RAF West Raynham, Norfolk, UK

A large abandoned RAF base in Norfolk with lots of buildings that remain in good condition. The station closed in 1994 and was held in reserve until 2006.

- Visit Date: July 2015
- Location: Nr Fakenham, Norfolk, England
- Status: Derelict
comments
- Public Services & Military,
- Urban Exploring
- Abandoned,
- Accommodation Block,
- Admin,
- Airman's Mess,
- Airman's Restaurant,
- Andy Kay,
- AndyK!,
- Avenue,
- Bars,
- Bathroom,
- Behind Closed Doors,
- Chair,
- Changing Rooms,
- Climbing Ropes,
- Closed,
- Control Tower,
- Corridor,
- Decay,
- Derelict,
- Dome,
- Echo Dome,
- England,
- External,
- Garage,
- Gates,
- Hall,
- Hanger,
- Ivy,
- Kitchen,
- Medical,
- Medical Block,
- Mess,
- Mess Hall,
- Norfolk,
- Officer's Mess,
- Peel,
- Peely Paint,
- Plant Room,
- RAF,
- RAF Base,
- RAF West Raynham,
- Rapier missile training dome,
- Restaurant,
- Royal Air Force,
- Runway,
- Security Office,
- Selfie,
- Sinks,
- Sports Hall,
- Squadron,
- Staircase,
- Stairs,
- Station HQ,
- Symmetrical Staircases,
- Telephone,
- Training Dome,
- Treatment Room,
- Trespassing,
- Twin Staircases,
- UE,
- UK,
- Urban Exploration,
- Urban Explorer,
- Urbex,
- Water Tower,
- Weight Training Bay,
- West Raynham,
- X-Ray
Report Age: 3 years
by AndyK!
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History of RAF West Raynham

Opening in May 1939, Royal Air Force West Raynham was used by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War.

RAF West Raynham was an expansion scheme airfield with a grass landing strip and a Fort-type lookout tower. The lookout tower was replaced with a “Control Tower for Very Heavy Bomber Stations” later in the war. The headquarters and accommodation blocks were built to the west of the landing area and bomb stores to the south-east.

In 1943 two concrete runways were built to replace the grass landing strip. One runway was 1.8km and the other 1.3km in length. The housing on the base was also expanded at the same time, providing accommodation for 2,456 men and 658 women.

The station had a Rapier missile training dome, in which a 180 degree simulation could be projected onto the inside of the dome to simulate flight in a fighter jet.

Many of the facilities were similar to those provided by the stations sister base RAF Kirton in Lindsey in Lincolnshire, including the training dome.

The station closed in 1994 but was retained as a strategic resrve. The site laid derelict until the RAF decided it was surplus to requirements in 2006 and was sold to developers in 2007. Part of the site has been used as a new housing estate, and the land around the main runway is now a solar farm.

My Visits

I have visited RAF West Raynham on a couple of occasions – the first was a few years ago with Mr T and we got round some of the site. Much more recently I visited with Spider Monkey and checked out a lot more of the place. I was pleasantly surprised with the sports hall and gym, and there was plenty left to see all over the site. The big dome was accessible on our first visit but had been completely filled with timber and boarded, so was therefore pitch black inside by the second visit.