- published: 26 Apr 2016
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Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath (IATA: LKZ, ICAO: EGUL) is a Royal Air Force station near the town of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England located 4.7 miles (7.6 km) north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk and 8.3 miles (13.4 km) west of Thetford, Norfolk.
Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel. The host wing is the 48th Fighter Wing (48 FW), also known as the Liberty Wing, assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA).
The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name. Since activation at Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base, France, on 10 July 1952, Liberty Wing has been one of the premier fighter wings of the United States Air Forces in Europe, spending over 50 years as part of USAFE. The 48 FW has nearly 5,700 active-duty military members, 2,000 British and U.S. civilians, and includes a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU) at nearby RAF Feltwell.
Coordinates: 52°24′49″N 0°31′21″E / 52.4136°N 0.5226°E / 52.4136; 0.5226
Lakenheath is a village in Suffolk, England. It has around 4,500 residents, and is situated in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk, close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and at the meeting point of The Fens and the Breckland natural environments.
Lakenheath is host to the largest USAF base in the United Kingdom, RAF Lakenheath.
Lakenheath Fen Nature Reserve, created in 1996, restored wetlands from agricultural fields that were growing carrots. In May 2007, it was reported that cranes were nesting in the site for the first time since the fen lands were drained in the 16th century.
The town has a single Victorian primary school, constructed in 1878, which was extended in 1969, again in 2004 and most recently in 2010/2011. There is a small shopping street, with a grocery store, one newsagents, an optician's shop, a Chinese takeaway, a Chinese restaurant, Two fish and chip shops, an Indian restaurant and Filipino restaurant. Also two Tattoo places, two nail bars, one sun tan bar, and a Sandwich shop. The town has a library with internet access. Along this stretch of road a small skate park, a playing field and a children's play park can also be found.