RAF Rattlesden
Encyclopedia
RAF Rattlesden is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 9 miles SE of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk
.
and Bury St. Edmunds
The airfield was opened in 1942 and was used by the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force
. Rattlesden was given USAAF designation Station 126 (RS).
s when, in December 1942, the ground personnel of two squadrons of the 322d Bombardment Group (Medium) arrived from Drew AAF
, Florida
in April 1943. The squadrons were moved to RAF Bury St. Edmunds after a decision to establish one group per airfield.
was arranged. Rattlesden, however, remained without a combat unit until the 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrived from Harvard AAF
Nebraska
on 29 November 1943. The 447th was assigned a group tail code was a "Square-K". Its operational squadrons were:
The group flew the B-17 Flying Fortress as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign and served chiefly as a strategic bombardment organization. The 447th's first mission from Rattlesden was despatched on Christmas Eve and, during the course of hostilities, another 256 missions were tlown from the base.
The group helped to prepare for the invasion of the Continent
by attacking submarine pens, naval installations, and cities in Germany; ports and missile sites in France, and airfields and marshalling yards in France, Belgium, and Germany. During Big Week
, 20-25 February 1944, the 447th took part in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry. Supported the invasion of Normandy
in June 1944 by bombing airfields and other targets near the beachhead. Aided the breakthrough at Saint-Lô
in July and the effort to take Brest
in September. Pounded enemy positions to assist the airborne invasion of Holland in September. Also dropped supplies to Free French Forces
during the summer of 1944.
The 447th turned to strategic targets in Germany in October 1944, placing emphasis on sources of oil production until mid-December. 2nd Lt Robert E Femoyer, navigator, won the Medal of Honor
for action on 2 November 1944. While on a mission over Germany, his B-17 was damaged by flak and Femoyer was severely wounded by shell fragments. Determined to navigate the plane out of danger and save the crew, he refused a sedative and, for more than two hours, directed the navigation of the bomber so effectively that it returned to base without further damage. Femoyer died shortly after being removed from the plane.
During the Battle of the Bulge
, December 1944-January 1945, the group assaulted marshalling yards, railroad bridges, and communications centers in the combat zone. Then resumed operations against targets in Germany, attacking oil, transportation, communications, and other objectives until the war ended. During this period, also supported the airborne assault across the Rhine
in March.
The group returned to Drew AAF Florida
in August 1945, its personnel relieved from active duty and aircraft sent to storage. At Drew AAF the 447th was redesignated as the "447th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy)" and allocated to Strategic Air Command
w/o/p/e as a reserve unit.
Today there is not much left of the living and mess sites of the airfield, only part of the main runway and the south & eastern part of the perimeter track still exist plus a few of the hardstands. The most complete area of the airfield today is the Technical No. 1, east of the airfield which still has around 20 buildings left including the large T-2 hangar. The Rattlesden Gliding Group uses the southwest end of the former main runway, with one lane of the former southwest perimeter track being used as a taxiway. The control tower is their club house.
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
USAAF use
Rattlesden airfield was built in 1942 as a Class A bomber airfield. The airfield had three intersecting concrete runways, perimeter track and, for USAAF use, hardstands for fifty aircraft and two dispersed, black-painted T-2 hangars. Living and messing sites were on the east side of the field. Situated four miles south of the A14 highway between StowmarketStowmarket
-See also:* Stowmarket Town F.C.* Stowmarket High School-External links:* * * * *...
and Bury St. Edmunds
The airfield was opened in 1942 and was used by 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....
. Rattlesden was given USAAF designation Station 126 (RS).
322d Bombardment Group (Medium)
Rattlesden was originally designated as a satellite for RAF Bury St. Edmunds with both airfields being assigned to the 3rd Bomb Wing which controlled most of the USAAF assigned airfields in Suffolk. The mission of the 3d Bomb Wing was medium bombardment and Rattlesden was destined to receive B-26 MarauderB-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
s when, in December 1942, the ground personnel of two squadrons of the 322d Bombardment Group (Medium) arrived from Drew AAF
MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in April 1943. The squadrons were moved to RAF Bury St. Edmunds after a decision to establish one group per airfield.
447th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
In June 1943, it was decided that the B-26 groups would be better placed to conduct operations from airfields further south. and an exchange of bases with the B-17-equipped 4th Bombardment Wing in EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
was arranged. Rattlesden, however, remained without a combat unit until the 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrived from Harvard AAF
Harvard Army Airfield
Harvard State Airport , also known as Harvard State Airfield, is a public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Harvard, a city in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics...
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
on 29 November 1943. The 447th was assigned a group tail code was a "Square-K". Its operational squadrons were:
- 708th Bombardment Squadron (CQ)
- 709th Bombardment Squadron (IE)
- 710th Bombardment Squadron (IJ)
- 711th Bombardment Squadron (IR)
The group flew the B-17 Flying Fortress as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign and served chiefly as a strategic bombardment organization. The 447th's first mission from Rattlesden was despatched on Christmas Eve and, during the course of hostilities, another 256 missions were tlown from the base.
The group helped to prepare for the invasion of the Continent
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...
by attacking submarine pens, naval installations, and cities in Germany; ports and missile sites in France, and airfields and marshalling yards in France, Belgium, and Germany. 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, the 447th took part in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry. Supported 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 by bombing airfields and other targets near the beachhead. Aided the 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 and the effort to take Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
in September. Pounded enemy positions to assist the airborne invasion of Holland in September. Also dropped supplies to Free French Forces
Free French Forces
The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
during the summer of 1944.
The 447th turned to strategic targets in Germany in October 1944, placing emphasis on sources of oil production until mid-December. 2nd Lt Robert E Femoyer, navigator, won 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 on 2 November 1944. While on a mission over Germany, his B-17 was damaged by flak and Femoyer was severely wounded by shell fragments. Determined to navigate the plane out of danger and save the crew, he refused a sedative and, for more than two hours, directed the navigation of the bomber so effectively that it returned to base without further damage. Femoyer died shortly after being removed from the plane.
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, the group assaulted marshalling yards, railroad bridges, and communications centers in the combat zone. Then resumed operations against targets in Germany, attacking oil, transportation, communications, and other objectives until the war ended. During this period, also supported 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.
The group returned to Drew AAF Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in August 1945, its personnel relieved from active duty and aircraft sent to storage. At Drew AAF the 447th was redesignated as the "447th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy)" and allocated 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...
w/o/p/e as a reserve unit.
Postwar Governmental use
After the war, the field was transferred to the RAF on 10 October 1945. For a short while it was used by the RAF for basic training (square bashing) and then as a Ministry of Food buffer depot but was finally inactivated on 15 August 1946. In the 1960s part of the site was used for RAF Bristol Bloodhound surface to air missiles but when this was abandoned the whole airfield was sold during 1967/68.Civil use
With the end of military control the land was returned to agricultural use.Today there is not much left of the living and mess sites of the airfield, only part of the main runway and the south & eastern part of the perimeter track still exist plus a few of the hardstands. The most complete area of the airfield today is the Technical No. 1, east of the airfield which still has around 20 buildings left including the large T-2 hangar. The Rattlesden Gliding Group uses the southwest end of the former main runway, with one lane of the former southwest perimeter track being used as a taxiway. The control tower is their club house.
See also
External links
- 447th Bomb Group website
- Rattlesden Airfield photo album
- Rattlesden Gliding Club (Current airfield users)
- 447th Bomb Group Association