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| RAF Debach USAAF Station 152  .png) | |
|---|---|
| Located NearWoodbridge,Suffolk | |
 Aerial Photo of Debach Airfield - 15 April 1946 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Royal Air Force station |
| Controlled by | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces |
| Location | |
  RAF Debach RAF Debach, shown within Suffolk | |
| Coordinates | 52°08′19.95″N001°16′11.06″E / 52.1388750°N 1.2697389°E /52.1388750; 1.2697389 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1944-1946 |
| Battles/wars | European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 |
Royal Air Force Debach or more simplyRAF Debach is a formerRoyal Air Forcestation located atDebach, 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest ofWoodbridge,Suffolk,England.
Debach was one of the last Eighth Air Force heavy bomber stations to be occupied, being built by the 820th Engineer Battalion (Aviation) of the US Army during 1943/1944. It was assigned USAAF designation Station 152 (DC).
USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Debach were:[1]
The airfield was opened in April 1944 and was used by theUnited States Army Air Forces8th Air Force493d Bombardment Group (Heavy), arriving fromElveden Hall. The 493d was assigned to the 93d Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Square-X" while equipped with B-24s. Its operational squadrons were:
The group flew both theConsolidated B-24 Liberator and theBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign. Debach airfield was the last Eighth Air Force heavy bomber station to become operational, the group flying its first mission onD-Day. Unfortunately the American engineers had not made a very satisfactory job of constructing the runway and the concrete soon started to break up. By the end of 1944, the runway was so bad that the group had to move temporarily toRAF Little Walden while runways were repaired and strengthened. The group returned to Debach in March 1945.
The 493d BG used B-24's until they were replaced with B-17's in September 1944. The group operated chiefly against industrial and military installations in Germany, attacking an ordnance depot atMagdeburg, marshalling yards atCologne, synthetic oil plants atMerseburg, a railroad tunnel atAhrweiler, bridges at Irlich, factories atFrankfurt, and other strategic objectives. On 25 September, a bombardment of Strasbourg left a number of buildings destroyed in the historical city centre.
Additional operations included striking airfields, bridges, and gun batteries prior to and during theinvasion of Normandy in June 1944; hitting enemy positions to assist ground forces south ofCaen and atSaint-Lô in July 1944; bombing German fortifications to cover theairborne attack on the Netherlands in September 1944; attacking enemy communications during theBattle of the Bulge, December 1944-January 1945; and assisting theairborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
The 493d Bomb Group flew its last combat mission, an attack on marshalling yards atNauen, on 20 April 1945.
The unit returned toSioux Falls AAFSouth Dakota and was inactivated on 28 August 1945.
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_307895.jpg)
After the war, Debach was used first as aprisoner-of-war camp for German PoWs and later fordisplaced persons before being abandoned about 1948. It was sold in 1963-64, the main N–S runway becoming the boundary between two adjoining farms. The more interesting western side includes the control tower and several original buildings.
The northern end of the main runway was sold in 1969 for the construction of a mushroom farm. Much of the concrete runways and taxiways were ground into aggregate for use during road building, and the land reclaimed to be used for agricultural crops. Many of the buildings on the former Technical site were torn down with one man being killed during the removal of the north-east T2 hangar. The other hangar is now a farm grain store. The control tower still stands and has been completely restored with other close buildings being used to display artefacts and act as a museum to 493rd Bomb Group. Pylons carrying electricity now cross the southern edge of the former airfield.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Media related toRAF Debach at Wikimedia Commons
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