RAF FOULSHAM- NORFOLK-DEC10

[simonix]

Had a little time to kill today, so had an investigate around the back of the old Foulsham air base, it was Royal Air Force and opened on the 26th June 1942, and was home to the No 2 Group Bomber Command. This air field was one of the few that were to try FIDO which was a fog dispersal system, which was basically fires down each side of the runway. There is more to see and I will return after I have done more investigation on the base layout, there are at leat two T2 hangers still there and many out buildings with plenty of concrete still around. The old fire station still exists where a film company film adult type films! I am definitely going back.

T2 and the old Fire Station!


Pucker air raid shelter.


Awsome how the trees have taken over.


Nature is now reclaiming the building.


Pillbox at one entrance, still some trenching apparent.


Never seen one like this.


The neatest brick work inside I have ever seen.

Thanks. I will post more once I have returned.

[boxfrenzy]

NIce one. Interesting about the fog dispersal system too

[DJ OSKA]

RAF Langham also experimented with FIDO, and also has one of them air raid shelters remaining!
That pillbox looks very odd...
Something tells me it's a more recent build...
That brickwork hasn't aged like the rest of them, which is quite odd, considering the woodland location of it...

When you're next up for a return, I may come with you, as this is another site on my list... I've driven past it and seen photos of it, but never had a closer look to date.

[DJ OSKA]

Visited RAF Foulsham yesterday with Sebley Boom (Shadow_ops)...

A few T2 Hangars remaining, although most are re-clad with smaller doorways on the end as they are now used as potato and grain stores.

The site on the Eastern side of the Foulsham road has some nice 1940s hutting still there, although we didnt enter as there were guard dogs about and also the sign on the gate said "Tony Martin Security" and I didn't fancy my head blown off...

We approached a local chap who runs the small poultry farm where the old MT section was. On the plot next to him is the old Fire Tender shed (1940s Maycrete building) which is looked after by another bloke who lives on the site.

Part of the Guestwick road is the actual airfield perimeter track- you can see the concrete squares either side of the re-surfaced roadway.
The runways are difficult to photograph, but the Bernard Matthews empire still have broiler houses built on the runway.

As for that nice pillbox, Simon...
It hides well in the traffic island! Difficult to photograph with all the foliage around it this time of year.

Hopefully Sebley (shadow_ops) will follow with more photos...

[SaltGeorge]

Is this the pillbox that eDOB has down as:

Type of site
PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/22)

Location
Amongst trees at fork in road, Duke House Bridge, Wood Norton.

Area
Wood Norton, Norfolk, England

Grid reference
TG 0359 2710

Period
WW2

Condition
Bad

Materials
Unknown

Recorder
Kent, Peter (Norfolk Defensive Structures Survey)

Defence grouping
Eastern Command: II Corps Line A - The line ran from Beccles in Suffolk to Norwich (where it joined demolition belt FIII), thence via Fakenham to reach the coast at Burnham Market. Not a conventional stop line but one centred around main roads offering no definite obstacle (the River Wensum run more or less between Norwich and Fakenham). All towns forming way points on the line and villages within a mile either side were to be prepared for defence.
RAF Foulsham defences - Ground defences

DOB site reference:
S0001328

Event:
Construction, In the period 1940 1941
Field Visit, In 1990/07

Certainly doesn't look in bad condition.. but DOB doesn't record any of the airfield buildings either, I doubt a field visit was ever carried out. There's definitely plenty of opportunity for the Norfolk Chapter to add detail to the DOB database.

[Shadow_Ops]

Chris as soon as i get some pics online they shall be linked (only just found this thread)