The USAAF in Norfolk

Much affection and admiration is held locally for those who remember the airmen of the USAAF based in Norfolk during World War II. Although, sadly, much of the physical legacy is now hard to find, the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library in the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library in Norwich is a unique living memorial to nearly 7000 American airmen who were killed while stationed in East Anglia during World War Two.

In Norfolk 18 airfields were home to over 3,000 US airmen (the so-called 'friendly invasion' of 1942) operating principally the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator bomber:

• Attlebridge, home of the 446th Bomb Group;
• Bodney, home of the 352nd Fighter Group;
• Deopham Green, home of the 452nd Bomb Group;
• East Wretham, home of the 359th Fighter Group;
• Fersfield, home of the 338th Bomb Group;
• Hardwick, home of the 93rd Bomb Group;
• Hethel, home of the 389th Bomb Group;
• Horsham St Faiths, home of the 458th Bomb Group;
• North Pickenham, home of the 491st Bomb Group and 492nd Bomb Group;
• Old Buckenham, home of the 453rd Bomb Group;
• Rackheath, home of the 467th Bomb Group;
• Seething, home of the 448th Bomb Group;
• Shipdham, home of the 44th Bomb Group;
• Snetterton Heath, home of the 96th Bomb Group;
• Thorpe Abbots, home of the 100th Bomb Group;
• Tibenham, home of the 445th Bomb Group;
• Watton, home of the 25th Bomb Group; and
• Wendling, home of the 392nd Bomb Group.

Although most of the runways remain, many housing turkey sheds and other agricultural buildings, the majority of the airfields operated by the USAAF have reverted to agriculture, with little else remaining as evidence of their important role.

Airfields which remain in use, although not necessarily as operational airfields, are:

• Horsham St Faiths, now Norwich International airport
• Snetterton Heath, home to Snetterton motor racing circuit;
• Tibenham, the base of Norfolk Gliding Club;
• Hethel, the UK base of Lotus cars and Team Lotus, with the runways previously used by the 320th, 310th and 389th Bomb Groups forming the test track;
• Shipdham airfield is home to Shipdham Aero Club;
• Seething airfield, part of which is now used by the Waveney Flying Group.

and Ketteringham Hall, the former headquarters of the 3rd Air Division, is a training centre.

The American Air Museum, part of The Imperial War Museum at Duxford, near Cambridge, is a memorial to the American airmen who were stationed in UK bases during WWII, (as well the Korea, Vietnam, Libya, and Iraq conflicts). The Museum houses the largest collection of American warplanes outside the United States.

Although Duxford is only an hour or so from White Lodge Farm Cottages, there are a several more modest museums closer by:

• Located in and around the restored control tower of the former bomber base, the Thorpe Abbotts museum tells the story of Thorpe Abbotts and portrays every-day life on an American bomber base. A D-4 link trainer is on display, while a B-24 tail turret is undergoing restoration.
• The control tower at Seething airfield, home to the 448th Bomb Group from 1943 to 1945, is now a museum.
• The museum of the 93rd Bomb Group at Hardwick is located in two of the original Nissen huts on the airfield, which is near Long Stratton.
• Situated on the former USAAF airfield at Hethel (now home to the Lotus cars test track) is the 389th Memorial Exhibition Museum, housed in the former chapel/gymnasium and open on some Sundays and and at other times by arrangement.
• Close to White Lodge Farm Cottages, the clubhouse of Shipham Aero Club is home to the museum of the Flying Eightballs (Shipdham airfield was the first US heavy bomber base in Norfolk and was the continuous host to B-24 Liberators longer than any other Eighth Air Force combat airfield in Britain - from October 1942 to late 1945).

The City of Norwich Aviation Museum, run by enthusiasts, adjoins the airport at Horsham St Faiths and includes exhibits relating the US airmen in Norfolk.

Just a few miles from White Lodge Farm Cottages, the runways at Deopham Green, which was home to the 452nd Bomb Group are crossed by public highways. At the highest point, in now tranquil countryside with a vista across miles of peaceful farmland, there is a well-kept memorial, dedicated in 1992 to the 2,900 airmen who served there and who undertook flying some 245 missions in B17G Flying Fortresses during the operation of the airfield from January 1944 to June 1945.

A memorial to the men of the 452nd Bomb Group who lost their lives in World War Two is situated near the foot of the tower of St Andrew's church in Hingham, a quarter of the Deopham Green airfield having been situated in that parish.

Also nearby, is the Green Dragon pub in Wymondham, used by the 389th Bomb Group at Hethel as their local, earning them the nickname 'the Green Dragons'.

Contact details

• The museum of the 93rd Bomb Group 01508 531405
• City of Norwich Aviation Museum 01603 893080
• Imperial War Museum, Duxford 01223 835000
• Seething airfield
• Shipham Aero Club
• Thorpe Abbotts museum 01379 740708

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