Raf Marham

[night hawk 150]

hi

just a question to ask if anyone here in this very nice forum could point out or tell me of what type of activity RAF Marham see's both during the week and at the weekend's.

i flew into there today at around 14:15 local in a PA28-161 and just wondered if anyone had much information on the airfield.

your replies are thankfull

regards
Craig

[stiknruda]

Craig,

It's a Tornado GR3 base (mud moving variant - bombers).

Can be pretty busy but the RAF don't work at weekends normally. Notwithsatnding that the ATZ is H24.

Stik

[Legalapproach]

I believe that there is a flying club and gliding club that operate at weekends.

[niknak]

During the week it's one of the busiest RAF stations in the UK, so much so that the poor dears have to rest on the weekend, when there is regular gliding activity and the occasional flying club movement.

Avoid the ATZ, and call on 124.15, although ATC usually isn't there at the weekend someone will respond if there's anything going on.

[Pierre Argh]

stiknruda...

sorry to be abit of an anorak... there is no such thing as a GR3 (not since early days of the Harrier?).... Tornado's come in two flavours, GR4 mud-movers (found at Marham) and F3's air defence version.

niknak... who told you they were busy, someone from Marham perchance?

[vetflyer]

sorry to be abit ( MORE )of an anorak.......are they not recce versions?

[Ops and Mops]

sorry to be abit of an anorak... there is no such thing as a GR3

Perhaps you need a new anorak then...what about the Jaguar GR3?!

are they not recce versions?

The reconnaissance version is designated the GR4A.

Any more for any more?

[stiknruda]

corrections welcome, in my day it was F4 and B2!

I do know a tiny wee bit more about Jaguars!


Stik

[smarthawke]

And Marham is of course home to the true Queens of the sky, the mighty EE Canberra....

[stiknruda]

Did last week not see the last operational Canberra flight from Marham (El Adin with grass!)?

[smarthawke]

The T4 (2 seat side by side trainer + the nav in the back) had its last operational flight last week, painted in Petter blue as VN799 (to look like the prototype, Petter was the designer).

This leaves a few PR9s which are still in active service (for at least another year) taking pics over various war zones. Not much will get up to where a PR9 will go - 60000ft is a common thought. The Americans got upset when one took a pic of a U2 - from above....

The 9 has Lightning engines without reheat and will out drag a Lightning to max altitiude as the Lightning has to level off at 30k and speed up again apparently.

And of course the rumours of a 9 painted in Chilean Air Force markings, operating out of Chile during the Falklands and taking pics of the runways which the Vulcans missed may well turn out to be true one day. Oh, and it flew to Chile non-stop.....

I'll take my anorak off now....

[Cutoff]

To put my anorak on, the lightning definitely did not have to stop half way to 60000ft, one because it was too powerful and would be up to 60000ft and back on the ground before the canberra had made the end of the runway, and two if the lightning had stopped half way it would have run out of fuel!