Qualla: RAF Coltishall

RAF Coltishall: Introduction

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit DI Wyman, CC BY-SA 2.0. The station motto was Aggressive in Defence — a phrase that suited Coltishall perfectly. From 1939 until 2006, the airfield 10 miles north-northeast of Norwich put fighters into the air for every major conflict and Cold War mission the Royal Air Force faced. Douglas Bader flew Hurricanes from here in 1940. Supersonic English Electric Lightnings scrambled from the same runways in the 1960s. SEPECAT Jaguars deployed to the Gulf War from this base in 1991. When the last Jaguar lifted off on 3 April 2006, it closed a chapter that had begun before the Battle of Britain.

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Image: DI Wyman | CC BY-SA 2.0

RAF Coltishall: Hurricanes and a Legend

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit DI Wyman, CC BY-SA 2.0. Work began on the airfield — then called Scottow Aerodrome — before the war. It was designed initially as a bomber station, but converted to a fighter base before it entered service. The first aircraft movement was a Bristol Blenheim IV flown by Sergeant RG Bales and Sergeant Bar...

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Image: DI Wyman | CC BY-SA 2.0

RAF Coltishall: Cold War and the Jaguars

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit allen watkin from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0. Through the postwar decades, Coltishall was home to de Havilland Mosquitos, Gloster Javelins, and from 1960, the English Electric Lightning — the RAF's first genuinely supersonic interceptor. No. 74 Squadron received the Lightning F.1 at Coltishall in June 1960, making it the fir...

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Image: allen watkin from London, UK | CC BY-SA 2.0

RAF Coltishall: After the Jaguars

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Northmetpit, Public domain. The decision to close Coltishall came when the Ministry of Defence ruled it would not receive the Eurofighter Typhoon. With no future aircraft type assigned, the station was scheduled to shut by December 2006 but closed a month early and £10 million under budget. The disbandment ...

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Image: Northmetpit | Public domain