RAF Snetterton Heath
Encyclopedia
Attleborough
Attleborough is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England situated between Norwich and Thetford. The parish falls within the district of Breckland and has an area of 21.90 km² with a Mainline to both Norwich and Cambridge....
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
.
Overview
Snetterton Heath airfield was constructed by Taylor WoodrowTaylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest British housebuilding and general construction companies. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with rival George Wimpey to create Taylor Wimpey on 3 July 2007.-Early years:Frank Taylor was...
Ltd., in 1942 at a cost of £950,000 to Class-A specifications. The main runway was 6,000 feet long with two secondaries of 4,200 feet each. Originally thirty-six hardstands of the "frying pan" type were constructed as when work started, the base was intended for RAF use. When re-scheduled for the USAAF, the number was increased to fifty, all of them being on the south and eastern side of the airfield as a railway line and the A11 road restricted dispersed locations. Total area of concrete laid in its construction was 530,000 square yards with storage provided for 144,000 gallons of fuel.
USAAF use
The airfield was allocated for USAAF use in 1943. Its USAAF designation was Station 138, Station-ID "SN". At one stage, it was planned to add an air depot, known as Eccles on the northern side of the airfield, access being across the A11. Four additional T-2 hangars were constructed on this site. Apparently a reduction in the number of heavy bombers being sent to the UK led to this depot becoming surplus to Eighth Air ForceEighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
requirements and construction was stopped before all facilities were completed.
From 13 September 1943 though 18 June 1945, Snetterton Heath served as headquarters for the 45th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 3rd Bomb Division.
386th Bombardment Group (Medium)
The airfield was opened 3 June 1943 and was used by the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air ForceEighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
386th Bombardment Group (Medium), which arrived at Snetterton Heath from Lake Charles AAF
Lake Charles Regional Airport
Lake Charles Regional Airport is a public use airport located five nautical miles south of the central business district of Lake Charles, a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. Owned by Calcasieu Parish, the airport serves approximately 375,000 people in the Lake Charles – Jennings...
Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The 386th Bomb Group was assigned to the 3rd Bombardment Wing and flew Martin B-26B/C Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
twin-engine medium bombers. Its operational squadrons were:
- 552d Bombardment Squadron (RG)
- 553d Bombardment Squadron (AN)
- 554th Bombardment Squadron (RU)
- 555th Bombardment Squadron (YA)
The group remained at Snetterton Heath only a few days, being transferred to RAF Boxted
RAF Boxted
RAF Boxted is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately north-northeast of Colchester; about northeast of London...
on 10 June 1943 in north Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
where B-26 groups were to be established for operations.
96th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
The 96th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrived on 12 June 1943 from RAF Andrews FieldRAF Andrews Field
RAF Station Andrews Field is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately east-northeast of Great Dunmow; about north-northeast of London...
. The 96th was assigned to the 45th Combat Bombardment Wing (later, 45th Air Division
45th Air Division
The 45th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force, stationed at Pease AFB, New Hampshire. It was inactivated on 14 June 1989.-History:...
), and the group tail code was a "Square-C". It's operational squadrons were:
- 337th Bombardment Squadron (AW)
- 338th Bombardment Squadron (BX)
- 339th Bombardment Squadron339th Bombardment SquadronThe 339th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 96th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. It was inactivated on 15 March 1963.-History:...
(QJ) - 413th Bombardment Squadron (MZ)
The group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.
The 96th BG transitioned to operational status at Snetterton Heath after being used as a training unit. It entered combat in June 1943 and functioned primarily as a strategic bombardment organization throughout the war.
As the most conveniently reached station from 3rd Division Headquarters at Elveden Hall, Snetterton Heath units often led to major operations carrying commanding generals. General Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
led the famous Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
shuttle mission to North Africa flying out of this base, and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for withstanding severe assaults by enemy fighters. The 96th also led the 3rd Division on the famous Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.- History :...
mission of 14 October 1943.
In addition the 93d attacked shipyards, harbours, railway yards, aerodromes, oil refineries, aircraft factories, and other industrial targets in Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
The 96th received another DUC for leading the 45th Bomb Wing a great distance through heavy clouds and intense anti-aircraft fire to raid important aircraft component factories in Poland on 9 April 1944. Other significant targets included airfields at Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
and Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
; marshalling yards at Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Hamm
Hamm
Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
, Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
, and Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
; aircraft factories at Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, and Diósgyőr
Diósgyor
Diósgyőr is a historical town in Hungary, today it is a part of Miskolc. The medieval castle in Diósgyőr was a favourite holiday residence of Hungarian kings and queens; today it is a popular tourist attraction. The city part has a heavy industrial background...
; oil refineries at Merseburg
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
and Brux
Brux
Brux is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.-External links:*...
, and chemical works in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Ludwigshafen, and Neunkirchen
Neunkirchen
Neunkirchen is a name common to multiple locales:-In Austria:*Neunkirchen, Austria, the capital of the district Neunkirchen in Lower Austria*Neunkirchen District, Austria-Bavaria:*Neunkirchen am Brand, in Forchheim district...
.
In addition to strategic operations, missions of the 96th BG included bombing coastal defences, railway bridges, gun emplacements, and field batteries in the battle area prior to and during the invasion of Normandy
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
in June 1944; attacking enemy positions in support of the breakthrough at Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
in July 1944; aiding the campaign in France in August by striking roads and road junctions, and by dropping supplies to the Maquis
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
; and attacking, during the early months of 1945, the communications supplying German armies on the western front.
After V-E Day, the group was scheduled for occupation duties in Germany however plans were revised and the 96th BG flew food to Holland and hauled redeployed personnel to French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
, Ireland, France, and Germany. In November 1945 its aircraft were flown back to the United States, and its squadrons were inactivated. The ground personnel left Snetterton Heath in early December, arriving at Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
The 96th Bomb Group was inactivated on 20 December 1945.
Legacy
The United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
96th Bombardment Wing (1953–1993) was a front-line Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
heavy bomb wing during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
being equipped with B-47 and B-52 bombers at Altus AFB Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and Dyess AFB Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Upon activation, the Wing was bestowed the lineage, legacy and honors of the USAAF World War II 96th Bomb Group.
The wing was inactivated by Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
on 1 October 1993 after 40 years of active duty.
Civil use
With the end of military control Snetterton Heath was privately purchased in 1952 with a view to utilizing the runways and perimeter tracks as a motor racing circuit. The first motor cycle meeting was held in 1953 and the first motor races the following year.Today, banking and safety barriers have transformed the airfield and Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit
Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Norfolk, England. Owned by MotorSport Vision, it is situated on the A11 road some 20 km north-east of the town of Thetford and 30 km south-west of the city of Norwich...
is used extensively; not only for local club, national, as well as international racing, but for the testing and development of new designs of motor cycles and cars.
A memorial window to the 96th Bomb Group can be seen in Quidenham
Quidenham
Quidenham is a small rural village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 576 in 183 households as of the 2001 census...
church. There is also a sculpture commemorating the 96th BG on the approach road to the racing circuit, and a museum at the nearby New Eccles Hall School. Both the sculpture and the murals at the museum are the work of the school's Art teacher.
See also
- List of RAF stations
- Snetterton Motor Racing CircuitSnetterton Motor Racing CircuitSnetterton Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Norfolk, England. Owned by MotorSport Vision, it is situated on the A11 road some 20 km north-east of the town of Thetford and 30 km south-west of the city of Norwich...
- SnettertonSnettertonSnetterton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located some north-east of the town of Thetford and south-west of the city of Norwich....