RAF Witchford


Royal Air Force Witchford or RAF Witchford is a former Royal Air Force station about southwest of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England and north of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.

History

A total of 99 bombers despatched on operations from Witchford were lost, 8 being Stirlings and 91 Lancasters.
RAF Witchford was initially included among the initial sites for the Project Emily deployment of PGM-17 Thor intermediate range ballistic missiles, at the instigation of the Americans in 1958, but the land was owned by the Church Commissioners, and nearby RAF Mepal was substituted. The main selection criterion was the condition of the road network connecting the bases; a grade of more than one in seventeen was considered an unacceptable risk of grounding the missile transport.
An extensive history of the station, with some coverage of RAF Mepal, is contained in 'Memories of RAF Witchford' by Barry and Sue Aldridge.

Current use

The site is now used for farming.

Citations