Editing Sutton Bridge (section)

===RAF Sutton Bridge===
{{Main article|RAF Sutton Bridge}}
On 1 September 1926 the [[Air Ministry]] established RAF Practice Camp Sutton Bridge<ref name="FLTPB2">The official naming used and found in official Air Ministry notices, the London Gazette and other publications is "R.A.F. Practice Camp Sutton Bridge". One example publication: FLIGHT, 24 May 1928, Air Ministry Announcements, Page 394: The Royal Air Force, Royal Air Force Intelligence, Appointments, I.W.C. Mackenzie to "R.A.F. Practice Camp, Sutton Bridge", 14.4.28 [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1928/1928%20-%200430.html]</ref> on acquired farmland bordering Sutton Bridge village, adjacent the [[River Nene]], in close vicinity to [[Cross Keys Bridge]].<ref name="AFSB" /><ref name="BCH" /><ref name="CRB" /> As a gunnery training camp, it was to operate ground and towed targets for live practice machine gun fire and bomb dropping by aircraft, its principal gunnery range was located along the [[Lincolnshire coast]] marshland on [[The Wash]] around 8&nbsp;miles North-Northeast of [[Holbeach]].<ref name="AFSB" /><ref name="BCH" /><ref name="CRB" /><ref name="AGBRB">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/36994/holeach_air_gunnery_bombing_range.pdf|title=GOV.UK Publications, Ministry of Defence: Holbeach Air Gunnery and Bombing Range Bylaws 1939.}}</ref><ref name="DBPS">{{cite book| author = Peter C. Smith| title = Dive Bomber!: Aircraft, Technology, and Tactics in World War II| date = 10 April 2008| isbn = 978-0-8117-3454-7| pages = 50–52 }}</ref> Becoming well established and expanded, RAF Practice Camp Sutton Bridge was renamed to No. 3 Armament Training Camp Sutton Bridge<ref name="FLTPB1">Publication: FLIGHT, 8 January 1932, Air Ministry Announcements, Page 43: The Royal Air Force, Royal Air Force Intelligence, Reorganisation of the Armament and Gunnery School, from 1 January 1932, R.A.F. practice camps will be known as armament training camps and numbered as follows...: No. 3 Armament Training Camp, Sutton Bridge [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1932/1932%20-%200043.html]</ref> and later simply [[RAF Sutton Bridge]].<ref name="AFSB" /><ref name="BCH" /><ref name="CRB" /> In October 1939 [[No. 266 Squadron RAF]] was reformed at RAF Sutton Bridge as a fighter squadron operating the [[Fairey Battle]] light bomber aircraft before taking delivery of the [[Supermarine Spitfire]] in January 1940, becoming the RAF's second Spitfire fighter Squadron after [[Duxford Aerodrome|RAF Duxford]]’s [[No. 19 Squadron RAF]].<ref name="AFSB" /><ref name="BCH" /><ref name="CRB" />

On inception, training combat pilots of [[biplanes]] such as the [[Gloster Gamecock]], [[Bristol F.2 Fighter]], [[Armstrong Whitworth Atlas]], [[Armstrong Whitworth Siskin]], [[Bristol Bulldog]] and [[Fairey Flycatcher]],<ref name="AFSB" /><ref name="BCH" /><ref name="CRB" /><ref name="DBPS" /> Sutton Bridge later became accustomed to the intense activity of aircraft such as the [[Boulton Paul Defiant]], [[Fairey Battle]], [[Bristol Blenheim]], [[Bristol Beaufort]], [[Supermarine Spitfire]], [[Hawker Hurricane]], [[Airspeed Oxford]], [[Miles Master|Miles M.19 Master II]], [[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51 Mustang]], [[Vultee A-31 Vengeance|A-35 Vengeance]], [[Lockheed Hudson]], [[Vickers Wellington]] and Avro [[Lancaster bomber]]s, to name a few, stationed at RAF Sutton Bridge over the course of its operational life.<ref name="AFSB" /><ref name="BCH" /><ref name="CRB" /><ref name="BCAR">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bcar.org.uk/index.php|title=Bomber County Aviation Resource - BCAR.org.uk|website=www.bcar.org.uk}}</ref> In 1937, the village of Sutton Bridge also attracted some 5000 people to its open day flying display on [[Commonwealth Day|Empire Day]],<ref name="CRB" /> which included amongst its highlights, bombing a moving car and attacks on towed targets.<ref name="FLTPB5">Publication: FLIGHT, 27 May 1937, Page 552: [[Empire Air Day]], Where and What to Watch Next Saturday, "Sutton Bridge.." [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1937/1937%20-%201386.html]</ref>

[[File:Memorial to R.A.F. Sutton Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 818997.jpg|thumb|120px|right|RAF Sutton Bridge memorial, at side of Cross Keys Bridge]]
RAF Sutton Bridge not only trained British combat pilots but also the RAF's commonwealth and foreign allied pilots, especially trainee Polish, Czech and French pilots.<ref name="AFSB" /><ref name="BCH" /><ref name="CRB" /> Many distinguished Second World War combat pilots passed through RAF Sutton Bridge training, such as Air Marshal Sir [[Richard Atcherley]], Group Captain [[Billy Drake]], Group Captain Sir [[Douglas Bader]] serving with [[No. 23 Squadron RAF]] and Dam Busters legend Wing Commander [[Guy Gibson]].<ref name="AFSB" /><ref name="CRB" /> Along with RAF Sutton Bridge came also a stream of local crash landing incidents and mid-air collisions, many resulting in pilot fatalities.<ref name="AFSB" /><ref name="BCH" /><ref name="CRB" /><ref name="BCAR" /><ref>[http://www.sweffling.freeserve.co.uk/bennett.htm Example incident: 13 August 1943 mid-air collision over North-West Lakenheath in Suffolk, Stallode Fen farm, involving a Spitfire (P7530) and Wellington Bomber (P9228) on joint exercise both from RAF Sutton Bridge Central Gunnery School.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117215508/http://www.sweffling.freeserve.co.uk/bennett.htm |date=17 January 2012 }}</ref> At the end of the Second World War, RAF Sutton Bridge was also used for dismantling aircraft such as the Vickers Wellington bomber, Avro Lancaster bomber and other British combat aircraft scheduled to be sold as [[scrap]] metal.<ref name="AFSB" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://74th.co.uk/raf/service/smashing.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207075150/http://74th.co.uk/raf/service/smashing.html|url-status=dead|title=Whatever Happened to the Lancaster Bombers?: Fun in the RAF (The Spirit of the 74th).|archivedate=7 February 2013|website=74th.co.uk}}</ref>

Today, small remnants of RAF Sutton Bridge airfield exist, in 1958 RAF Sutton Bridge was closed, its land site transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture and continues to be used by the [[Potato Council|Potato Marketing Board]] as one of the UK's leading [[agricultural experiment station]]s.<ref name="AFSB" /><ref>[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] (The National Archives document reference No.: FY): Records of the Potato Marketing Boards, 1933–1997.</ref>

In 1947, a memorial in Saint Matthew's church was dedicated in memory of Commonwealth and Allied airmen who gave their lives whilst serving at RAF Sutton Bridge. The church also includes a Roll of Honour as well as a [[war grave]] cemetery. A memorial plinth-mounted propeller blade situated at the side of Cross Keys Bridge was also erected in 1993 in memory of all that served at RAF Sutton Bridge; the propeller blade came from a crashed Hawker Hurricane that was based at RAF Sutton Bridge. The marshland gunnery range itself, located along The Wash, survived as [[RAF Holbeach]] Bombing Range becoming parented to [[RAF Marham]], it continues active service as a practice bombing range for the RAF as well as [[NATO]]-allied air forces.<ref name="RAFHC">{{Cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafmarham/aboutus/holbeach.cfm|title=Royal Air Force – RAF Holbeach}}</ref>