 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "RAF Wendling" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| RAF Wendling USAAF Station 118  .png) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Dereham,Norfolk in England | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||||||
| Code | WU | ||||||||||
| Owner | Air Ministry | ||||||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | Eighth Air Force RAF Maintenance Command | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°42′N0°50′E / 52.70°N 0.84°E /52.70; 0.84 | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1942 (1942) | ||||||||||
| In use | 1943-1961 (1961) | ||||||||||
| Battles/wars | European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 – May 1945 | ||||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||||
| Garrison | 392d Bombardment Group | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Royal Air Force Wendling orRAF Wendling is a formerRoyal Air Forcestation located 5 miles (8.0 km) west-northwest ofEast Dereham,Norfolk,England.
Opened in 1942, it was used during the war by the392nd Bombardment Group of theUnited States Army Air Forces,Eighth Air Force, flyingConsolidated B-24 Liberator bombers.
After the war, it was maintained by the RAF as a standby airfield until their departure in 1961. A small USAF radio detachment remained until 1964, when the land was sold off and returned to agriculture, with turkey sheds built on parts of the old runways.[1]
RAF Wendling (Wendling airfield) was originally planned forRAF Bomber Command use, however in 1942 was assigned as aUnited States Army Air Forces heavy bomber installation. It was the most northerly placed ofEighth Air Force heavy bomber fields and was built by Taylor-Woodrow Ltd in 1942. The airfield featured a 6,000-foot (1,800 m) long main runway angled on a NE-SW axis and two intersecting 4,200 feet (1,300 m) long secondary runways, all within a perimeter track and constructed of reinforced concrete.[citation needed]
Another twenty hardstands (loop type) were added to the thirty of the frying-pan type when the airfield was rescheduled as anEighth Air Force heavy bomber station. Two T2-type hangars were provided plus the usual full technical facilities, Mark II airfield lighting and dispersed accommodation for some 2,900 persons. The domestic sites were in the parish of Beeston to the west of the airfield and the bomb dump and ammunition stores were in Honeypot Wood to the south-east.[citation needed]
Under USAAF control, RAF Wendling was designated as Station 118.[2]
The airfield was opened in 1943 and was used by the392d Bombardment Group (Heavy), arriving fromAlamogordo Army Airfield,New Mexico in the south west of the US, on 18 July 1943.[3] The 453rd was assigned to the14th Combat Bombardment Wing,[4] and the group tail code was a "Circle-D".[5]
Its operational squadrons were:
The group flewConsolidated B-24 Liberators as part of theEighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.[6]
The 392d BG entered combat on 9 September 1943 and engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic objectives on the Continent until April 1945. The group attacked such targets as an oil refinery atGelsenkirchen, a marshalling yard atOsnabrück, a railroad viaduct atBielefeld, steel plants atBrunswick, a tank factory atKassel, and gas works at Berlin.[3]
The group took part in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry duringBig Week, 20 – 25 February 1944, being awarded aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for bombing an aircraft and component parts factory atGotha on 24 February. The unit sometimes supported ground forces or carried out interdictory operations along with bombing airfields and V-weapon sites in France prior to theNormandy invasion in June 1944 and struck coastal defences and choke points on D-Day.[3]
The group hit enemy positions to assist ground forces atSaint-Lô during the breakthrough in July 1944. Bombed railroads, bridges, and highways to cut off German supply lines during theBattle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945. Dropped supplies to Allied troops during theair attack on Holland in September 1944 and during theairborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.[3]
The 392nd Bomb Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945, then carried food to the Dutch. The unit returned toCharleston Army Airfield South Carolina, in the north east of the USA on 25 June 1945 and was inactivated on 13 September 1945.[3]
When the Americans left, Wendling RAF was returned to the Air Ministry and transferred toRAF Maintenance Command and was used byNo. 258 Maintenance Unit RAF as a stand-by airfield, later becoming an inactive station before being finally closed on 22 November 1961.[7] The airfield was also home to No. 4249 Anti-Aircraft Flight RAF Regiment.[2]
It was used between June 1960 and April 1964 by theUnited States Air Force as a radio facility before being finally closed and sold in 1964.[7]
With the end of military control the airfield has become a turkey farm,[8] with large coops built along its runways. Most of the buildings and hardstands have been torn down and the concrete removed. Also much of the perimeter track has been reduced to a single lane road.[citation needed]
A granite obelisk monument to the men of the 392nd Bomb Group and stands well maintained and cared for in a small plot just off the airfield on the road toBeeston.[8] The monument was dedicated in September 1945.[citation needed]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
| Formations and units |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branches and components | |||||||
| Reserve forces | |||||||
| Equipment | |||||||
| Personnel | |||||||
| Appointments | |||||||
| Symbols and uniform | |||||||
| Associated civil organisations | |||||||
