RAF Debach

Infobox Military Structure
name= Royal Air Force Station Debach
USAAF Station 152
location= Located Near Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom
coordinates=coord|52|08|19.95|N|001|16|11.06|E|


caption= Aerial Photo of Debach Airfield - 15 April 1946
type= Military Airfield
code=
built=1943
builder=
materials=
height=
used=1944-1946
demolished=
condition=
ownership=
controlledby=Royal Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
garrison=Royal Air Force
Eighth Air Force
commanders=
occupants=
battles= European Theatre of World War II
Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 Location map|Suffolk
caption= RAF Debach, shown within Suffolk
lat= 52.139
long= 1.272
width= 200

RAF Debach is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 10 miles 3 miles NW of Woodbridge, Suffolk.

USAAF use

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).

493rd Bombardment Group (Heavy)

The airfield was opened in April 1944 and was used by the United States Army Air Force 8th Air Force 493d Bombardment Group (Heavy), arriving from RAF Elveden Hall. The 493d was assigned to the 93d Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Square-X". It's operational squadrons were:

* 860th Bomb Squadron (NG)
* 861st Bomb Squadron (G6)
* 862d Bomb Squadron (8M)
* 863d Bomb Squadron (Q4)

The group flew both the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator 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 on D-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 to RAF 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 at Magdeburg, marshalling yards at Cologne, synthetic oil plants at Merseburg, a railroad tunnel at Ahrweiler, bridges at Irlich, factories at Frankfurt, and other strategic objectives.

Additional operations included striking airfields, bridges, and gun batteries prior to and during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944; hitting enemy positions to assist ground forces south of Caen and at St Lo in July 1944; bombing German fortifications to cover the airborne attack on Holland in September 1944; attacking enemy communications during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945; and assisting the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.

The 493d Bomb Group flew its last combat mission, an attack on marshalling yards at Nauen, on 20 April 1945.

The unit returned to Sioux Falls AAF South Dakota and was deactivated on 28 August 1945.

Postwar use

After the war, Debach was used first as a camp for German POWs and later for displaced 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 old control tower still stands in a decayed state due to vandalism, and pylons carrying electricity now cross the southern edge of the former airfield.

There are plans to restore the control tower to be used as a museum to the 493rd Bomb Group.

ee also

* List of RAF stations
* USAAF Eighth Air Force - World War II

References

* Freeman, Roger A. (1978) Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now. After the Battle ISBN 0900913096
* Freeman, Roger A. (1991) The Mighty Eighth The Colour Record. Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35708-1
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
* [http://www.controltowers.co.uk/D/Debach.htm www.controltowers.co.uk Debach]
* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/usafserials.html USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present]

External links

* [http://mighty8thaf.preller.us/gallery/Debach Debach Airfield photo album]
* [http://www.493bgdebach.co.uk 493d Bomb Group website]
* [http://www.lonestarflight.org/index.php?pgid=7&rec=14 Tom Landry at The Lone Star Flight Museum]
* [http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=624000&Y=254000&scale=25000&width=700&height=400&gride=624000&gridn=254000&lang=&db=hcgaz&coordsys=gb Aerial photo of RAF Debach from Multimap.Com]