Roger Byron-Collins' Welbeck Estate and RAF Sculthorpe Norfolk

Roger Byron-Collins Welbeck Estate Group added RAF Sculthorpe to his list of 35 former MOD airfields, tech sites and married quarter housing estates he had acquired since 1978. RAF Sculthorpe remains a MOD military training facility just west of Fakenham in Norfolk. Home to many visiting airmen and support crews of the RAF and United States Air Force (USAF). The MOD retained the airfield but in 1997 Defence Estates sold the entire technical and domestic site was to Byron-Collins’ Welbeck Estate Group which included 140 single storey “tobacco houses” erected exclusively by the UK government for the USAF in the 1950s. After refurbishing the housing estate Welbeck renamed it “Wicken Village” and the houses were sold or rented many to former service personnel under a special scheme. The remaining technical site including barrack blocks, post exchange, church, guardroom, gymnasium and community centres which were to become a fledgling industrial park known as Tatterset Park.

Originally work began on RAF Sculthorpe in the spring of 1942 and was laid out as a standard RAF heavy bomber airfield with concrete runways, dispersal sites, mess facilities and accommodation. In May 1943 the first squadrons started to arrive including one from the Free French Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (SQ no. 487) and Royal Australian Air Force (SQ no. 464). Mosquito’s followed in September 1943. In January 1944 Royal Air Force No. 214 Squadron RAF moved in with Boeing Flying Fortress. In April 1944 its squadrons moved on leaving it empty for redevelopment as a Very Heavy Bomber Base. Work was completed until the spring of 1946. After a quiet period the base sprung back into use in the early 50’s in response to the Soviet cold war threat and unmarked English Electric Canberras were based at RAF Sculthorpe for secret surveillance sorties over Russia manned by RAF aircrew. NATO decided to expand their tactical nuclear force by introducing the North American B-45 Tornado to the UK, stationing about 100 of these four-engined jet bombers there.