The base is now used to house United States Air Force personnel
Not too far from the Cambridgeshire border, in west Norfolk, is an RAF base with dating back to WW2. Today, RAF Feltwell functions like a housing estate but it was once a bomber station during the Second World War.
RAF Feltwell was built in the 1930s and has a similar layout to other nearby RAF airfields including those in Marham, Watton, and West Raynham. It was once home to several heavy bomber squadrons of the RAF during the Second World War.
Post-war, Thor Missiles were stationed here between 1958 and 1963. Since the 1960s, the base has been used by the US Air Force. In 1989, it hosted the US Air Force’s 5th Space Surveillance Squadron which tracked the physical location of emitting satellites into orbit.
They used the data collected to make sure that no satellites in orbit would crash into each other. In 2003, this work was transferred to the Misawa Air Base in Japan.
Since 2011, the main use of RAF Feltwell has been to house US Air Force personnel stationed at nearby RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath. It currently hosts the Matheis Airman Leadership School for USAF personnel in the UK and airmen stationed at the NATO Stavanger Airbase. It’s also where you will find the Army and Air Force Exchange Service’s only furniture store in the country.
On base, there’s also the only middle school for Lakenheath and Mildenhall as well as the offices for the US Department of Defense Education Activity. You’ll also find the Feltwell Golf Club which is open to personnel as well as members of the public.
