RAF East Wretham
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2011) |
RAF East Wretham USAAF Station 133 AMSL | |||||||||||
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Royal Air Force East Wretham or more simply RAF East Wretham is a former Royal Air Force station located 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Thetford, Norfolk, England.
History
Royal Air Force use
East Wretham airfield was hurriedly brought into service during the early years of the Second World War as a satellite airfield with
Sydney Percival Smith, a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot flying Wellingtons in 115 Squadron, says East Wretham in late 1942 was ".. a fully operational station complete with ammunition dumps, hangar repair shops, barracks, messes, and briefing rooms." He describes flying on missions directed at targets in Germany (including Bremen, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Munich) and Italy (Turin), as well as mine laying in French ports (LeHavre, Brest, St. Nazaire, and Lorient) and the Bay of Biscay.[2]
A plan to turn East Wretham into a "Class A" airfield was not carried through, the bomber unit moved to Little Snoring and the station turned over to the USAAF for fighter operations.
- Units[3]
- No. 1429 (Czech Operational Training) Flight RAF (January - June 1942)[4]
- Detachment of No. 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF (March - May 1943)[5]
- No. 1678 Heavy Conversion Flight RAF[5]
- No. 2715 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 2724 Squadron RAF Regiment
- No. 4243 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment
United States Army Air Forces use
In October 1943, East Wretham was assigned USAAF designation Station 133 and was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force.
USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF East Wretham were:[6]
- 85th Service Group[7]
- 394th and 395th Service Squadrons; HHS 85th Service Group
- 18th Weather Squadron
- 49th Station Complement Squadron
- 1065th Quartermaster Company
- 1101st Signal Company
- 1141st Military Police Company
- 1833rd Ordnance Supply & Maintenance Company
- 2040th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon
359th Fighter Group
The first American tenants at East Wretham were the
The group consisted of the following squadrons:
- 368th Fighter Squadron(CV)
- 369th Fighter Squadron(IV)
- 370th Fighter Squadron (CS)
The 359th FG entered combat in mid-December 1943 after some of the pilots had already flown combat missions with another fighter group. It began operations with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, later converting to North American P-51 Mustangs in April 1944. In combat the group flew escort, patrol, strafing, dive-bombing, and weather-reconnaissance missions. At first, it was engaged primarily in escort activities to cover Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers that attacked airfields in France, and later expanded their area of operations to provide escort for bombers that struck rail centers in Germany and oil targets in Poland.
The group supported the
During the period July 1944 - February 1945, the group was engaged chiefly in escorting bombers to oil refineries,
In addition to its escort duties, the 359th supported campaigns in France during July and August 1944, bombed enemy positions to support the
The 359th Fighter Group returned to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey and was inactivated on 10 November 1945.
Current
Initially after the war ended, the field was used by the RAF as a Polish resettlement camp. With the refugees resettled by 1946, East Wretham was closed as an active airfield and became part of the British Army's
This huge training area in Norfolk has facilities for the live firing of artillery, mortars, anti-tank and machine guns as well as for dry training and bivouacking. Tanks are used during restricted periods from July to September. There are also facilities for parachuting, air-to-ground attacks and other training involving aircraft.
Many of the original World War II airfield buildings still stand, including one of the T2 hangars.
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Citations
- ^ a b c d Falconer 2012, p. 87.
- ^ Sydney Percival Smith and David Scott Smith, "Lifting the Silence," (Toronto, Dundurn Press, 2010), pp 93ff. Smith's Wellington was shot down over France in December 1942. All of his crew survived, and he and one other escaped back to Britain.
- ^ "East Wretham". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 132.
- ^ a b Sturtivant, Hamlin & Halley 1997, p. 100.
- ^ "East Wretham". American Air Museum in Britain. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ^ "85th Service Group". American Air Museum in Britain. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
Bibliography
- Falconer, J. (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-349-5.
- Sturtivant, R.; Hamlin, J.; Halley, J. (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-252-1.
External links
- East Wretham Photo Gallery
- Freeman, Roger A. (1978) Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-09-6
- Freeman, Roger A. (1991) The Mighty Eighth The Colour Record. Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35708-1
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- www.controltowers.co.uk East Wretham
- 359th Fighter Group on www.littlefriends.co.uk
- mighty8thaf.preller.us East Wretham
- USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present