RAF Oulton

RAF Oulton
Oulton, near Aylsham, Norfolk in England
Aerial photograph of Oulton airfield 20 April 1944
RAF Oulton Shown within Norfolk
Coordinates	52°47′57″N 001°10′53″E
Type	Royal Air Force Satellite station
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Site history
Built	1940 (1940)
In use	1940-1952 (1952)
Garrison information
Garrison	No. 2 Group RAF No. 3 Group RAF No. 100 Group RAF
Airfield information
Elevation	47 metres (154 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 06/24 1,220 metres (4,003 ft) Concrete 12/30 1,760 metres (5,774 ft) Concrete 16/34 1,350 metres (4,429 ft) Concrete

Royal Air Force Oulton or more simply RAF Oulton is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Aylsham, Norfolk and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) northwest of Norwich, Norfolk, England.

The airfield was built over 1939 and 1940 as a bomber airfield with T2 type hangars and grass runways, the facility operating as a satellite airfield of nearby RAF Horsham St. Faith between July 1940 and September 1942 after which it operated as a satellite airfield of RAF Swanton Morley.

History

In September 1943, Oulton was transferred from 2 Group to 3 Group and closed to flying for re-construction as a heavy bomber base with concrete runways, taxiways and parking areas. The work was completed in April 1944 and the airfield transferred to No. 100 Group RAF.^[1] Flying operations ceased at the end of July 1945, after which it was taken over by RAF Maintenance Command which used it to store de Havilland Mosquitos until November 1947.^[2]

RAF Oulton Order of Battle

Squadron	Aircraft	Dates at RAF Oulton
114	Blenheim Mk.IV	July 1940 to March 1941[2][3]
18	Blenheim Mk.IV	April 1941 to July 1941 and November to December 1941[1]
139	Blenheim Mk.IV	December 1941 to February 1942[1][2]
1428 Hudson Conversion Flight	Hudson Mk.III	December 1941 to May 1942[1]
236	Beaufighter Mk.IC	July 1942 to September 1942[1]
88	Boston Mk.III and IIIA	September 1942[1] to March 1943^[citation needed]
21	Ventura Mk.I and II	April 1943 to September 1943[1]
No. 1699 (Bomber Support) Flight RAF	Fortress	May 1944[1] to June 1945^[citation needed]
214	Fortress	May 1944 to July 1945[1]
803rd Bomb Squadron	Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator	May 1944 to August 1944[1]
223	Flying Fortress and Liberator	August 1944 to July 1945[1]

Additional Units

^[4]

• No. 18 Heavy Glider Maintenance Section
• No. 274 Maintenance Unit RAF
• No. 1428 (Ferry Training) Flight RAF
• No. 2873 Squadron RAF Regiment
• No. 2874 Squadron RAF Regiment

Current use

The site is now farmland.^[4]

Museum

The RAF Oulton Museum is housed on the Blickling Hall estate, belonging to the National Trust.^[5]

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations

References

Citations

1. Bowyer 1990, p. 172.
2. Air Pictorial October 1967, p. 373.
3. Bowyer 1990, pp. 171–172.
4. "Oulton". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
5. "Blickling Estate's RAF Oulton museum". National Trust. Retrieved 8 November 2019.

Bibliography

• Bowyer, J.F. Action Stations 1: Wartime military airfields of East Anglia 1939. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Limited, Second edition, 1990. ISBN 1-85260-377-1.
• "Your Questions Answered...Oulton, Norfolk". Air Pictorial, October 1967. p. 373.

External links

• Map and aerial photos