page_title: RAF Marham
section_title: Tornado GR (1982–2019)
hierarchical_section_title: RAF Marham / History / Tornado GR (1982–2019)
caption_attribution_description: English: RAF Tornado squadron anniversary liveries.
context_page_description: Royal Air Force Marham, or more simply RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia.
  It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating Bases". Since 6 June 2018, it has been home to the fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning operated by No. 617 Squadron. No. 207 Squadron became the second Lightning squadron to be based at RAF Marham when it reformed on 1 August 2019 as the F-35 Operational Conversion Unit.
context_section_description: During 1980-82, 24 Hardened Aircraft Shelters were constructed to house future strike aircraft, which would eventually see the arrival of the Panavia Tornado GR.1 in 1982. These shelters were equipped with the US Weapon Storage Security System (WS3), each able to store 4 WE.177 nuclear bombs. The first Tornado GR.1 to be delivered to Marham was ZA601 on 24 April 1982 from BAe Warton, in preparation for the reformation of No. 617 Squadron which stood up on 1 January 1983. This was shortly followed by No. 27 Squadron which reformed at Marham on 12 August.
  No. 57 Squadron disbanded at RAF Marham on 30 June 1986, leaving No. 55 Squadron as the last Victor K.2 unit at the base. In March 1987, the Tornado Weapons Conversion Unit (TWCU) relocated its Tornados from RAF Honington to Marham for a period of six months while runway repairs were carried out. In March 1988, Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2s of No. 42 Squadron spent a year based at Marham while RAF St. Mawgan had its runway repaired. No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron relocated from RAF Laarbruch, Germany to Marham in December 1991, bringing with it the Tornado GR.1A and its 'Tornado Infra-Red Reconnaissance System' (TIRRS).
  No. 27 Squadron disbanded in September 1993, with its aircraft and crew transferring to No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron who moved to RAF Lossiemouth in January 1994. No. 55 Squadron, the last of the RAF Victor squadrons, disbanded at Marham in October 1993, with the last Victor to leave departing in November. In December, No. 39 (1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit) Squadron arrived at RAF Marham with its Canberra PR.7s and PR.9s from RAF Wyton.
  Following the 1998 Strategic Defence Review it was decided to end the Royal Air Force's presence in Germany, No. IX (B) Squadron relocated from RAF Brüggen to RAF Marham on 17 July 2001, followed shortly by No. 31 Squadron on 17 August, who landed their Tornados at Marham at precisely 1331hrs BST.
  No. 39 (1 PRU) Squadron disbanded on 31 July 2006, ending 52 years of Canberra operations at Marham. Following the closure of RAF Coltishall in November 2006, RAF Marham was officially granted the Freedom of the City of Norwich in 2008 and, as such, is allowed to march through the streets of Norwich with 'bayonets fixed'; this is usually carried out on occasions such as the annual Battle of Britain parade held on 12 September every year.
  On the night of 19/20 March 2011, No. IX (B) Squadron Tornado GR4s flew a 3,000-mile round trip from Marham to carry out Storm Shadow strikes against targets in Libya as part of Operation Ellamy. Following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, No. XIII Squadron was disbanded on 13 May 2011 followed by No. 14 Squadron on 1 June.
  On 26 September 2014, Tornado aircraft begin airstrikes against ISIL as part of Operation Shader. In 2015, four Tornados (ZA405, ZA456, ZA548 and ZD788) from RAF Marham received special markings to mark the 100th anniversaries of Nos. IX (B), 12 (B) and 31 Squadrons, as well as the 40th anniversary of Tornado service.
  As part of the draw-down of the RAF's Tornado GR4 fleet, No. 12 (B) Squadron disbanded on 14 February 2018. Squadron personnel were reassigned to Marham's other Tornado squadrons, No. IX (B) Squadron and No. 31 Squadron.
  The last eight deployed Tornado GR4s returned home to RAF Marham from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, on 4 and 5 February 2019. To mark the nearing Tornado retirement, RAF Marham held a series of 'farewell flypasts' across the United Kingdom on 19, 20 and 21 February. On 28 February, nine Tornado GR4s flew out of RAF Marham for a diamond nine formation flypast over RAF Cranwell, which was holding a graduation parade, before returning to Marham to carry out multiple passes over the base. RAF Marham saw the final flight of an RAF Tornado (ZA463) on 14 March during the disbandment parade of No. IX (B) Squadron and No. 31 Squadron. The Tornado GR4 was completely retired from service on 1 April 2019, leaving the Lightning as the sole type based at RAF Marham.
caption: Panavia Tornado GR4s in liveries to mark 100th anniversaries of Nos. IX(B), 12(B), XV(R) and 31 Squadrons as well as 40 years of Tornado, 2015. (Nos. IX(B), 12(B) and 31 were all based at Marham with the Tornado.)
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