Final flypast for Marham’s XIII Squadron
RAF Marham Tornado GR4a
MARHAM will see one of its Tornado squadrons fly for the last time this week as the government’s defence cuts start to bite.
XIII Squadron will be officially disbanded on June 1 but the squadron’s final day in the air will be Friday (May 6).
To mark the occasion, aircraft will fly a classic “six-ship formation” over two of the squadron’s former bases, Honington and Wyton, before returning to Marham for a low fly past at precisely 13.13 hours. The event is likely to draw a large crowd.
A further squadron is being cut from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and the two air bases are awaiting the government’s final decision about where the RAF Tornado strike force and its successor aircraft will be based in the coming years.
Last week, in a 12-page supplement in the Lynn News, MP Liz Truss described the Marham base as an “integral part of the local community”.
She is being joined by other Norfolk MPs in fighting hard to put the case for Marham remaining as the UK base for future strike aircraft operations.
She said: “We have been campaigning hard to ensure that RAF Marham’s future is secure.
“The people of Norfolk have shown time after time how much they care about the future of RAF Marham.”
“It is the lynchpin of the local economy, from the direct jobs at the base and shops and restaurants nearby to the young people at schools like Swaffham Hamond’s High who aspire to join the RAF or become apprentice engineers.”
Defence secretary Liam Fox is expected to make a decision on the future of Marham later in the summer.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
