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Lakenheath is a village in Suffolk, England.

F-15C Eagle of the United States Air Force taxis for takeoff. The LN on the tail means this aircraft is based at RAF Lakenheath.

Lakenheath is a village of around 8200 residents,^[1] situated in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk, England.

The village is close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and at the meeting point of the The Fens and the Breckland natural environments. The village has a single Victorian primary school, constructed in 1878, which was extended in 1969 and again in 2004,^[2].

There is a small shopping street, with a grocery store, two newsagents, a garden centre, an opticians shop, a Chinese restaurant, fish and chip shop, and Filipino restaurant. The village has a library, with internet access. Along this stretch of road a small skate park, a playing field and a childrens playpark can also be found.

Lakenheath has four pubs; The Half Moon, The Brewers Tap, The Cromwell Inn and The Plough. The Royal British Legion is a members only club.

Two different Lions International clubs are based in the village, one of which is a Bikers & Friends club that do a bike run across East Anglia every year for charity.

Lakenheath is remarkable for its medieval church, built in the local flint construction style. The church contains medieval paintings, and medieval carving on the pews.^[3] The faces of the church's stone angels bear the scars of the English Civil War, as none of the angels retain their original facial detail, due to religiously motivated vandalism by puritan soldiers. There are also two non-conformist churches in Lakenheath, including a Methodist church, also of flint construction.

Lakenheath railway station is three miles away from the village and not served by a car park, consequently is little used by travellers.

Lakenheath is host to the largest USAF base in the United Kingdom: RAF Lakenheath. The social impact of the United States Air Force fighter airbase and its nearby sister, RAF Mildenhall on the economy of Lakenheath, and on the towns and villages around, is important.

People have protested at the base, including a 65-year-old lady who jumped a fence at the perimeter's back area. She said she was protesting against "nuclear bombs" at the base, but there is no proof that the USA are storing warheads here. RAF Lakenheath has the nearby, and smaller, RAF Feltwell, under its control.

The United States has maintained a presence in the community since bombers were stationed there during WWII conducting raids on Europe. The base has a population of around 7000 service personnel. This does not account for non-combatant personnel and families.

During the mid-eighties there was a peace camp outside RAF Lakenheath.

There are three squadrons of F-15 fighters and their support and maintenance personnel stationed at RAF Lakenheath. The 492nd and 494th Fighter Squadrons fly the multi-role F-15E Strike Eagle and the 493rd Fighter Squadron flies the air-to-air F-15C Eagle variant. The 48th Fighter Wing, "Liberty Wing", is the parent unit exercising command of the base in conjunction with the RAF.

An American school system exists on the base with an elementary, intermediate and a high school.(http://www.lakenheath.cc).

The region between Devil's Dyke and the line between Littleport and Shippea Hill has archaeological sites of the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.^[4]

1. ^ http://freespace.virgin.net/lakenheath.2000/
2. ^ http://www.lakenheath.suffolk.sch.uk/Our%20School.htm
3. ^ http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/lakenheath.htm
4. ^ Hall, David [1994]. Fenland survey : an essay in landscape and persistence / David Hall and John Coles. London; English Heritage. ISBN 1-85074-477-7. , p. 81-88

• 48th Fighter Wing, RAF Lakenheath
• Lakenheath Alumni Blog

Coordinates: 52°26′N, 0°34′E