1792
Last lighthouse completed
1853
Submarine cable Orford Ness - Scheveningen
1914
War Office purchases Orford Ness
1915
Airfield established
April 1916
No. 37 Sqn RFC formed at Orfordness. Shortly afterwards, merged with the station establishment for the formation of a new RFC Experimental Station. (DEFE 71/48)
June 1917
Zeppelin shot down
October 1917
Became known as the Armament Experimental Station. (DEFE 71/48)
September 1919
Reduced to care and maintenance basis, under control of the Aeroplane Experimental Station, Martlesham Heath. (DEFE 17/48)
June 1921
Orfordness closed, and handed over to Works and Buildings. (DEFE 71/48)
March 1924
ON re-opened as an emergency landing ground and also bombing and gunnery trials. Personnel sent over from Martlesham as required. (DEFE 17/48)
1928
Black Beacon built by RAE
1929
Bomb ballistics using dugout
1933
Bomb Ballistic Building built to house equipment relating to bomb ballistics. http://irgon.org/bomb-ballistics
January 1934
The Bomb Ballistics building was handed over to RAF Martlesham Heath and a programme of research was authorized by the Air Ministry.
May 1935
The old airfield at Orfordness was taken into use as a research station for RDF (later known as radar), manned by scientists of the National Physical Laboratory under the direction of Air Ministry. (DEFE 71/48)
September 1939
The Air Firing research station at Orfordness was placed under the administration of RAF Martlesham Heath. (DEFE 71/48)
15th May 1940
A Dutch pilot, Justus Heyman, escaped from Holland in a light aircraft, and managed to land on Orford Ness, in spite of erected obstacles.
March 1945
The RAF section Martlesham disbanded, following which the RAF interests at Martlesham Heath and the Orfordness Research Station were looked after by RAF Felixstowe. (DEFE 71/48)
May 1946
The Bomb Ballistics Unit (later to combine with the Blind Landing Experimental Unit to become the Armamant and Instrument Experimental Unit) moved into Martlesham Heath and used the ranges at Orford Ness. (DEFE 71/48)
April 1956
AWRE Lab 1 was handed over
13th February 1960
The first French nuclear test Gerboise Bleue at Reggane in the Sahara was detected by an AWRE team on Orford Ness. see Nuclear detection: phase 1
1st April 1960
Gerboise Blanche,
the second French nuclear test in the Sahara, was detected by AWRE staff on Orford Ness.March 1971
Cobra Mist, 6 March 1971
(c) Bryn Campbell
Cobra Mist starts test transmissions. See COBRA MIST
29th June 1973
Cobra Mist was permanently shut down at 17:30 Zulu.