51 Squadron became the first RFC unit to be stationed at Marham upon their move in September 1916, flying home defence missions.

[5] Outside of home defence, Marham also acted as a training base for night time flying, with this provided by No.

[5] In the first half of 1935, work started on a new airfield which became active on 1 April 1937; 87 years ago (1937-04-01), with a resident heavy bomber unit from within No.

[11] During March 1944, RAF Marham closed for the construction of new concrete runways, perimeter track, and dispersal areas, marking the end of its wartime operations.

[12] From 15 March to 31 October 1946, RAF Marham hosted seven B-17 Flying Fortressess and three modified B-29 Super Fortressess of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during Project 'Ruby', which was a series of trials to test the effectiveness of deep penetration bombs such as the Grand Slam and Disney against "massive reinforced concrete targets".

[16][17] Project 'Ruby' ended on 31 October after 22 trials had been completed,[13] with results concluding that none of the bombs tested were capable of penetrating massive reinforced concrete.

[18] In the 1950s, Marham airfield was home to RAF units operating the English Electric Canberra, and later the V-bomber force and tankers: Vickers Valiant and Handley Page Victor.

The station is also one of the few large enough for the operation of United States Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, and a number of these aircraft visited on exercises in the 1970s and 1980s.

II (Army Co-operation) Squadron relocated from RAF Laarbruch, Germany to Marham in December 1991, bringing with it the Tornado GR1A and its 'Tornado Infra-Red Reconnaissance System' (TIRRS).

[26][28] Following the closure of RAF Coltishall in November 2006,[29] 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.

[40] To mark the nearing Tornado retirement, RAF Marham held a series of 'farewell flypasts' across the United Kingdom on 19, 20 and 21 February.

[43][44] The Tornado GR4 was completely retired from service on 1 April 2019, leaving the F-35 Lightning as the sole type based at RAF Marham.

[45] Project Anvil was the £250 million programme of investment to provide Marham with new and upgraded infrastructure for F-35B Lightning operations.

[48] The Lightning National Operating Centre (NOC) was constructed on the north-west side of the airfield, near the station golf course.

The NOC was designed to accommodate around 125 personnel who form the Lightning Force Headquarters and Logistics Operating Centre.

[47] The NOC, the first Project Anvil building to be completed, was opened by the Queen, the station's Honorary Air Commodore, on 2 February 2018.

[49] In April 2016, Balfour Beatty were awarded a contract worth £82.5 million to construct a joint Lockheed Martin / BAE Systems Lightning European Maintenance Hub.

[50] The ITC was built on the south side of the airfield, and was designed to provide maintainer training and accommodate the Lightning Full Mission Simulators.

[47] The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in March 2013 that the entire British fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning aircraft, which would be operated jointly by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, would be based at RAF Marham.

617 (Dambusters) Squadron, supported by three Voyagers and an Atlas, made an eight-hour transit flight across the Atlantic from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina.

[61] On 3 February 2020, Queen Elizabeth II visited personnel at the base and inspected the F-35B aircraft, her first official royal engagement of the new decade.

[62] On 3 September 2020, ten United States Marine Corps (USMC) F-35Bs from VMFA-211 arrived at RAF Marham to operate alongside the Dambusters.

It includes exercise areas; a veterinary block with isolation kennels; and facilities for the RAF Police.

[66] Group Captain Phil Marr was appointed as RAF Marham station commander in July 2021.

138 EAW) was formed at Marham on 1 April 2006 to create and facilitate a structure for a deployable air force.

The following notable flying and non-flying units are based at RAF Marham:[74]Fleet Air Arm

The bull, an animal considered to be aggressive to intruders entering its area, represented Marham's nuclear deterrence role.

[76][77] Of the gate guardians at RAF Marham, in March 2020, its Panavia Tornado GR1 ZA407 was removed from the station entrance, to take up a role as fire fighting training aid.

[79] Marham has one other preserved aircraft on the station; an English Electric Canberra PR9 XH169, which has been on display within the main technical site since November 2007.

[79] Until November 2020, outside the station headquarters building was Handley Page Victor K2 XH673, which was scrapped after failing to find a new owner.