Wethersfield today

Have a good trip and wish the old chap well from us all.

Thank you Scotmoose it gets better every month.

I’m off to Washington DC in 3 weeks as guest speaker to the 416th the first unit to occupy the base in 1944.

One of the Vetrans will be 102 in December.

Ross Stewart.
Curator

Mark I see a friend request but the mobile app does not let me access it I will do so when at the laptop.

Museum is open to visits by appointment at [email]Wethersfield.museum@outlook.com[/email]

There are usaf visitors Sept 5, 25 and early October.

We are in the process of becoming a Heritage Trust in order to preserve the history.

As for buildings and the current museum we hope to make it to 2022/3 before having to find a new home if not able to stay in the current building.

Looks like the museum is as in depth as I have been told, shame I haven’t had the opportunity to visit it as yet.
What will happen to the museum when/if the base closes in a few years as planned?

Yes just like that Steve :).

Peter, lovely story. You must of felt like you were the Lord himself with such a pass!

Rob

I did a lot of work at Wethersfield in the early ’60’s.

Now a daft story, I worked on practically all the airfields in Suffolk Essex and Norfolk in that period, and had been issued with a pass at Bentwaters, although it named the base as “81 TAC FTR WG”. The expiration date field on the pass had “Indefinite” because I was a frequent visitor. This held their nuclear reaction force and so was the highest security unit I visited. One day at Wethersfield I was measuring up work on the disused runway used to park aircraft, I had driven into the base unchallenged, and as usual had swanned straight on to the airfield. Naughty, as I should have seen someone before doing so.

So up screams a posse of US police, all official. I showed them the pass, and their attitude changed immediately, on seeing 81 TAC, from very aggressive, to “yes sir, no sir” and I was allowed to carry on unhindered.

That pass was magic for many years until one day I strayed into the Victor Alert area at Bentwaters , by mistake, where armed aircraft stood at readiness. Up screams a couple of big jeeps and I was ordered out of my car at gunpoint, made to lean against it with my hands on the roof, and thoroughly frisked. then I was taken to the local US police guardroom and put in a cell right next to the commanders office. I could hear him on the phone to his boss over on the main site saying they had arrested someone with a strange pass, he was quite excited and said he thought they had caught a NATO spy, who apparently had been sent to test their security. After that I had to get a new pass, the type I had had long been superseded, and all new ones were issued with an expiry date.

Like this one.

Indeed Ross has and very well deserved it is too. The museum has come on leaps and bounds over the last couple of years and I was amazed when I went a couple of weeks ago just how much information and how many displays they now have.

And yes you’re right about the drive down the runway, it’s frickin huge, and easy to imagine a couple of F-100’s hurtling down there!

Rob

Visited RAFW in July – Highlight for me was getting to drive full length of runway – Wish it had been a Ford F100 I had been driving at the time, as I don’t have a pilot’s licence or access to a flying North American F100. You felt like you were one of the lucky ones who took off from the runway over the years. This was my 2nd visit and the Museum has really taken off – The artifacts, models, pictures, maps and knowledge the guys have are just amazing! Ross Stewart the Curator has recently received an award – The George Bledsoe Medal for historic preservation!! This award is recognition, not only for the immense amount of work he has done, but, also the huge amount of work all of the team have put into it. If you get the opportunity, arrange to visit the Museum. RAF Wethersfield has a Facebook page, where you can see so much of the history of the airfield/base.

Thanks for that; you can make out the word “Singer” on the bit on the floor, but I thought it might be a bit more involved than that!

Here’s a few more from the tour; both the hangars and the bomb dump.

Anyone know what the simulator is?

Stuart,

It’s a …. Singer-Link GAT-1

Cheers,
Mike

Thanks Stuart 🙂 what date would the Tacan sign beside the red horse be from?

I checked today the Arresters are also still at the East end of the runway.

There was also a blue light and power box with sign on it I didn’t understand it says;

wing strobe and heater control 2×240 V supply.

I can’t upload any photos, and my profiles says i have none loaded?

“another forum member was there a bit earlier so may post some of those photos”.

That’ll be me then! Anyone know what the simulator is?

Thanks Wyvernfan, next time hopefully you will get in the hangars, another forum member was there a bit earlier so may post some of those photos.

Im still a one man band trying to build a team, hopefully get keys to new building by May, and it will all develop from there. I do visits by appointment only. It was primarily set up to manage the amount of American visitors we have.

http://store.payloadz.com/go?id=2233203

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No website as yet but there is a very active Facebook page on RAF Wethersfield which includes updates on the prospective museum.
Ross Stewart is putting a lot of time and effort into the venture and has the full support of the based authorities.
He has also produced a booklet on the history of Wethersfield which is available for a very reasonable price – the proceeds of which go towards the museum!

Going back to the emergency landing barrier it appears that it was used around 1969-70 to stop an F-100D that had not been fitted with a brake parachute by mistake. Does anyone know anymore details on this?

Rob

Does the museum have a website?

Wow

I suspect they are unique.

I only hope you can get something to go in one of them.

Tim S