Royal Air Force Foulsham, more commonly known as RAF Foulsham[2] is a former Royal Air Forcestation, a military airfield, located 15 miles North-West of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, from 1942 to 1945.[3]
History
RAF Foulsham at Foulsham in Norfolk was built between 1941 and 1942 for No. 2 Group RAFBomber Command and opened in May 1942 and declared operational on 26 June 1942. Foulsham was one of the few airfields to be fitted with FIDO in 1944, a fog dispersal system which used fires at the sides of the runways.
The airfield was equipped with three tarmac and woodchip runways and 37 hardstandings.[4] It also had 9 hangars, five of which were built for storing Airspeed Horsa glider aircraft ready for D Day.
During the Second World War, 45 aircraft based at RAF Foulsham were lost. Many aircraft made emergency landings at Foulsham, including USAAFBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress F "Ruthie II", which made an emergency landing there in 1943 after an epic return flight for which co-pilot John C. Morgan was awarded the highest U.S. medal, the Medal of Honor. The airfield remained the property of the Ministry of Defence until the 1980s.
Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN978-1-85780-349-5.
Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN1-85310-053-6.