2023 marks 30 years since the Army Air Corps moved in to Wattisham

During the Cold War, Wattisham was a Royal Air Force fighter station, responsible for the air defence of the UK. After the collapse of the Warsaw Pact the RAF Phantoms were removed from service and Wattisham was made ready for its new residents. Here we take a quick look at how these last 30 years have gone.

With the drawdown of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in Germany, two of the major Regiments were re-assigned to the Suffolk base. 3 Regiment from Soest, arrived at Wattisham on 9th June 1993 with their Gazelle and Lynx helicopters, with 4 Regiment from Detmold following during 1994.

A major REME unit 7 AA Battalion also moved into new custom-built facilities, providing engineering support to the flying units.

The early 1990’s had seen the Army Air Corps units being engaged in active operations in the Middle East during Op GRANBY, so they were looking forward to a settling in period in their new Suffolk surroundings after their wholesale transfer in from Germany.

However, in the summer of 1995 662 Sqn deployed out on Op HAMDEN to Croatia in support of the United Nations in the former Yugoslavia.1999 saw Op AGRICOLA take the AAC to Kosovo to support NATOs KFOR (Kosovo Peace Keeping Force), again in the former Yugoslavia region.

In 2003 AAC Lynx and Gazelle helicopters returned to Iraq for Op TELIC (2nd Gulf War).

2006 saw another stint in the former Yugoslavia for the AAC on Op OCULUS in Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of a European Peace-Keeping Force.

A long running rotation through Afghanistan on Op HERRICK from 2007 kept the units extremely busy, operating in very arduous conditions.

Apache helicopters were replacing the Lynx and Gazelles by now, providing the AAC with a much improved gunship platform.

In 2011 Op ELLAMY saw 4 Regiment operating from aboard HMS Ocean in the Mediterranean Sea against targets in Libya. This meant that Wattisham was supporting two concurrent operations in different parts of the world.

In 2019 Op CABRIT was the on-going UK contribution to NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) in Estonia.

By 2022 even newer Apache AH-64Es were being introduced at Wattisham, bringing another quantum leap in capabilities for the Army Air Corps.

So, 30 years on and the Army Air Corps has certainly made Wattisham and Suffolk their home.

Wattisham Station Heritage Museum is located on camp and is very welcoming to visitors. It houses an impressive collection of memorabilia, artefacts, images and stories about the history of Wattisham from the run-up to the Second World War, through to today. Details are available at the website here:- https:// wattishamstationheritage.com/