RAF Rackheath

Infobox Military Structure
name= Royal Air Force Station Rackheath
USAAF Station 138
location= Located Near Norwich, Norfolk, England
coordinates=coord|52|40|34.49|N|001|23|02|E|


caption= Aerial Photo of Rackheath Airfield - 9 July 1946
type= Military airfield
code=RK
built=1943
builder=
materials=
height=
used=1944-1945
demolished=
condition=
ownership=
controlledby=Royal Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
garrison=
commanders=
occupants=Eighth Air Force
battles= European Theatre of World War II
Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 Location map|Norfolk
caption= RAF Rackheath, shown within Norfolk
lat= 52.676
long= 1.371
width= 200

RAF Rackheath is a former World War II RAF station airfield in England . The field is located 5 miles (8 km) NE of Norwich in Norfolk.

USAAF use

Rackheath airfield was constructed in 1943 for the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force and followed the lines of other heavy ] bomber bases with a main runway of convert|2000|yd and two auxiliary runways of convert|1400|yd each. The perimeter track was convert|2.7|mi|km in length and this and the runways had a concrete screed finish. Mark 11 airfield lighting was installed, two T-2 hangars were erected for major aircraft maintenance, and dispersed temporary building accommodation provided for some 2.400 men in the wooded countryside to the south-west of the airfield. During construction, convert|556000|cuyd|m3 of soil were excavated, convert|14000|yd of soakaway drains installed and convert|504000|yd super of concrete laid. A major overhead power line had to be put underground to clear the flying approaches.

The airfield was given USAAF designation Station 138.

The airfield was opened on 11 March 1944 and was used by the 467th Bombardment Group (Heavy), arriving from Wendover AAF Utah. The 467th was assigned to the 96th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Circle-P". Its operational squadrons were:

* 788th Bomb Squadron (X7)
* 789th Bomb Squadron (6A)
* 790th Bomb Squadron (Q2)
* 791st Bomb Squadron (4Z)

The group flew the B-24 Liberator as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.

The 467th began operations on 10 April 1944 with an attack by thirty aircraft on an airfield at Bourges in central France.

In combat, the unit served chiefly as a strategic bombardment organization, attacking the harbor at Kiel, chemical plants at Bonn, textile factories at Stuttgart, power plants at Hamm, steel works at Osnabruck, the aircraft industry at Brunswick, and other objectives.

In addition to strategic operations, it was engaged occasionally in support and interdiction missions. It bombed shore installations and bridges near Cherbourg on D-Day, 6 June 1944. It struck enemy troop and supply concentrations near Montreuil on 25 July 1944 to assist the Allied drive across France.

In September, over two weeks the bombers flew gasoline from Rackheath to a forward base at Clastres in France for use by the US mechanized forces. Attacked German communications and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945. To assist the Allied assault across the Rhine in March 1945 it attacked enemy transportation.

The group flew its last combat mission on 25 April and returned to the US to Sioux Falls AAF South Dakota during June and July 1945. Subsequently the 467th was redesignated as the 467th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) with B-29 Superfortresses in preparation for the planned invasion of Japan. The 467th was deactivated on 4 August 1946.

Civil Use

With the end of the war, the airfield was closed in 1945 and the airfield site returned to farming. Very little of the runways, perimeter track, or hardstands remain. Most of the concrete has been broken up for aggregate.

The technical site has become the Rackheath Industrial Estate with several of the wartime buildings being modified or extended, and used for light industry. One of the access roads on the estate has been named Wendover Road to commemorate the airbase in the US where the 467th Bomb Group was formed.

The control tower is in reasonable condition has been converted to use as an administrative building. The T-2 hangar nearby is virtually beyond recognition as compared to how it looked in 1943. Brickwork has been added to the front and the whole building has been repainted cream and green. Inside the building the roof girders appear to be original and identical to those seen on photographs taken in 1944. The other hangar on the eastern side of the airfield was dismantled many years ago.

A memorial to the 467th Bomb Group consisting of a plaque and a bench was dedicated in 1983, and is situated near the village sign (featuring a B-24) on the Salhouse Road, adjacent to the Holy Trinity Church.

ee also

* List of RAF stations
* USAAF Eighth Air Force - World War II
* 467th Bombardment Group

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/R/Rackheath.htm www.controltowers.co.uk Rackheath]
* [http://mighty8thaf.preller.us/php/1Loc.php?Base=Rackheath Rackheath at http://mighty8thaf.preller.us]
* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/usafserials.html USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present]

External links

* [http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=628000&Y=314000&scale=25000&width=700&height=400&gride=628500&gridn=313900&lang=&db=hcgaz&coordsys=gb Aerial Photo of RAF Rackheath from Multimap.Com]
* [http://mighty8thaf.preller.us/gallery/Rackheath Rackheath photo gallery]
* [http://www.467bg.com 467th Bomb Group website]