RAF Barton Bendish
Encyclopedia
RAF Barton Bendish was an airfield for the Royal Air Force
located on the far side of the Downham Market
to Swaffham
road from its parent station, RAF Marham
. It was built because at the outbreak of the Second World War it was considered important for bomber
stations to have a satellite airfield. The only aircraft known to have operated out of Barton Bendish were Vickers Wellington
bombers from Marham. It was abandoned in 1941, as it was considered too close to the parent station to be developed further.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
located on the far side of the Downham Market
Downham Market
Downham Market is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, some 20 km south of the town of King's Lynn, 60 km west of the city of Norwich and the same distance north of the city of Cambridge....
to Swaffham
Swaffham
Swaffham is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich.The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,935 in 3,130 households...
road from its parent station, RAF Marham
RAF Marham
Royal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....
. It was built because at the outbreak of the Second World War it was considered important for bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
stations to have a satellite airfield. The only aircraft known to have operated out of Barton Bendish were Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
bombers from Marham. It was abandoned in 1941, as it was considered too close to the parent station to be developed further.
External links
See also
- Royal Air Force station
- List of RAF stations
- List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons