Martlesham Heath was first used as a Royal Flying Corps airfield during World War I. In 1917 it became associated with experimental aircraft and was later the home of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE), which tested many of the aircraft and much of the equipment that was later used in during World War II.

The A&AEE moved to RAF Boscombe Down just prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1939 and Martlesham then became the most northerly station of No. 11 Group RAF, Fighter Command. Squadrons of Bristol Blenheim bombers, Hawker Hurricanes, Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Typhoons operated from this airfield, and among the many pilots based there were such famous men as Group Captain Peter Townsend, Robert Stanford Tuck, and Squadron Leader Douglas Bader. Ian Smith, the post-war Rhodesian prime minister, was also there for a time.

In 1943, Martlesham Heath became one of a group of grass-surfaced airfields earmarked for use by fighters of the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force. The group flew P-47 Thunderbolts until they were replaced by P-51 Mustangs in November 1944. From October 1943 until January 1944, operated as escort for B-17 Flying Fortress/B-24 Liberator bombers that attacked such objectives as industrial areas, missile sites, airfields, and communications.

With the departure of the USAAF, the airfield reverted to the RAF. In the immediate post-war years, Fighter Command squadrons were in residence at Martlesham but the proximity to Ipswich and the physical limitations on lengthening the runways restricted jet operation. In an effort to improve the station the main runway was extended in 1955.

Early in 1946, the Bomb Ballistics and Blind Landing Unit moved in which, in 1950, was rechristened the Armament and Instrument Experimental Unit (A&IEU) remaining at Martlesham until disbanding in 1957.

An RAF Police flight had also occupied the station from 1951-1953. The following year, the A&IEU was disbanded and the station was retained in reserve status during which time an Air Sea Rescue helicopter unit was in residence.

In 1958, another Reserve Flight arrived and a Station HQ formed; No. 11 Group Communications flight moved in to be followed by HO No. 11 Group. These units were deactivated by the end of 1960, after which the airfield reverted to care and maintenance status before the Air Ministry closed the facility on 25 April 1963.

With the end of military control, Martlesham Heath has now become an industrial and dormitory satellite of Ipswich and the four pre-war hangars and technical site buildings are now used for light industry and storage.

Nearby, on the old RAF parade ground, stands a memorial erected to the memory of those members of the 356th Fighter Group who lost their lives in World War II.

Part of the site of the airfield now contains the main headquarters building of the Suffolk Constabulary.

In the World War II control tower a small museum has been established with artefacts, ephemera and photographs illustrating the eventful history of the airfield.