RAF Old Buckenham
Encyclopedia
Attleborough
Attleborough is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England situated between Norwich and Thetford. The parish falls within the district of Breckland and has an area of 21.90 km² with a Mainline to both Norwich and Cambridge....
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 is currently in civilian use as Old Buckenham Airport
Old Buckenham Airport
Old Buckenham Airport , formerly RAF Old Buckenham, is located southwest of Norwich, East Anglia, England.Old Buckenham Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee...
.
USAAF use
Old Buckenham airfield was built during 1942-43 for the United States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States 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....
. It was given designation USAAF Air Station 144.
The airfield was opened in late 1943 and was used by the 453rd Bombardment Group
453rd Bombardment Group
The 453d Operations Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 43d Air Refueling Wing, stationed at Souda Bay, Greece...
(Heavy), arriving from March Field, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on 23 December 1943. The 453d was assigned to the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing
2d Bombardment Wing (World War II)
The 2d Bombardment Wing is an inactive organization of the United States Army Air Forces. Its last assignment was with the Continental Air Forces, based at McChord Field, Washington. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945....
, and the group tail code was a "Circle-J". Its operational squadrons were:
- 732d Bombardment Squadron732d Bombardment SquadronThe 732d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 453d Bombardment Group, stationed at Fort Dix Army Air Base, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 12 September 1945.-History:...
(E3) - 733d Bombardment Squadron733d Bombardment SquadronThe 733d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 453d Bombardment Group, stationed at Fort Dix Army Air Base, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 12 September 1945.-History:...
(F8) - 734th Bombardment Squadron734th Bombardment SquadronThe 734th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 453d Bombardment Group, stationed at Fort Dix Army Air Base, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 12 September 1945.-History:...
(E8) - 735th Bombardment Squadron735th Bombardment SquadronThe 735th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 453d Bombardment Group, stationed at Fort Dix Army Air Base, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 12 September 1945.-History:...
(H6)
The group flew Consolidated B-24 Liberators as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.
The 453d BG entered combat on 5 February 1944 with an attack against an airfield at Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
. Throughout combat, the unit served chiefly as a strategic bombardment organization. Targets included a fuel depot at Dulmen
Dülmen
Dülmen is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge hills to the north and the Ems river to the east...
, marshalling yards at Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
, aircraft assembly plants at Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
, railway centres at Hamm, an ordnance depot at Glinde
Glinde
Glinde may refer to several places in Germany:* Glinde, Schleswig-Holstein, a town in Schleswig-Holstein* Glinde, Saxony-Anhalt, part of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Elbe-Saale, district of Schönebeck, Saxony-Anhalt...
, oil refineries at Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, chemical works at Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the South, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne and to the North is the state capital Düsseldorf....
, an airfield at Neumünster
Neumünster
Neumünster is an independent town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, which has a total of four independent towns.-Current Situation:Neumünster station is major railway junction with lines running in six directions, including the important Hamburg-Altona–Kiel and Neumünster–Flensburg lines.Near...
, a canal at Minden
Minden
Minden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the river Weser. It is the capital of the Kreis of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the...
, and a railway viaduct at Altenbeken
Altenbeken
Altenbeken is a municipality in the district of Paderborn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Altenbeken is situated in the Eggegebirge, approx. 15 km northeast of Paderborn...
.
The group took part in the concentrated attack against the German aircraft industry during "Big Week
Big Week
Between February 20–25, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign, the United States Strategic Air Forces launched Operation Argument, a series of missions against the Third Reich that became known as Big Week. The planners intended to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle by...
", 20–25 February 1944. Besides strategic operations, the group engaged in support and interdictory missions. Bombed V-weapon sites, airfields, and gun batteries in France prior to the invasion of Normandy
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; on 6 June hit shore installations between Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
and Cherbourg and other enemy positions farther inland. Attacked enemy troops in support of the Allied breakthrough at 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...
in July. Bombed German communications 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. Ferried cargo on two occasions: hauled gasoline, blankets, and rations to France in September 1944; dropped ammunition, focal, and medical supplies near Wesel 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...
in March 1945.
James "Jimmy" Stewart, the Hollywood movie star, was Group Operations Officer at Old Buckenham during the spring of 1944.
The 453d Bomb Group flew its last combat mission in April. Initially it was prepared for possible redeployment to the Pacific theatre
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
using 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. However hostilities in Europe had ceased before the group had time to start its movement and it returned to New Castle AAFld, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
on 9 May 1945 to be inactivated on 12 September 1945.
Air Ministry use
In May 1945, Old Buckenham reverted to Air MinistryAir Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
control and was used as a satellite for maintenance units until being closed on 20 June 1960.
Civil use
With the end of military control Old Buckenham has largely been converted back to agriculture with much of the concrete areas being ground into aggregate and being sold in the NorwichNorwich
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...
area. Today a single-bay perimeter track remains and one small section of full-width runway which is used by crop spraying aircraft in the 1970s and 80s and is now part of a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) airfield site.
In May 1983, during the 2nd Air Division reunion, the 453rd Bomb Group dedicated an extension to the Village Hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
at Old Buckenham
Old Buckenham
Old Buckenham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, approximately south-west of Norwich.It covers an area of and had a population of 1,294 in 658 households as of the2001 census...
as a memorial to the members of the Group who lost their lives serving in the UK. The room contains various wartime artefacts and memorabilia and a large bronze plaque listing those who are remembered.
Another memorial to the 453rd was dedicated during the reunion in 1990. It is of black granite in the shape of a B24 fin and is near Touchdown Aero Centre buildings.