About Wattisham Airfield
Located just off the village of Wattisham in Suffolk, Wattisham Airfield is an operational British Army airfield and home to the 3 Regiment Army Air Corps and 4 Regiment Army Air Corps. The two corps are part of the Attack Helicopter Force (AHF), which is in itself an integral part of the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) headquartered at Army Headquarters in Marlborough Lines, Hampshire.
In addition to the Army, the Wattisham Airfield caters to the needs of a few civil organisations, the primary of which is the Anglia Gliding Club. Actually, the Anglia Gliding Club is the oldest entity to operate out of Wattisham Airfield, because it has been there well before the RAFGSA took command of the facility. You will have the wonderful opportunity to learn more about the Anglia Gliding Club during your visit to the Wattisham Airfield Museum. If you are lucky enough, you will even have the chance to talk to some of the members who are often coming by and are always eager to chat with our visitors.
The Wattisham Airfield is quite large in physical size itself. It covers 434 ha and at the moment it is home to over 2000 troops and other military personnel who live in 600 houses built specifically for military members and their families in the three nearby settlements – Wattisham, Ipswich, and Hadleigh. In addition to the 40 military helicopters that make up the fleet at Wattisham Airfield, there are 300 Heavy Goods Vehicles, 200 Land Rovers, and 2 Air Ambulances that are always ready to come to the services of the local community.
Community notes
Updated 2 February 2026: museum hosts refreshed welcome sheets for first-time Sunday visitors after winter closures. In August 2025 gliding club members shared hangar stories during a quiet afternoon open day. Through 2024 the committee tracked volunteer hours for chapel cleaning ahead of busy bank-holiday weekends. In spring 2023 local families helping with memorial planting coordinated car sharing so parking stayed clear for delivery vans bringing display boards from short research loans.
Stewards also keep a simple kit list for open Sundays: spare clipboards, spare gloves for workshop escorts, and a clear zone near the chapel porch when larger display boards arrive. That habit helps guests move smoothly from the airfield gate to the wartime chapel without crowding operational traffic.
