RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force station near the town of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England located 4.7 miles (7.6 km) north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk and 8.3 miles (13.4 km) west of Thetford, Norfolk. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel. The host wing is the 48th Fighter Wing (48 FW), also known as the Liberty Wing, assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA).
The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name. Since activation at Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base, France, on 10 July 1952, Liberty Wing has been one of the premier fighter wings of the United States Air Forces in Europe, spending over 50 years as part of USAFE. The 48 FW has nearly 5,700 active-duty military members, 2,000 British and U.S. civilians, and includes a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU) at nearby RAF Feltwell.
The tactical squadrons of the 48th Operations Group are the 492d Fighter Squadron (F-15E), the 493d Fighter Squadron (F-15C/D), the 494th Fighter Squadron (F-15E). All Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code “LN”.
In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron’s HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue helicopters. The 56th and 57th Rescue Squadrons will re-locate to Aviano Air Base starting 2017. RAF Lakenheath and its sister base RAF Mildenhall are the two main U.S. Air Force bases in United Kingdom, and 48th Fighter Wing is the only U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter wing in U.K. and also in Europe.
Following French president Charles de Gaulle’s insistence in 1959 that all non-French nuclear-capable forces should be withdrawn from his country, the USAF began a redeployment of its North American F-100-equipped units from France. The 48th TFW left its base at Chaumont AB, France on 15 January 1960, its aircraft arriving at Lakenheath that afternoon. When the first F-100D touched down on RAF Lakenheath’s runway, the landing symbolised a return for the Statue of Liberty Wing. Almost 16 years had passed since the World War II Ninth Air Force 48th Fighter Group’s arrival at RAF Ibsley, England, for the D-Day invasion.
In conjunction with this transfer, control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from Strategic Air Command back to USAFE. As SAC elements began their departure, the 3910th Air Base Group began its transition of handing RAF Lakenheath’s facilities and real estate over to the 48th’s Combat Support Group elements.
The period between 1972 and 1977 can be described as a five-year aircraft conversion. Beginning in late 1971, the 48th TFW started its conversion to the McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II, with the aircraft being transferred from the 81st TFW at RAF Bentwaters. The conversion to the F-4D took several years, with the last F-100 departing in August 1974. With the arrival of the Phantoms, the F-4s adopted a common tail code of “LK”. This tail code lasted only a few months as in July and August 1972 the 48th TFW further recoded to “LN”. The F-4D carried squadron identifying fin cap colours of blue, yellow and red (492d, 493d, and 494th respectively). The F-4’s service with the 48th TFW was short, as operation “Ready Switch” transferred the F-4D assets to the 474th TFW at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The 474th sent their General Dynamics F-111As to the 366th TFW at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, and the 366th sent their F-111Fs to Lakenheath in early 1977.
A fourth fighter squadron, the 495th Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated with the 48th TFW on 1 April 1977, with a squadron tail colour of green. This was 33 years to the day since the squadron’s inactivation. The 495th’s mission of functioning as a replacement training unit for the other three fighter squadrons made the 495th and the 48th TFW unique, as the only WSO (Weapons System Operator) training unit for USAFE.
F-111s from the 48th TFW participated in 1986 United States bombing of Libya in 1986. This bombing of Libya prompted the mock-acronym, Lakenheath Is Bombing Your Ass. During the operation one F-111 from Lakenheath was shot down by Libyan forces and the two crew members were killed. The Libyan government eventually returned one of the bodies, however there is still much controversy over the remains of the other missing pilot.
Lakenheath received its first McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagles in 1992. With the departure of the F-111s, the 495th FS was inactivated on 13 December 1991. On 18 December 1992, the last F-111 departed the base. Along with its departure, the 493d FS was also inactivated.
With the pending closure of Bitburg Air Base, Germany on 25 February 1994, it was decided to reactivate the 493d as an F-15C/D squadron. Aircraft were transferred from the 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, and the 493d was reactivated on 1 January. The 493d’s arrival meant that the 48th became the largest F-15E/F-15C composite unit in the U.S. Air Force.
In 2003, the 48th FW received the first of 10 new F-15Es. The aircraft were part of the final batch of F-15s expected to be ordered by the Air Force.
Lakenheath visit 10th March 2016
I managed to escape the office yesterday (Thursday 10th) to pay a visit to RAF Lakenheath. Thank you to Gary Day for the invitation and all the driving and also to fellow passenger Kevin Bennion another die hard collector of aviation models.
It was really a fantastic day out ! Firstly a trip to Lakenheath ,very early in the morning, to see the launch of 18 F-15s and later on their arrival back to base. Lakenheath has been very active recently and it was great not to miss out on the comings and goings of the F-15 squadrons. Later we went up to RAF Coningsby to see the recently arrived Luftwaffe Eurofighters… but unfortunately they stayed grounded. The RAF Eurofighters were up though and this made the trip well worthwhile. I took loads of photos, even though the light , mist and low cloud was not ideal. I include just a few of these in this week’s Newsletter to mark the occasion.
Eurofighter Typhoon RAF Coningsby 10th March 2016
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Lakenheath models and other F-15s available in limited quantities from Flying Tigers.
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA4552 McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle AF 83-0017/FF, 1st FW, Langley AFB, Virginia, July 2004 RRP £84.00 Flying Tigers only £39.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA4504 McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle 86-0181/MO, 390th FS, 366th FW Mountain Home AFB, 2003 RRP £80.00 Flying Tigers only £49.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA4553 McDonnell Douglas F-15A Baz 673 Ha Oketz, Double Tail Sqn., Tel Nof, 1981 “Foxbat Killer” RRP £80.00 Flying Tigers only £69.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA4505 McDonnell Douglas F-15B Baz 704, Double Tail Sqn., Tel Nof, May 1978 RRP £83.00 Flying Tigers £64.50
New Arrivals at Flying Tigers Today !
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA4901 S-3B Viking “Independence” 160131, VS-21 “Fighting Redtails” US NAVY 1990s RRP £96.00 Flying Tigers only £78.99 SOLD OUT AT HOBBYMASTER !
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA3527 F/A-18C Hornet Swiss Air Force J-5017, 17 Staffel “Falcons” RRP £66.00 Flying Tigers only £57.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA3519 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A+ Hornet VMFA-333 “The Fighting Shamrocks”, late 1980s RRP £66.00 Flying Tigers only £44.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA3829 Hobbymaster Lockheed F-16CJ Fighting Falcon 90-0829/SP, 22nd FS Commander’s Jet, Feb 2007 RRP £64.00 Flying Tigers only £54.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA3354 Northrop F-5F Tiger II J-3211, Swiss Air Force, 2014 RRP £60.00 Flying Tigers only £39.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA3322 Northrop F-5E Tiger II J-3038 , Staffel 19 “75 Jahre”, 2014 RRP £60.00 Flying Tigers only £39.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA1424 Douglas A-4C Skyhawk 147681, VA-94 “Shrikes”, USS Enterprise, 1960s RRP £60.00 Flying Tigers Only £37.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA3711 McDonnell F-101B Voodoo 57-0300, Washington ANG, 116th FIS, 1970s RRP £66.00 Flying Tigers only £57.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA4305 Canadair Sabre Mk.6 23707, 434 “Bluenose” Squadron, RCAF, 1950s RRP £60.00 Flying Tigers only £52.99
Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale HA0171 Douglas SBD-1 BuNo 1597, Squadron Commander of VMB-2, US Marine Corps, San Diego, 1940 RRP £55.00 Flying Tigers only £34.99
That’s it for this week. Thank you for taking time to read this week’s Newsletter.
Richard.
Flying Tigers.