diff --git a/python/core/auto_generated/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.sip.in b/python/core/auto_generated/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.sip.in
index ff0ea913ebd..fa0e6f2db9d 100644
--- a/python/core/auto_generated/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.sip.in
+++ b/python/core/auto_generated/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.sip.in
@@ -250,6 +250,7 @@ need to be handled on the main thread. See in-depth discussion in the documentat
 for the constructor of this class.
 %End
 
+
     bool useSystemProxy() const;
 %Docstring
 Returns whether the system proxy should be used.
diff --git a/src/app/devtools/networklogger/qgsnetworkloggerpanelwidget.cpp b/src/app/devtools/networklogger/qgsnetworkloggerpanelwidget.cpp
index c6644fe8425..b046a5f8c7d 100644
--- a/src/app/devtools/networklogger/qgsnetworkloggerpanelwidget.cpp
+++ b/src/app/devtools/networklogger/qgsnetworkloggerpanelwidget.cpp
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 #include <QMessageBox>
 #include <QScrollBar>
 #include <QToolButton>
+#include <QCheckBox>
 
 #include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
 
@@ -217,4 +218,16 @@ QgsNetworkLoggerPanelWidget::QgsNetworkLoggerPanelWidget( QgsNetworkLogger *logg
 
   settingsMenu->addAction( mActionShowSuccessful );
   settingsMenu->addAction( mActionShowTimeouts );
+
+  mToolbar->addSeparator();
+  QCheckBox *disableCacheCheck = new QCheckBox( tr( "Disable cache" ) );
+  connect( disableCacheCheck, &QCheckBox::toggled, this, [ = ]( bool checked )
+  {
+    // note -- we deliberately do NOT store this as a permanent setting in QSettings
+    // as it is designed to be a temporary debugging tool only and we don't want
+    // users to accidentally leave this enabled and cause unnecessary server load...
+    QgsNetworkAccessManager::instance()->setCacheDisabled( checked );
+  } );
+
+  mToolbar->addWidget( disableCacheCheck );
 }
diff --git a/src/core/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.cpp b/src/core/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.cpp
index 6e05c00a6d9..94a17440704 100644
--- a/src/core/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.cpp
+++ b/src/core/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.cpp
@@ -127,7 +127,10 @@ QgsNetworkAccessManager *QgsNetworkAccessManager::instance( Qt::ConnectionType c
     sMainNAM = nam;
 
   if ( !nam->mInitialized )
+  {
     nam->setupDefaultProxyAndCache( connectionType );
+    nam->setCacheDisabled( sMainNAM->cacheDisabled() );
+  }
 
   return nam;
 }
@@ -249,6 +252,13 @@ QNetworkReply *QgsNetworkAccessManager::createRequest( QNetworkAccessManager::Op
   }
 #endif
 
+  if ( sMainNAM->mCacheDisabled )
+  {
+    // if caching is disabled then we override whatever the request actually has set!
+    pReq->setAttribute( QNetworkRequest::CacheLoadControlAttribute, QNetworkRequest::AlwaysNetwork );
+    pReq->setAttribute( QNetworkRequest::CacheSaveControlAttribute, false );
+  }
+
   static QAtomicInt sRequestId = 0;
   const int requestId = ++sRequestId;
   QByteArray content;
diff --git a/src/core/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.h b/src/core/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.h
index a7b066f7259..e9f7713b2f0 100644
--- a/src/core/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.h
+++ b/src/core/network/qgsnetworkaccessmanager.h
@@ -409,6 +409,30 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsNetworkAccessManager : public QNetworkAccessManager
      */
     void setupDefaultProxyAndCache( Qt::ConnectionType connectionType = Qt::BlockingQueuedConnection );
 
+#ifndef SIP_RUN
+
+    /**
+     * Returns TRUE if all network caching is disabled.
+     *
+     * \see setCacheDisabled()
+     * \note Not available in Python bindings.
+     * \since QGIS 3.18
+     */
+    bool cacheDisabled() const { return mCacheDisabled; }
+
+    /**
+     * Sets whether all network caching should be disabled.
+     *
+     * If \a disabled is TRUE then all caching will be disabled, causing all requests
+     * to be retrieved from the network regardless of the request's attributes.
+     *
+     * \see cacheDisabled()
+     * \note Not available in Python bindings.
+     * \since QGIS 3.18
+     */
+    void setCacheDisabled( bool disabled ) { mCacheDisabled = disabled; }
+#endif
+
     /**
      * Returns whether the system proxy should be used.
      */
@@ -655,6 +679,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsNetworkAccessManager : public QNetworkAccessManager
     QStringList mNoProxyURLs;
     bool mUseSystemProxy = false;
     bool mInitialized = false;
+    bool mCacheDisabled = false;
     static QgsNetworkAccessManager *sMainNAM;
     // ssl error handler, will be set for main thread ONLY
     std::unique_ptr< QgsSslErrorHandler > mSslErrorHandler;