RAF Bradwell Bay

Royal Air Force Bradwell Bay or more simply RAF Bradwell Bay is a former Royal Air Force station located 9.5 miles (15.3 km) east of Maldon, Essex, England and 3.1 miles (5 km) south west of West Mersea, Essex.

RAF Bradwell Bay
Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex in England
RAF Bradwell Bay, June 2023.
Site information
Type	Royal Air Force station
Code	RB[1]
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Controlled by	RAF Fighter Command * No. 11 Group RAF RAF Second Tactical Air Force[1]
Location
RAF Bradwell Bay Shown within Essex Show map of Essex RAF Bradwell Bay RAF Bradwell Bay (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°44′07″N 000°54′06″E
Site history
Built	1940 (1940)/41
In use	November 1941 - 1946 (1946)
Battles/wars	European theatre of World War II
Airfield information
Elevation	9 metres (30 ft)[1] AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 04/22  Tarmac/Asphalt 10/28  Tarmac/Asphalt 16/34  Tarmac/Asphalt

History

Douglas Boston Mk III aircraft of No. 418 Squadron RCAF taxiing at Bradwell Bay, Essex, prior to a night intruder raid over France, September 1942 CH7210

The central area of the current airfield was first laid down before WW2 as a grass-surfaced landing ground for the nearby Dengie firing ranges off the coast before being rebuilt from 1940 onwards as an enlarged RAF station with concrete runways, hangars and ancillary buildings.^[2] The station is unique as it was the only fighter station where the Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) was used.^[3] The USAAF took aerial photographs in 1944 which were published in 2023.^[4]

Based units

• No. 3 Squadron RAF (1944)
• No. 19 Squadron RAF
• No. 23 Squadron RAF (1942)^[5]
• No. 25 Squadron RAF
• No. 29 Squadron RAF (1943)^[6]
• No. 56 Squadron RAF (1943)^[7]
• No. 64 Squadron RAF (1944)
• No. 68 Squadron RAF
• No. 85 Squadron RAF
• No. 124 (Baroda) Squadron RAF (1944)^[8]
• No. 125 (Newfoundland) Squadron RAF
• No. 126 (Persian Gulf) Squadron RAF (1944)
• No. 151 Squadron RAF (1945)^[9]
• No. 157 Squadron RAF (1943)^[10]
• No. 198 Squadron RAF (1943)^[11]
• No. 219 (Mysore) Squadron RAF (1944)^[12]
• No. 247 (China-British) Squadron RAF (1943)^[13]
• No. 264 (Madras Presidency) Squadron RAF
• No. 278 Squadron RAF (1944)^[14]
• No. 287 Squadron RAF (1945)^[15]
• No. 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron
• No. 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF (1944-45)
• No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF (1944-45)
• No. 313 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF (1944-45)
• No. 418 Squadron RCAF (1942-43)^[16]
• No. 456 Squadron RAAF (1945)
• No. 488 Squadron RNZAF (1943-44)^[17]
• No. 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron RAuxAF (1944-45)^[18]
• No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron RAuxAF (1943-44)^[19]
• No. 611 (West Lancashire) Squadron RAuxAF (1944)

Units

• No. 2 Armament Practice Camp^[20]
• No. 2 Armament Practice Station (July 1945 – February 1946)^[21]
• No. 3 Fighter Command Servicing Unit^[20]
• No. 5 Fighter Command Servicing Unit^[20]
• No. 111 (Transport) Wing RAF (November 1944 – July 1945)^[22]
• No. 134 (Czech) (Fighter) Wing (December 1944 – February 1945)^[23]
• No. 150 Airfield RAF (March – April 1944)^[24]
• No. 1332 Wing RAF Regiment^[20]
• No. 1333 Wing RAF Regiment^[20]
• No. 2727 Squadron RAF Regiment^[20]
• No. 2730 Squadron RAF Regiment^[20]
• No. 2739 Squadron RAF Regiment^[20]
• No. 2831 Squadron RAF Regiment^[20]
• No. 2840 Squadron RAF Regiment^[20]
• No. 3208 Servicing Commando^[20]
• No. 4101 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment^[20]

Current use

The memorial to aircrews from the airfield who were lost during World War 2. The reason for the Mosquito aeroplane is that many squadrons based at the airfield during WW2 had re-equipped with the type. Bradwell nuclear power station is visible in the background.

An area of the northern part of the site is occupied by the remains of the Bradwell nuclear power station, the Magnox element of which is currently being decommissioned. Several of the hangars are still used as storage by the local farmers and the control tower is now a private house. Agricultural buildings, built in the '70s and '80s on runways one and two, are now home to several local businesses. ^[25]

Bradwell Bay Preservation Group

The Bradwell Bay Preservation Group was created to preserve the memory of people that served at Bradwell Bay. They are a not for profit organisation run by local history enthusiasts, and are fundraising to build a museum near the current memorial.^[26][27]

See also

• List of former Royal Air Force stations