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Wartime role
RAF Tuddenham was a wartime airfield at Suffolk, near Mildenhall and Bury St Edmunds. During the Second World War it served as a Bomber Command sub-station supporting heavy bomber operations and Lancaster finishing training. operational from October 1943; remained in RAF use through the end of the war and into the immediate post-war period.
Like most British wartime stations, RAF Tuddenham functioned as a small, self-contained town. Beyond the runways were technical areas for maintenance and armament, dispersed hardstandings to reduce losses during raids, and domestic sites where airmen, WAAFs or naval personnel lived, trained, and waited for the next tasking. On operational nights or intensive training days the routine revolved around briefings, meteorology, aircraft servicing, and a tight rhythm of take-off and recovery windows.
Who flew from here
Aircraft commonly associated with wartime flying here: Short Stirling, Avro Lancaster.
Records for RAF Tuddenham show a mix of operational and support activity. Some units were long-term residents with a stable identity, while others arrived as detachments – often for conversion training, gunnery work-ups, dispersal, or to cover a specific operational requirement. That pattern is typical of the RAF’s wartime system: stations were constantly re-tasked as the air war shifted from defence to offence, from the Battle of the Atlantic to the bomber offensive, and later to preparations for the invasion of Northwest Europe.
- No. 3 Lancaster Finishing School
- No. 90 Squadron (Stirling III, then Lancaster I/III)
- No. 138 Squadron (Lancaster I/III)
- No. 149 Squadron (Lancaster)
- No. 186 Squadron (Lancaster)
- No. 207 Squadron (Lancaster)
- No. 281 Maintenance Unit
Key moments
Tuddenham’s wartime value combined operations with ‘polishing’ crews: finishing schools refined tactics, formation discipline, and the practicalities of flying and fighting the Lancaster.
The mixture of operational squadrons and training units created a busy pattern of night take-offs, test flights and continuation training.
How the station ‘worked’: aircraft were usually kept on dispersal pans connected by a perimeter track. Crews moved between briefing rooms, parachute/oxygen sections, and the flight line; ground crew handled refuelling, re-arming and engine changes. The watch office coordinated flying, and on busy days the airfield operated like a factory – turning time, fuel and maintenance hours into sorties.
After the war
Although later uses changed the site, Tuddenham’s wartime chapter is a clear example of how Bomber Command built a whole ecosystem around the Lancaster.
Landscape and flying conditions: RAF Tuddenham’s geography influenced operations. Prevailing winds dictated runway selection, while local terrain and weather shaped training and safety. In winter, short daylight and low cloud increased the workload; in summer, longer hours enabled intensive training programmes and high sortie rates. These practical factors are often reflected in accident reports and ORBs, which mention crosswinds, icing, fog, and diversion landings.
People and local impact: wartime stations drew in thousands of personnel and contractors. Nearby villages saw billets, transport convoys, blackout rules, and the sudden arrival of foreign accents – from Commonwealth aircrew to American units. Many airfields formed strong links with local communities through dances, sports, and fundraising, but also through tragedy when aircraft crashed or when raids hit technical sites and domestic camps.