How much do you know about these 'abandoned' Suffolk airfields?

Fortifications can be found on the the county’s coast, with a history of maritime defence that goes all the way back to the the 17th century at Landguard in Felixstowe.

And further inland, there are a number of former airbases and airfields that, while no longer active, once served an important purpose during various international conflicts.

More than 30 such sites operated during World War II, with Suffolk housing the majority of the 400,000 US airmen stationed in the east in the early to mid-20th century.

Here is a brief history of just two more of those airfields, and what’s since become of them.

An overhead view of Lavenham Airfield (Image: Archant)

RAF Lavenham

Also known as RAF Cockfield, the former RAF Lavenham was an airfield during the Second World War.

Built in 1943, it was home to 2,000 and 1,400 feet runways, T2 hangars, fifty hard standings, and dispersed temporary buildings which allowed accommodation for around 2,900 personnel. It opened a year later in April 1944 and was used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force, who stationed its 487th Bombardment Group (Heavy) there. Its first commander was Hollywood screenwriter Lieutenant Colonel Beirne Lay, Jr., who was shot down on May 11, 1944, but evaded capture and returned to his post. Following his stint in the Air Force, he wrote the 1949 wartime film Twelve O'Clock High, drawing upon his own experiences while serving.

The 487th Bombardment Group (Heavy) - nicknamed ‘Gentlemen From Hell’ - arrived from New Mexico on April 1994, and flew Consolidated B-24 Liberator and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress planes, bombing airfields in France ahead of the Normandy invasion. The unit then assisted British forces near Caen and attacked German troops on D-Day (June 6, 1944). It later attacked oil refineries in Germany and assisted ground forces during the Battle of the Bulge.

A plaque on the control tower at Lavenham Airfield (Image: Archant)

In total, the 487th Bombardment Group (Heavy) group flew 185 combat missions and sortied 6,021 aircraft during their stay at Lavenham before returning to the States and becoming inactive on November 7, 1945.

The airfield closed in 1948 and has since been reverted to agricultural use. Many of its former buildings and structures are now in a state of disrepair, but the control tower is still there and features two memorial plaques.

RAF Martlesham in 1964 (Image: Archant Archives)

RAF Martlesham Heath

Playing an important role in the development of Airborne Interception radar, this former Suffolk airbase was active between 1917 and 1963.

During World War I, it was used as a Royal Flying Corps airfield and in 1917 became the home of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (originally named the Aeroplane Experimental Unit) - a research facility for British military aviation which evaluated and tested an array of wartime aircraft and equipment.

Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, the No. 22 and No. 15 Squadron RAF were stationed there during the 1920s, and the No. 64 Squadron RAF later made its way in the 1930s.

During World War II, Bristol Blenheim bombers, Hawker Hurricanes, Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Typhoons all operated from RAF Martlesham Heath. However, the base was subject to attacks during the Second World War, including an attack by the Fighter-bomber unit Erprobungsgruppe 210 on August 15, 1940, and a daylight raid by 40 Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter-bombers that following October.

In 1943, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force 356th Fighter Group made its way to RAF Martlesham. It consisted of the 359th, 360th, and 361st Fighter Squadron, and flew a range of aircrafts including Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (before they were replaced with North American P-51 Mustangs). These escorted Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers during their attacks on industrial areas, airfields, missile sites and communications.

On January 3, 1944, fighters from the 356th Fighter Group bombed a number of enemy targets including U-boat installations, barges, shipyards, aerodromes, hangars, yards, trains, trucks, oil facilities, flak towers, and radar stations. The group’s last combat mission from this Suffolk airfield was on May 7, 1945, before returning to the States and deactivating on November 10 that year.

After the Americans left, the airfield was given back to the RAF. In 1946, the Bomb Ballistics and Blind Landing Unit moved in and was there until it disbanded in 1957. An RAF Police flight resided at RAF Martlesham Heath between 1951 and 1953, and in 1958 The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was in the airfield until 1961.

In 1961, the US Air Force used the south-west corner of the airfield to set up a radio signal station. This relayed radio communication between the US Air Force and other US bases with those in Iceland, the UK, Germany, and Italy.

While no longer an active airfield following its closure on April 25, 1963, RAF Martlesham Heath’s control tower is now a museum.