RAF Wratting

The airfield was closed as part of the massive military drawdown following the end of World War II. As a temporary wartime airfield, it was deemed surplus to the requirements of the peacetime Royal Air Force and was no longer needed for operational or training purposes.

The site has been returned to primarily civilian use. Much of the land is now used for agriculture, and the faint outlines of the main runways and perimeter track are still clearly visible on satellite imagery. A portion of the former technical site has been redeveloped into an industrial area known as the Wratting Common Business Park. Some original wartime buildings, hardstandings, and sections of the perimeter track remain in various states of decay or have been repurposed for agricultural and light industrial storage.

RAF Wratting Common was a Class A bomber airfield constructed between 1942 and 1943. It played a significant role in RAF Bomber Command's efforts during WWII. Its primary historical importance includes:

- **Heavy Bomber Operations:** It was initially home to No. 90 Squadron, which operated Short Stirling heavy bombers on strategic bombing missions over occupied Europe.
- **Special Duties / Electronic Warfare:** The airfield later became a base for specialist squadrons. No. 199 Squadron and No. 192 Squadron flew from Wratting Common, operating aircraft such as the Handley Page Halifax, Short Stirling, and de Havilland Mosquito. These squadrons were involved in Special Operations, primarily electronic countermeasures (ECM) and signals intelligence (SIGINT), tasked with jamming and spoofing German radar and communications to protect the main bomber force.
- **Training:** It also hosted No. 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU), which was responsible for training bomber crews to operate heavy bombers like the Stirling and, later, the Avro Lancaster.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening RAF Wratting as an airport. The infrastructure is degraded or has been removed, and the land has been successfully repurposed for agriculture and industry for over six decades, making any return to aviation use highly improbable and economically unfeasible.