RAF Snetterton Heath was home to the 96th Bomb Group (Heavy) and was closest to USAAF 3rd Division HQ so many flights originated from here carrying commanding generals. General Curtis LeMay flew from here on the Regensburg raid, and later received the Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for the action. The 96th Bomb Group led the 3rd Division in the Schweinfurt raid, as well as bombing Axis industrial targets throughout Europe. Today the airfield is home to the Snetterton Racing Circuit.
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RAF Fulbeck was part of the 9th Air Force and primarily flew the C-47/C-53 Skytrain aircraft for airborne troops. During the War it was used by both the RAF and the USAAF, most notably the 434th and 442nd Troop Carrier Groups. The 442nd took part in D-Day operations.
Later the 440th Troop Carrier Group arrived to take part in Operation Market Garden in September 1944. After the failure of the operation, Allied hopes for wrapping up the war by Christmas, 1944, were dashed. The IX Troop Carrier Command returned the airfield to the RAF in late September 1944.
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RAF Metfield was in the 8th Air Force, and was the home of both a fighter group and bombers. The 353rd Fighter Group flew P-47D’s, but they moved out just prior to D-Day. Then came the 491st Bombardment Group, equipped with B-24’s. The group was unusual in that their ground equipment was collected from other units. The 491st Bomb Group bomb dump exploded in July, 1944, when 1,200 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs mysteriously detonated and created a large crater still visible on the landscape today. At one time the lake was filled with all manner of WW2-era junk.
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On the morning of June 6, 1944, the small road along the cliffs was a hive of activity with trucks racing to resupply the defenders. With US and Allied troops scaling the cliffs and naval guns targeting the area, the defenders were defeated.
The Allies were able to secure a foothold in France. My cousin co-piloted a B-17 outfitted for the invasion with machine guns, lots of ammo, and no bombs. If it had a swastika on it, Mike and his buddies shot it full of holes. Their hit list contained cars and trucks, tanks, trains, troops, aircraft, fortifications, armor, field artillery, and anything which looked ‘good’.
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RNAS Lee-on-the-Solent was a seaplane base tasked with protecting shipping along the south coast and into the Southampton Water. The base has been operational since 1917. In the period between the wars, it became a training base teaching pilots to fly Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers like those which sank the Bismarck. The base was an operational part of the Fleet Air Arm.
Today it contains the Hovercraft Museum at Daedalus, including the speed record holder across the Channel. Princess Anne made the trip in 22 minutes in 1995, and now sits next to its sister ship Princess Margaret.
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The B-24 Liberator was World War II’s most produced bomber with a total production of 9,000+. From 1940-45, the skies of East Anglia were thick with fighters and bombers. East Anglia is an area of about 5,000 square miles, and in 1944, it contained 156 RAF/USAAF airfields each putting as many as 50 planes into the air daily. Imagine thousands of aircraft flying from airfields as close to each other as 5 miles. Air traffic control became a major headache and those controllers deserved medals just for doing their jobs.
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