Ely’s Air Cadets enjoyed a special visit to Wattisham Army Air Corps Airfield this half term.
Formerly known as Royal Air Force Station Wattisham, 11 cadets were greeted by an Army Air Corps Major and an Apache attack helicopter pilot who gave them a tour of the squadron’s maintenance hangar.
Following an insight into what is known as The Army’s “Flying Tank”, the cadets were taken onto the Airfield to view one of the base’s state-of-the-art Apache helicopters taxing and taking off as part of a training mission.
Wattisham Airfield is currently home to fourteen AH-64E Apache aircraft, with 36 more arriving in the summer.
They have a top speed of 186mph and can detect more than 250 potential targets up to a range of 10 miles.
In addition to meeting with some of the Army’s highly trained technicians, cadets visited the base’s Survival Equipment Section which is staffed by a detachment of Royal Air Specialist technicians known as Squippers.
The RAF Squippers gave the cadets a demonstration of the equipment that the base’s helicopter pilots currently use and will use in the future when taking to the skies on missions.
They were even allowed to try on the equipment and experience how pilots can be kept alive in emergency situations.
Following a lunch provided by Army chefs, the cadets visited the Wattisham Station Heritage Museum where they were given an insight into the history of the base through the experiences of those who lived and worked there.
Cadets concluded the day with a visit to the station’s Cold War Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS) to see the range of aircraft that were previously stationed on the base.
Cadets also got to sit in the cockpit of an iconic 20th Century jet fighter. Weighing in at 25 tons, the McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom could travel at speeds of up to 1,500mph.
Flight Lieutenant Donoghue said: “The day was extremely interesting and all the cadets who attended learned a tremendous amount of the base's history from its construction in the 1930's, through the Second World War and the Cold War up to 1993 when the Royal Air Force and the Phantom jet fighters finally left the base for the last time and The Army Air Corps moved in with their Helicopters.
“The passion and professionalism of all those the cadets met was inspiring and they would highly recommend organisation groups to contact the Wattisham Heritage Centre to arrange a visit.”
The history of Wattisham Airfield
Opening in April 1939, the Airfield played a vital part in the history of RAF Wattisham and was used as one of its main bases in the first years of World War II
Housing Hunters, Phantoms and Meteors, Wattisham Airfield continued its service as part of the RAF’s efforts during the Cold War.
It was at the frontline of the UK’s aerial defence at the height of the Cold War, acting as one of several airfields that housed RAF Quick Reaction Alert aircraft.
In addition to combat aircraft, Wattisham Airfield housed 22 Squadron Royal Air Force until 2015 when its iconic Search & Rescue Sea King helicopters were sold off by the Ministry of Defence.
October 2000 marked the arrival of Suffolk Police’s black and yellow Eurocopter EC.135. Stored in one of the vacant (HAS), the main building housed a workshop and eventually aircraft for Essex and Cambridge Police would be serviced here.
Now, the airfield is home to all front-line Apache AH-64E helicopters. From April 2020, it began operating under the Army’s 1st Aviation Brigade and Joint Helicopter Command.
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