A military airfield used from World War Two onwards. The airfield was built in 1938 by John Laing and Sons as part of the Royal Air Force's Pre-War expansion scheme. There was a range of permanent military buildings, including an arc of four aircraft hangars (either Type C or Type L). It opened in 1939 and was initially a Royal Air Force bomber station for 107 and 110 Squadrons. 110 Squadron carried out the first bombing raid on the German fleet at Wilhelmshaven. In 1942 the airfield was transferred to the United States Army 8th Air Force, as USAAF Station 377. The Americans began to redevelop the airfield with new hard runways for use by bombers but the priorities were changed and the work was not completed as fully planned: the airfield became an Air Depot for serving and repairing aircraft, and to this end a technical area to the south of the airfield with a taxiway and Type T2 aircraft hangars was built on the south side of the airfield. Additional accommodation for personnel in the form of Nissen huts were added. The airfield also had a fighter unit, the 479th Fighter Group, nicknamed "Riddle's Raiders". During the Cold War the airfield returned to the Royal Air Force and was altered, including the laying of a new runway in 1950. It was used for the British "V -bomber" jet force and later for a Bloodhound Missile site: for further details of the latter site please see TM 05 SW 24. In 1993 the airfield transferred to the British Army Air Corps.