Sculthorpe Training Area
| Sculthorpe Training Area previously RAF Sculthorpe | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near Fakenham, Norfolk in England | |||||||||||
1946 aerial photograph of RAF Sculthorpe | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force flying station (former), relief military training airfield (current) | ||||||||||
| Code | SCTH (SPEC 024 Code) | ||||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence (MoD) | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force (1943–1945) United States Air Force (1952–1992) | ||||||||||
| Open to the public | airfield & MOD training areas closed to public | ||||||||||
| Condition | airfield in continued (limited) military use | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°50′54″N 000°45′38″E / 52.84833°N 0.76056°E | ||||||||||
| Grid reference | TF 85993 31439 | ||||||||||
| Area | 539 hectares (1,332 acres) | ||||||||||
| Height | 65 metres (213 ft) | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1942 | ||||||||||
| Built by | Bovis Construction | ||||||||||
| In use | 15 January 1943 – 2 October 1992 | ||||||||||
| Fate | airfield retained by MoD; now known as Sculthorpe Training Area; technical and administrative buildings, and base housing sold off | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: | ||||||||||
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Sculthorpe Training Area, previously Royal Air Force Sculthorpe / (RAF Sculthorpe), is a military training site administered by the Defence Training Estate, part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). It is approximately 3 miles (4.8 kilometres) west of Fakenham in the county of Norfolk in England.
The training area occupies the larger part of the former RAF Sculthorpe, a military airbase used by RAF bombers in the later stages of the Second World War (1942–45), by United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) units from 1952 to 1962, and thereafter temporary visiting airmen and support crews of both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Air Force (USAF) until its closure as an active airfield on 2 October 1992. In 1997, the Ministry of Defence sold the technical, domestic and administrative site, but retained the airfield itself, including the runways, taxiways, dispersal areas and the adjacent dispersed secure weapon storage area.