RAF Wattisham

 ( Airfields Of The Viii Fighter Command In Suffolk ) 

The 4th Strategic Air Depot installation was officially named Hitcham, which was actually the name of a village two miles to the north-west of the site, to differentiate it from the fighter station using the same airstrip. The base was, by 1944, responsible for the maintenance of all American fighters in the UK.

The group consisted of the following squadrons:

• 434th Fighter Squadron ( L2).
• 435th Fighter Squadron ( J2).
• 436th Fighter Squadron ( 9B).

The 479th FG escorted heavy bombers during operations against targets on the continent, strafed targets of opportunity, and flew fighter-bomber, area and counter-air patrol missions. Engaged primarily in escort activities and fighter sweeps until the D-Day in June 1944.

The group patrolled the beachhead during the invasion, strafed and dive-bombed troops, bridges, locomotives, railway cars, barges, vehicles, airfields, gun emplacements, flak towers, ammunition dumps, power stations and radar sites while on escort or fighter-bomber missions as the Allies drove across France during the summer and autumn of 1944. The unit flew area patrols to support the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July and the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September.

The 479th Fighter Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for the destruction of numerous aircraft on airfields in France on 18 August and 5 September and during aerial battle near Münster on 26 September. The unit continued escort and fighter-bomber activities from October to mid-December 1944. It converted to the P-51 Mustang between 10 September and 1 October, using both types on missions until conversion was completed.

The group participated in the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945) by escorting bombers to and from targets in the battle area and by strafing transportation targets while on escort duty. From February to April 1945 it continued to fly escort missions, but also provided area patrols to support the airborne attack across the Rhine in March.

The unit returned to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, in November 1945, and was inactivated in December 1945. Among the notable pilots of the 479th were its second group commander, Col. Hubert Zemke, and an flying ace, Major Robin Olds.

Legacy The United States Air Force (USAF) 479th Tactical Fighter Wing at George AFB, California, (1952–1971) was bestowed the lineage, honours and history of the World War II USAAF 479th Fighter Group. The 479th TFW deployed personnel and aircraft to Key West NAS, Florida, in response to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and deployed squadrons frequently to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Later, the 479th Tactical Training Wing at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, (1977–1991) provided pilot training.

The 479th Fighter Group at Moody AFB, Georgia, (2000–2007) and since 2009 at NAS Pensacola, Florida, currently as the 479th Flying Training Group.

The Air Ministry Servicing Development Unit formed here on 1 January 1947 with a number of aircraft including the Avro York I, Hawker Tempest V, Gloster Meteor F.4 & T.7, Avro Anson T.20 and the de Havilland Vampire F.3. The squadron disbanded on 1 June 1950 at RAF Wittering. In the mid 1950s, the Black Arrows display team 111 squadron operated out of Wattisham, flying Hawker Hunters.

In 1949, new runways were laid, and the following year No. 152 Squadron arrived with Meteor NF.12 night fighters, In 1954, , from No. 257 and 263 Squadrons, the UK's next generation fighter after the Meteor, arrived to secure Wattisham's future as a major fighter station. The Station Commander, Group Captain Edwards, had artificial legs, like Douglas Bader before him. The Wing Commander was one of the four Sowerey brothers, all of whom held senior RAF posts. The Officer Commanding No. 257 Squadron was Major Howard E Tanner, a USAF exchange pilot.

There was also a Station Flight which received and serviced visiting aircraft and also had its own aircraft for various purposes. These included a de Havilland Vampire, a de Havilland Dragon Rapide and a Hunter used by the Station Flight commander.

The Black Arrows aerobatic display team, flying the Hunter, moved to Wattisham from RAF North Weald with air displays becoming a regular feature from 1959.

In the late 1950s the Cold War had begun to intensify and so the RAF began to modernise Britain's air defence. Thus, in 1960, the station was equipped with the very latest in British fighter aircraft: the English Electric Lightning. The capabilities of this aeroplane and Wattisham's location near the coast proved invaluable in countering the threats faced from the east. The airfield quickly became a preeminent front-line airbase, possibly the most important in the United Kingdom. Throughout the Cold War RAF Wattisham operated 'QRA' or Quick Reaction Alert Sheds where live armed jets were on standby at all times. The station also functioned as the site of a major 'Blacktop' diversion runway.