A Marham Tornado. PICTURE: Ian Burt

Why it makes sense to Make it Marham

By Chris Bishop
Friday, November 19, 2010
3:19 PM

The motto under the station crest says simply: Deter.

What’s happening

Make it Marham campaigners are taking to the streets with our petitions today and over the weekend.

Today: Town Square, Downham Market, from 1.30 - 3pm.

Today: King’s Lynn’s Christmas Lights switch-on, in the Vancouver Quarter, from 5.30pm.

Tomorrow: Vancouver Centre, King’s Lynn, from 10am - 12noon.

Tomorrow: Carrow Road, before Norwich City’s game with Leeds, from 2.15pm.

Tomorrow: Chapelfield Shopping Centre, Norwich, from 3.15pm.

Its mission statement: To provide and support offensive airpower.

To our soldiers pinned down by insurgents in Afghanistan, that all adds up to one thing: Survival.

Over the last 18 months squadrons from Marham have been operating over war-torn Helmand, where most of the 345 British servicemen and women killed since the conflict began in 2001 have lost their lives.

Tornadoes patrol the skies, ready to go to the assistance of allied ground troops. As well as devastating firepower, the 650mph jets bristle with the latest surveillance equipment.

Their Raptor and Litening pods can scan the ground for hostile forces and beam back live pictures to those operating below.

The equipment is so sensitive it can spot areas of disturbed soil – perhaps indicating the presence of a lethal IED (improvised explosive device).

Just hours after prime minister David Cameron announced that the Tornado fleet would survive the Strategic Defence Spending  Review, XIII Sqn returned to Marham after handing over operations in Afghanistan to Lossiemouth-based 14 Squadron.

During their three-month tour defence secretary Liam Fox visited XIII in theatre, to see their work at first hand.

Perhaps that helped make the case to keep the Tornado, instead of its stable mate the Harrier, which is being retired from service.

For months before the final announcement, it was taken for granted by many that the axe would fall on the Tornado force, not the jump jets.

Now the focus has shifted to whether the aircraft should be based at Marham or Losssiemouth.

Marham is home to an entire expeditionary air wing. That means the base has all the elements needed to send aircraft anywhere they are required and maintain them.

Lossiemouth is home to three Tornado squadrons, a conversion unit and an air sea rescue flight.

As well as the military side, Marham also hosts civilian contractors who look after the jets, with hundreds employed on-site by BAE Systems.

Moved to Norfolk barely five years ago, at a cost of tens of millions, it is estimated it would cost £50m to transfer the advanced maintenance facilities elsewhere.

While most of its squadron personnel are currently between operations, there is no let up in the pace. Training is continuous, with aircraft flying daily sorties.

Marham is close to the main training areas used by the ground forces the Tornado force is often called in to support.

A replica Afghan village has been constructed at the STANTA Training Area, near Thetford. Elsewhere, the rolling Norfolk countryside is similar to the terrain the aircraft will be operating over in theatre, so both air crews and troop detachments train side by side prior to being deployed.

Marham is also close to the bombing ranges along The Wash, where aircraft also practise.

Elsewhere, the waters are choppy. Former senior naval officers wrote to The Times demanding the decision to scrap the Harrier be reversed.

In reply, the chiefs of staff leading the defence review said: “The decision to withdraw Harrier from service and to retain a reduced Tornado force had to balance our current needs in Afghanistan with the intent to rationalise our fast jet fleets.

“After very careful consideration our military advice was to retain the more capable Tornado. Harrier’s contribution has been huge but the decision to withdraw it is the right thing to do in the circumstances and a decision that we collectively agreed.”

If the Tornado is more suited to our future defence needs than the Harrier, Marham is best-equipped to maintain both the aircraft and the skills of those who fly them.

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8 comments

The 'battle' is won, when one reads the Scottish Herald, when will Archant stop using this fawning nationalism and emotional tugging, to win over more readers on the back of this campaign? It looks like Norfolk will be allowed to carry on being a prime nuclear target.

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ingo wagenknecht

Wednesday, November 24, 2010
am I alone in thinking that if we weren't giving India 15 billion in aid ( A country with a 17 bill space program) or bailing out Ireland for x billion we would not even be discussing closures or the loss of nimrod

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davie

Monday, November 22, 2010
am I alone in thinking that if we weren't giving India 15 billion in aid ( A country with a 17 bill space program) or bailing out Ireland for x billion we would not even be discussing closures or the loss of nimrod

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davie

Monday, November 22, 2010
Margaret, what is your point that WE should look after our own and not scotland? Who exactly are the "WE" of who you speak? last time I looked Scotland payed tax to buy these planes just as the rest of the UK. Or do you seem to think that england owns the rest of the UK and the rest of us get managed from the south. What do you mean by Scotland get to many perks? Scotland pays many times more into the westminster black hole than ever returns north. If it was not for our oil and whisky revenue england would have sunk in the 70s. Before you start beating your gums check your facts

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davie

Monday, November 22, 2010
I fully agree that we should keepMarham open as an air base. Norfolk has lost enough of its air bases and it is important to this county that we keep them in use. Personally, I can see no reason why we cannot keep both Lossiemouth and Marham open, but if it comes to one closing, we should think of our own and nolt Scotland. Besides, I feel that Scotland has too many perks and it iks time we looked after the people in England.

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Margaret Parrish

Saturday, November 20, 2010
Well I am sold. Let's help the troops. Cheers, JD http:www.popularchristmasgiftsideas.co.uk

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JDSalinger12

Friday, November 19, 2010
And the citizens of Lossiemouth will be just as vigorous in defending their own communities - which will be hit every bit as hard as ours by these cuts. Is this what the 'big society' has become? Everyone out for their own self interest and happy to argue that drastic cuts are needed, so long as they are visited on someone else.

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Tressell's broadbrush

Friday, November 19, 2010
This is a load of parochial claptrap,both stations are important and the hardship will hit Lossiemouth more than Marham because that is the only early warning base left in the north and will affect the population more as its a smaller community.It is nothing to do with this present goverment it has all been caused by the money grabbing shower in the previous one,but we are all now suffering,some more than others!!

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leswhyte

Friday, November 19, 2010