RAF Hardwick
Encyclopedia
Bungay, Suffolk
Bungay is a market town in the English county of Suffolk. It lies in the Waveney valley, west of Beccles on the edge of The Broads, and at the neck of a meander of the River Waveney.-Early history:...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
and a similar distance from the A140 main road from Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
to Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
.
Origins
Hardwick Airfield was one of the early heavy bomber airfields which were constructed for the RAF during 1941-42 in the East AngliaEast Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
n area. It was built by John Laing & Son Ltd., and required four miles (6 km) of surface drains, thirteen miles (19 km) of drains, thirteen miles (19 km) of roadways, five miles (8 km) of sewers and seven of water mains. A total of 4,750,000 bricks were used in construction of the camp.
Like other heavy bomber fields originally planned for RAF needs and begun at the same time, this airfield had three T-2 hangars grouped together on the administrative and technical site, in this case on the eastern side of the airfield. The technical site was adjacent to the hangars and bordered the country road running from Hempnall to Alburgh
Alburgh
Alburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated about four miles north-east of Harleston....
.
On the eastern side of this road lay the major part of the camp with domestic sites hidden amongst woodland. One site was located at Topcroft Street. All accommodation was of the temporary type, mostly Nissen hut
Nissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
s. The bomb dump was situated off the north-west corner of the airfield in and adjacent to Spring Wood.
USAAF use
When assigned to the USAAF, Hardwick was designated as Station 104. From 7 November 1943 though 12 June 1945, Hardwick served as headquarters for the 20th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 2d Bomb Division.Originally, thirty hardstands were planned, sufficient for RAF requirements, but these were increased to fifty for the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, thirty-nine being of the early 'frying-pan' type and the remainder loops.
310th Bombardment Group (Medium)
The airfield was opened in September 1942 and was first used by the 310th Bombardment Group (Medium)310th Space Wing
The 310th Space Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command Tenth Air Force. It is a tenant unit at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo....
, arriving from Greenville AAB
Donaldson Air Force Base
Donaldson Air Force Base is a closed facility of the United States Air Force. Currently known as Donaldson Center, the former Air Force Base is located south of Greenville, South Carolina....
South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Apparently the 428th Bombardment Squadron of the 310th Bombardment Group was diverted to RAF Bungay
RAF Bungay
RAF Bungay is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 2 miles SW of Bungay in Suffolk on the south bank of the Waveney River close to the B1062 Harleston to Bungay road....
. A 12th Air Force film clip indicates that the 310th Bombardment Group was the first 12th Air Force group to leave the United States for Europe and initially arrived in Prestwick, Scotland. http://www.warwingsart.com/12thAirForce/310th.html Flying the B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
medium bomber, the 310th used Hardwick as a transshipment point on its way to Telergma, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
as a part of Twelfth Air Force. The last elements of the 310th departed for North Africa in November.
93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy)
The VIII Bomber CommandVIII Bomber Command
The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...
93d Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrived at Hardwick from RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station in Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is adjacent to the Stukeleys [Great and Little] and located about northwest of Huntingdon; about north of London....
in December 1942. The group was assigned to the 20th Combat Bombardment Wing and the group tail code was a "Circle-B". It's operational squadrons were:
- 328th Bombardment Squadron (GO)
- 329th Bombardment Squadron (RE)
- 330th Bombardment Squadron330th Bombardment SquadronThe 330th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 93d Bombardment Wing. It was inactivated at Castle Air Force Base, California on 1 September 1991.-History:...
(AG) - 409th Bombardment Squadron (YM)
The 93d flew both the B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign. The group entered combat on 9 October 1942 by attacking steel and engineering works at Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
. Until December 1942, the group operated primarily against submarine pens in the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
.
A large detachment was sent to North Africa in December 1942, the group receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations in that theatre, December 1942 - February 1943, when, with inadequate supplies and under the most difficult desert conditions, the detachment struck heavy blows at enemy shipping and communications.
The detachment returned to England in February 1943 and until the end of June the group bombed engine repair works, harbours, power plants, and other targets in France, the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, and Germany.
A detachment returned to the Mediterranean theatre during June and July 1943 to support the Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
and to participate in the famous low-level attack on enemy oil installations at Ploesti
Tidal Wave (1943)
Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of the "oil campaign" to deny petroleum-based fuel to the Axis...
on 1 August. Having followed another element of the formation along the wrong course to Ploesti, the 93rd hit targets that had been assigned to other groups, but it carried out its bombing of the vital oil installations despite heavy losses inflicted by attacks from the fully alerted enemy and was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for the operation.
Lt. Col.
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
Addison E. Baker, group commander, and Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
John L. Jerstad
John L. Jerstad
John Louis "Jack" Jerstad was a United States Army Air Forces officer who was posthumously awarded the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor...
, a former member of the group who had volunteered for this mission, were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for action in the Ploesti raid. Refusing to make a forced landing in their damaged B-24, these men, as pilot and co-pilot of the lead plane, led the group to bomb the oil facilities before their plane crashed in the target area.
After the detachment returned to England in August 1943, the group flew only two missions before the detachment was sent back to the Mediterranean to support the Fifth Army at Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
during the invasion of Italy in September 1943.
The detachment rejoined the group in October 1943, and until April 1945 the 93rd concentrated on bombardment of strategic targets such as marshalling yards, aircraft factories, oil refineries, chemical plants, and cities in Germany. In addition it bombed gun emplacements, choke points, and bridges near Cherbourg during the Normandy invasion
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
in June 1944. It attacked troop concentrations in northern France during the Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
breakthrough in July 1944; transported food, gasoline, water, and other supplies to the Allies advancing across France
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, August - September 1944; dropped supplies to airborne troops in Holland on 18 September 1944; struck enemy transportation and other targets during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, December 1944 - January 1945; and flew two missions on 24 March 1945 during the airborne assault across the Rhine
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
, dropping supplies to troops near Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
and bombing a night-fighter base at Stormede.
The 93d Bomb Group ceased combat operations in April 1945, and returned to Sioux Falls AAF
Sioux Falls Regional Airport
Sioux Falls Regional Airport , also known as Joe Foss Field, is a joint civil and military use airport located three nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Sioux Falls, a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States...
South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
during May/June.
Legacy
In preparation for the Invasion of Japan, the group was redesignated the 93rd Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in July and converted to B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
es, being assigned to Prat AAF Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
for training. However with the end of the war in September, the group was transferred to Clovis AAF
Cannon Air Force Base
Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Force Special Operations Command ....
New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and was assigned to Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
.
The 93d Bomb Wing was a front-line unit of SAC during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
until its deactivation on 30 September 1995 with the closure of Castle Air Force Base
Castle Air Force Base
Castle Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced and about east southeast of San Francisco, California....
. The unit exists today as the 116th Air Control Wing at Robins AFB, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, being the first United States Air Force wing "blended" from active duty and Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
airmen. The 93d was designated as such on 1 October 2002 following the blending of the active duty 93d Air Control Wing and the ANG 116th Bomb Wing. The wing flies the E-8 Joint STARS
E-8 Joint STARS
The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a battle management and command and control aircraft of the United States Air Force...
aircraft and remains assigned to Eighth Air Force under Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
.
Postwar RAF use
After the war, the field was turned over to the RAF on 25 June 1945. The station was immediately put into care and maintenance status, and was eventually closed in 1962.Civil use
With the end of military control, the main airfield buildings, hangars, control tower, etc., were demolished. However, on some of the dispersed sites to the east of the airfield quite a number of the buildings remain and are used by a farmer for a variety of purposes.Most of the hardstands have gone. The main runways (with the exception of one which remains almost complete) and taxiways were broken up for aggregate and used for various construction projects.
A stone memorial plaque was dedicated during a veterans' reunion in 1987. It stands in a small plot on one of the old barrack sites just off the lane from Hempnall which runs to the east of the airfield.
A small private museum has been established in some of the remaining Nissen huts on one of the dispersed sites on Airfield Farm. It contains general 8th A.F. memorabilia, material on the 93rd B.G., and items recovered by the East Anglian Aircraft Research Group. There is also a 489th BG and RAF Museum on this site.
A company by the name of Mindacre Ltd., run by Mr. Roy Slarke of Bungay, used the airfield as their main base for aerial application operations, and had at one time six Cessna A188 Agwagons stationed at field. Pilots and engineers from both the UK, Norway, Australia and New Zealand had Hardwick as their home base, and carried out aerial application contracts all over the UK. In 1973 the company won a contract spraying cotton fields in the Gezira, Sudan, Africa, and four Agwagons and one Cessna 206 departed Hardwick and flew to the Sudan, returning six months later. Cpt. Harald Olsen of Norway worked for Mindacre Ltd., from 1972 until completion of the contract in the Sudan i 1974. He writes about his experiences with the company and its base at Hardwick on websitewww.harald.olsen.dk.