RAF Wendling
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RAF Wendling is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 4 miles SE of East Dereham in Norfolk.
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[edit] USAAF use
Wendling airfield was originally planed for RAF Bomber Command use, however in 1942 was assigned as a USAAF heavy bomber installation. It was designated as Station 118.
[edit] 392nd Bombardment Group (Heavy)
The airfield was opened in 1943 and was used by the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force 392d Bombardment Group (Heavy), arriving from Alamogordo AAF New Mexico on 18 July 1943. The 453d was assigned to the 14th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Circle-D". Its operational squadrons were:
- 576th Bomb Squadron (CI)
- 577th Bomb Squadron (DC)
- 578th Bomb Squadron (EC)
- 579th Bomb Squadron (GC)
The group flew B-24 Liberators as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.
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 at Gelsenkirchen, a marshalling yard at Osnabruck, a railroad viaduct at Bielefeld, steel plants at Brunswick, a tank factory at Kassel, and gas works at Berlin.
The group took part in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry during Big Week, 20-25 Feb 1944, being awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing an aircraft and component parts factory at Gotha 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 the Normandy invasion in June 1944 and struck coastal defenses and choke points on D-Day.
The group hit enemy positions to assist ground forces at St Lo during the breakthrough in July 1944. Bombed railroads, bridges, and highways to cut off German supply lines during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945. Dropped supplies to Allied troops during the air attack on Holland in September 1944 and during the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
The 392d Bomb Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945, then carried food to the Dutch. The unit returned to Charleston AAF South Carolina on 25 June 1945 and was deactivated on 13 September 1945.
[edit] Postwar use
When the Americans left, Wendling was transferred to RAF Maintenance Command and was used as a satellite airtield, later becoming an inactive station before being finally closed on 22 November 1961. It was used between June 1960 and April 1964 by the United States Air Force as a radio facility before being finally closed and sold in 1964.
In civilian hands the airfield has become a turkey farm, 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 peremeter track has been reduced to a single lane road.
A granite obelisk monument to the men of the 392nd Bomb Group was dedicated in September 1945, and stands well maintained and cared for in a small plot just off the airfield on the road to Beeston.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Freeman, Roger A., Airfields Of The Eighth, Then And Now, 1978
- www.controltowers.co.uk Wendling
- mighty8thaf.preller.us Wendling
- Maurer Maurer, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, Office of Air Force History, 1983
- USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present
