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| RAF Tibenham RAF Tivetshall RFC Tibenham USAAF Station 124   .png) | |||||||||||
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| Located NearDiss,Norfolk, in England | |||||||||||
 Postwar photo of Tibenham Airfield, England | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | Eighth Air Force RAF Maintenance Command | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
  RAF Tibenham Location in Norfolk | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°28′N1°10′E / 52.46°N 1.16°E /52.46; 1.16 | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1916 (1916) and 1941 | ||||||||||
| Built by | W. & C. French Ltd. | ||||||||||
| In use | 1916-1920 1942-1959 | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 | ||||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||||
| Garrison | 445th Bombardment Group | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
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Royal Air Force Tibenham or more simplyRAF Tibenham is a formerRoyal Air Forcestation located 13.5 miles (21.7 km) southwest ofNorwich and 5.8 miles (9.3 km) north ofDiss,Norfolk,England.
Tibenham was used as aRoyal Flying Corps landing ground during theFirst World War and was known asRFC Tibenham.[1]
No. 51 Squadron RFC and75 Sqn RFC allegedly used the landing ground.[1]
The airfield was built up during 1941/42 as a standardheavy bomber airfield with a main runway 6,000 ft long (1,800 m) (03-21) and two secondary runways 4,200 feet (1,300 m) in length (08-26, 15–33). It had an enclosed perimeter track containing 36 frying-pan type hardstands and fourteen loops. Two T-2 hangars were constructed on the eastern side of the airfield and adjacent to the technical site. Accommodations were constructed for about 2,900 personnel.[2] Tibenham was assigned USAAF designation Station 124.[1]
The first American units at Tibenham were the personnel of twoMartin B-26 Marauder squadrons of theTwelfth Air Force320th Bombardment Group (Medium)[3] which were en route toLa Senia Airfield,Algeria in November 1942. They had no aircraft and their stay was a matter of only a few days. During the summer of 1943, Tibenham was assigned to the2d Bombardment Wing (later the 2d Air Division) and was used by a fewConsolidated B-24 Liberator training aircraft, but it was not until November that the first combat units and their aircraft arrived.[2]
Tibenham became home to the445th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of theUnited States Army Air ForcesEighth Air Force. The 445th arrived fromSioux City Army Air Base,Iowa on 4 November 1943.[4] The 445th was assigned to the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Circle-F".[5]
Its operational squadrons were:
The group flew B-24 Liberators as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.[6]
The 445th BG entered combat on 13 December 1943 by attackingU-boat installations atKiel; only fifteen crews were considered fit for this mission which was heavily defended area. The unit operated primarily as a strategic bombardment organization until the war ended, striking such targets as industries inOsnabrück, synthetic oil plants inLutzendorf, chemical works inLudwigshafen, marshalling yards atHamm, an airfield atMunich, an ammunition plant at Duneberg, underground oil storage facilities at Ehmen, and factories atMünster.[6]
The group participated in the Allied campaign against the German aircraft industry duringBig Week, 20 – 25 February 1944, being awarded aDistinguished Unit Citation for attacking an aircraft assembly plant atGotha on 24 February. The 389th Group was part of the Gotha mission but after their master bombardier collapsed dropped their bombs before the target and the 445th attacked alone. Thirteen of twenty-five aircraft were lost.[6]
It occasionally flewinterdictory and support missions. It helped to prepare for the invasion of Normandy by bombing airfields, V-weapon sites, and other targets. The unit attacked shore installations onD-Day, 6 June 1944 and supported ground forces atSaint-Lô by striking enemy defences in July 1944. During theBattle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945 it bombed German communications. Early on 24 March 1945 dropped food, medical supplies, and ammunition to troops that landed nearWesel during theairborne assault across the Rhine and that afternoon flew a bombing mission to the same area, hitting a landing ground at Stormede.[6]
On occasion the unit droppedpropaganda leaflets and hauled fuel to France. Awarded theCroix de Guerre with Palm by the French government for operations in the theatre from December 1943 to February 1945 supplying the resistance.[6]
By far, the 445th's most notorious mission is theKassel Mission of 27 September 1944. In cloud, the navigator of the lead bomber miscalculated and the 35 planes diverted from the rest of the 2nd Air Division and proceeded toGöttingen some 35 miles (56 km) from the primary. After the bomb run, the group was attacked from the rear by an estimated 150 Luftwaffe planes, resulting in the most concentrated air battle in history. The Luftwaffe unit was aStormgruppen, a special unit intended to attack bombers by flying in tight formations, up to ten fighters in line abreast. This tactic was intended to break the bomber formation at a single pass. The 361st Fighter Group intervened, preventing a complete destruction of the Group. Twenty-nine German fighters and 26 American planes (25 B-24 bombers and 1 P-51 Mustang) went down in a 15-mile (24 km) radius. Only four 445th planes made it back to the base; two made emergency landings atRAF Manston, two crashed in France, one in Belgium, another crashed nearRAF Old Buckenham—representing an 88.5% total casualty rate.[7]
The 445th Bomb Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945. It departed Tibenham and returned toFort Dix AAFNew Jersey on 28 May 1945.[4]
James Stewart, the film actor, was 703rd Squadron Commander with the 445th when it arrived at Tibenham. He flew 10 operational missions with the 445th Bomb Group before being transferred to the 453rd Bomb Group atRAF Old Buckenham in March, 1944[8]
The Americans left in late May 1945 and on 15 July the airfield reverted to theAir Ministry[9] becoming a Maintenance Unit satellite.[2]
No. 4247 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment was posted here at some point.[1]
Although part of the airfield was sold off in 1952, the main runway was lengthened in 1955 for possible use by jet aircraft.[2] However it was never utilized and Tibenham was closed in 1959,[9] being sold during 1964/65.[citation needed]
Since 1960 the airfield has been used for peaceful recreation by the sailplanes of the Norfolk Gliding Club.[9] In civilian hands most of the wartime airfield buildings were demolished;[10] however, there are a few derelict huts and other structures on some of the dispersed sites which lay to the east between the airfield and the main London-Norwich railway line. Most of the main runway with its postwar extension still exists, along with both secondary runways.[citation needed] The perimeter track and various hardstands, however, have been removed for hardcore.[10]
The control tower was used until 1975 as a club house by the Gliding Club. Later that year the club moved into a new home which was constructed nearby.It was said that the old control tower was haunted; and at least four members of the Gliding Club were afraid to enter the building, even in daytime. It was reported that a person in flying clothes, similar to those worn by the USAAF combat crews, had been seen on several occasions wandering through the darkened rooms.[citation needed] The old control tower was demolished in 1978 after the new clubhouse came into use. Current projects include plans for a Heritage Centre to preserve the history of the airfield and the connection with the 445th Bomb Group.[citation needed]
A memorial to the Liberator crews stands on the airfield.[citation needed]
Tibenham Airfield was used as a location for theDad's Army episode; Round and Round went the Great Big Wheel.[11]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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