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RAF Marham, Norfolk, United Kingdom, 2018-. 450mm(W) x 450mm(H) 17inches(W) x 17inches(H).
RAF Marham can trace its history back to 1916 when it started service as a night landing ground near RNAS Narborough, and also as an airfield to launch defensive operations against German Zeppelin attacks against Norfolk. The first unit stationed here was No. 51 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps flying Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 and B.E.12's with Avro 504K's used in the night training role.
After the Great War, the base became redundant, but was re-activated in 1937 after expansion work which started in 1935. The first unit to be based there was No. 38 Squadron, arriving in May 1937 and flying the Fairey Hendon. The following month, 38 Squadron was joined by the newly reformed No.115 Squadron flying the Handley Page Harrow.
In December 1938, No. 38 Squadron replaced its Hendons with Vickers Wellington Mk. I's, and in April the following year, No. 115 Squadron was also re-equipped with the Wellington. November 1940, saw the arrival of No. 218 Squadron, initially flying Wellingtons, but re-equipping with the Short Stirling in December 1941. No. 105 Squadron arrived in 1941 equipped with the de Havilland Mosquito. By this time, Marham was one of the major RAF Bomber Command bases in eastern England, launching Pathfinder missions against German and other targets in Europe. Marham was closed in 1944 for major refurbishment and construction of new concrete runways and support areas.
The base remained closed for the duration of the war, but by 1946 had reopened and was used as a test facility during Project Ruby. This was a joint Anglo-American test to ascertain the feasibility of penetration weapons against heavily fortified and protected targets. Notable weapons used in this test were the British 22,000b free fall Grand Slam and US 4,500b rocket assisted Disney bomb. No. 15 Squadron RAF flying modified Avro Lancaster's were used jointly with USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress'. Initial trials were against the (by then) defunct German Nordsee III U-Boat pens at Heligoland, with the Valentin submarine pens at Bremen and the U-Boat assembly facilities at Farge also being targets.
During the late 1940's and early 1950's, Marham was home to the USAAF's 2nd, 22nd, 43rd, 307th and 509th Bombardment Groups flying Boeing B-29's and B-50's. In 1950, the first of seventy Boeing Washington B.I's arrived to equip No. 90 Squadron. During the 1950's, Marham began to operated Handley Page Victors and Vickers Valiants as part of the V-Force and early air-to-air refuelling operations. That base was also instrumental in the Falkland Islands campaign of 1982. Now. 55 and 57 Squadrons were stationed at Marham flying Victor K1 and K2's.
In the early 1980's, it was decided that Marham was to become home to the Panavia Tornado GR.1's of the (then to be reformed) No. 617 Dambusters Squadron. Twenty four hardened aircraft shelters were constructed each able to house a single Tornado and four WE.177 nuclear bombs. This was to be the last free fall nuclear weapon deployed by the RAF, being introduced in the mid-1960's and phased out of service in 1998. No. 617 became operational at Marham in January 1983, with No. 27 Squadron, also flying Tornados, arriving in August of the same year.
No. 57 Squadron disbanded in June 1986 leaving No. 55 Squadron to carry on as the only Victor K.2 unit at Marham. During the spring of 1987, the Tornado Weapons Conversion Unit (TWCU) was deployed to Marham for a six month period whilst refurbishment of its home base at RAF Honington was carried out, and the following year, No. 42 Squadron relocated it's Nimrod MR2's to Marham whilst repair work was being carried out on its home base at RAF St. Mawgan.
In December 1991, No. 2 Squadron was relocated to Marham from RAF Laarbruch with its Tornado GR.1A's. No. 27 Squadron was disbanded in September 1993, followed by No. 55 Squadron standing down the following month. These unit disbandments saw the arrival of Canberra PR.7 and PR.9's of No. 39 Squadron from RAF Wyton.
By the end of the 1990's and into the early 2000's, the RAF began to leave Germany. No. IX (B) Squadron was relocated from RAF Bruggen in July 2001, with No. 31 Squadron arriving in August of the same year. The Tornado was finally phased out of RAF service in 2019.
In 2013, it was decided that Marham would be the base for the new Lockheed-Martin F-35B Lightning II and would re-equip No. 617 and 207 Squadrons, the latter which would be the Lightning II Operational Conversion Unit (OCU). Marham underwent extensive upgrade and rebuild as part of Project Anvil in 2016 to 2018 to prepare for arrival of the new aircraft. The construction of new facilities, taxiways, vertical landing pads and upgrades of runways were carried out as part of the £82.5 million project.
The first four Lightning II's crewed by 617 Squadron pilots, along with three Airbus A330 Voyager and a single Airbus A400M Atlas, arrived from MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina in June 2018. 617 Squadron became fully operational on the Lightning II in January 2019. In July 2019, a further six F-35B's arrived from Beaufort crewed by No. 207 Squadron pilots. This unit became operational in August 2019.
F-35B's of No. 207 Squadron departed Marham in January 2020 for local operations aboard the new H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth (RO8) carrier and for inspection by HM Queen Elizabeth II. This carrier is actually named in honour of H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth, a Royal Navy dreadnought that saw service during the Great War, and which itself was named after Queen Elizabeth I. Not as some mistakenly believe after the current serving British monarch.
In September 2020, No. 617 Squadron embarked on a joint exercise with F-35B's from VMFA-211 aboard H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth for Exercise Joint Warrior.
Main aircraft operated for the period (2018-) given:
Lockheed-Martin F-35B Lightning II. Shown is a Lightning II operated by No. 617 Dambusters Squadron.
GPS- 52éº38'47.26" N 0éº33'19.02" E
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