FOULSHAM
Work commenced in 1941 on this airfield, situated 15 miles north-west of Norwich in the parishes of Wood Norton and Foulsham, and a half mile north of the latter village. Laid out with three concrete runways, O1-19 of 1,900 yards, 08-26 of 1,400 yards and 15-33 of 1,350 yards, it had 37 hardstandings of the pan type spaced along an encirclmg perimeter track. The main technical area, between runway heads 26 and 33 on the east side of the airfield, eventually had seven hangars, all T2s except the most northerly, which was a B1. There was another T2 on the south-west side, between runways O1 and 15 near Wades Farm, and two more T2s on the south-east corner between O1 and 33 by Millhill Farm. Five of the nine hangars were built during 1943-44 for use by No. 12 Maintenance Unit for assembling and storing Horsa gliders, a surprising use for a planned operational bomber station. Domestic sites, for 2,135 males and 355 females were dispersed in farmland south of the Skitfield road to the east of the airfield, and the bomb stores were off the south-west side. Kirk & Kirk Ltd are believed to have been responsible for erection of many of the buildings.
Construction work was fairly complete by the late summer of 1942. In October, Foulsham became the operational base of the first two RAF squadrons equipped with the North American Mitchell, Nos. 98 and 180. No. 98 had a previous existence in the First World War but No. 180 was a new birth when both units were given substance at West Raynham a few weeks before the move into Foulsham. It took three months to work up on these aircraft and the first operation from Foulsham - an attack on an oil storage plant in Belgium - conducted on January 22, 1943, met stiff opposition from ground fire and fighters. Of the 12 aircraft involved, three were missing, including that of the CO of No. 180 Squadron. This operation had been conducted at low-level, a form of attack that changed to bombing from medium altitudes at an optimum 10,000 feet. With No. 2 Group's transfer to the Second Tactical Air Force on June 1, 1943, the Mitchell's days at Foulsham were numbered and in midAugust they moved south to Dunsfold. The station then came under No. 3 Group administration. During service with Bomber Command, ten Mitchells from Foulsham were lost during operations. Foulsham was then used during No. 3 Group's switch from Stirlings to Lancasters. In September, No. 514 Squadron formed at the station and No. 1678 Heavy Conversion Flight arrived to supply crews. The squadron became active on the night of November 3, 1943, but flew only six raids before the Lancasters moved to Waterbeach later the same month. The reason was the formation of No. 100 Group and its deployment in the area once the domain of No. 2 Group. The electronic surveillance unit, No. 192 Squadron, then moved in from Feltwell with a mixture of Wellingtons, Mosquitos and the odd Halifax. The squadron plus a specialist flight were the only tenants at Foulsham until December 1944 when No. 462 Squadron with Halifaxes was moved from No. 4 to No. 100 Group to increase its capability.
In 1944 Foulsham was selected to have the FIDO fog-dispersal system installed on its main runway, the only airfield in Norfolk county so endowed. This resulted in many visitors from other stations arriving during periods of fog or poor visibility.
A total of 45 Bomber Command aircraft failed to return or were lost in crashes during operations flown from Foulsham; ten being Mitchells, two Wellingtons, 26 Halifaxes, five Mosquitos and two Lancasters. Nos. 192 and 462 Squadrons were disbanded at the station in August and September 1945 respectively. At first, the airfield was retained on a care and maintenance basis and after the RAF personnel were withdrawn it was kept intact on reserve status. During the early fifties it was used by USAF ground units and it was not disposed of until the 1980s at which time it was still reasonably intact. One of the T2 hangars has been used to hold bulk grain for an agricultural merchant; another is used by the Department of the Environment to store equipment and yet another by a warehousing company. The control tower has been demolished but portions of the taxiway are used by light aircraft.
