RAF Bentwaters

Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station located 10 miles (16 km) east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken from two cottages ('Bentwaters Cottages') that had stood on the site of the main runway during its construction in 1943. The station was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War, and by the United States Air Force (USAF) during the Cold War, being the primary home for the 81st Fighter Wing under various designations from 1951 to 1993. For many years the 81st Fighter Wing also operated RAF Woodbridge, with Bentwaters and Woodbridge airfields being known by the Americans as the "Twin Bases". RAF Bentwaters was the location of an 13–14 August 1956 nighttime radar and visual sighting of multiple UFOs (the Lakenheath-Bentwaters incident); it is also near the location of the alleged December 1980 UFO incident in Rendlesham Forest. The site is now known as Bentwaters Parks. The Bentwaters Cold War Museum is located on the site, there are offices and warehouses, and the site is also used for television and film making.