [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom).
54. "Defence Estate rationalisation update". [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom).
55. (5 October 2018). "New carrier, new fighters: the F-35B is now aboard Britain's Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier". National Interest.
56. (6 June 2018). "Four RAF F-35 fighter jets land in UK". [[BBC News]].
57. (5 July 2017). "Identity of F-35 Lightning training squadron announced". [[Royal Air Force]].
58. (10 January 2019). "UK defence chief: F-35 jets are 'ready for operations'". Defence News.
59. (17 July 2019). "Second Lightning fighter jet squadron arrives in UK". [[Royal Air Force]].
60. (2 August 2019). "A small ceremony took place yesterday to mark the standing up of 207 Squadron at RAF Marham". RAF Marham (Facebook).
61. (28 January 2020). "Fighter jets fly from British carrier in home waters for the first time in a decade". [[Royal Air Force]].
62. (3 February 2020). "The Queen visits Royal Air Force Marham in Norfolk". [[The Royal Family]].
63. (4 September 2020). "US F-35 jets arrive at RAF Marham". [[Royal Air Force]].
64. (22 September 2020). "Lightning jets take off from RAF Marham to join HMS Queen Elizabeth for major exercise". [[Royal Air Force]].
65. (20 October 2020). "Largest RAF exercise in the UK for many years begins". [[Royal Air Force]].
66. (25 September 2024). "New home for Military Working Dogs at RAF Marham". [[Defence Infrastructure Organisation]].
67. Adu, Aletha. (2025-06-24). "UK to expand nuclear deterrent with US fighter jets capable of carrying warheads". The Guardian.
68. (24 June 2025). "UK to purchase F-35As and join NATO nuclear mission as Government steps up national security and delivers defence dividend".
69. (25 June 2025). "RAF F-35A marks a significant step in delivering a more lethal Integrated Force and joining NATO Nuclear Mission".
70. (27 July 2021). "New station commander takes the reins at RAF Marham". Lynn News.
71. "Queen visits RAF Marham". Lynn News.
72. "The Queen visits RAF Marham, Norfolk, in her role as Honorary Air Commodore". British Monarchy.
73. (3 February 2016). "Queen cheered on visit to RAF Marham". [[Eastern Daily Press]].
74. "No 1 Group". [[Royal Air Force]].
75. "RAF Marham became the latest Airbase to transition to Number 2 Group". RAF.
76. Cotter 2008, p. 33.
77. "RAF Marham". [[Royal Air Force]].
78. (Spring 2015). "An introduction to... 20 Works Group Royal Engineers". Lance Publishing Ltd..
79. "Marham". RAF Heraldry Trust.
80. "RAF Marham history 1954 - 1982". [[Royal Air Force]].
81. (5 March 2020). "Tornado gate guardian moved from RAF station". [[BBC News]].
82. (February 2019). "RAF Marham, Norfolk". Demobbed - out of service British military aircraft.
83. (10 September 2020). "RAF Marham: Victor jet at base entrance to be scrapped". [[BBC News]].
84. Disbanded on 28 July 2006, ending 55 years of RAF Canberra operations.