RAF Sudbury

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Royal Air Force Station Sudbury
Royal Air Force Station Acton
USAAF Station 174

Located Near Sudbury, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Sudbury Airfield - 8 July 1945
Type Military Airfield
Coordinates 52°03′34.66″N, 000°45′39.10″E
Location code SU
Built 1943
In use 1944-1945
Controlled by United States Army Air Forces
Garrison Eighth Air Force
Occupants 486th Bombardment Group
Battles/wars European Theatre of World War II
Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945
RAF Sudbury (Suffolk)
RAF Sudbury
RAF Sudbury, shown within Suffolk
B-24s (Square-O) of the 486th Bomb Group. Identifiable is Ford B-24M-5-FO Liberator Serial 44-50561 of the 833d Bomb Squadron. This aircraft survived the war and was sent to RFC Walnut Ridge Arizona on 3 January 1946 for scrapping.
B-24s (Square-O) of the 486th Bomb Group. Identifiable is Ford B-24M-5-FO Liberator Serial 44-50561 of the 833d Bomb Squadron. This aircraft survived the war and was sent to RFC Walnut Ridge Arizona on 3 January 1946 for scrapping.
B-17s (Square-W) of the 486th Bomb Group. Identifiable is Douglas-Long Beach B-17G-15-DL Fortress Serial 42-37891 of the 833d Bomb Squadron.
B-17s (Square-W) of the 486th Bomb Group. Identifiable is Douglas-Long Beach B-17G-15-DL Fortress Serial 42-37891 of the 833d Bomb Squadron.

RAF Sudbury (also known as Acton) is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located between the villages Acton, Great Waldingfield and Chilton, around 2 miles east of Sudbury in Suffolk.

Contents

[edit] USAAF use

Sudbury airfield was opened in 1944 and was built to the standard Class A heavy bomber base with three intersecting concrete runways of standard lengths with Fifty hardstands and two T2 hangars to meet the USAAF bomber requirements. The airfield had a slight gradient towards the north-east and was constructed on what had been farmland. Most of the temporary building accommodation for some 3,000 men was situated around the village street of Great Waldingfield to the east of the airfield and accessible by crossing the B1115 road from Sudbury to Lavenham. The facility was used by the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force. Sudbury was given USAAF designation Station 174 (SU).

[edit] 486th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

The 486th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrived from Davis-Monthan AAF Arizona during March 1944. the 486th was assigned to the 4th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code initially was a "Square-O". When the group converted from B-24s to B-17s during the summer of 1944, the Group ID was changed to "Square-W", perhaps to avoid confusion with the Square-D on B-17s of the 100th Bomb Group. The 486th was the only group to change its ID.

Its operational squadrons were:

  • 832d Bomb Squadron (3R)
  • 833d Bomb Squadron (4N)
  • 834th Bomb Squadron (2S)
  • 835th Bomb Squadron (H8)

The group flew both the B-24 Liberator and the B-17 Flying Fortress as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign and operated chiefly against strategic objectives in Germany until May 1945. Targets included marshalling yards in Stuttgart, Cologne, and Mainz; airfields in Kassel and Munster; oil refineries and storage plants in Merseburg, Dollbergen, and Hamburg; harbours in Bremen and Kiel; and factories in Mannheim and Weimar.

Other missions included bombing airfields, gun positions, V-weapon sites (total of nine "No Ball" missions beginning June 20),[1] and railway bridges in France in preparation for or in support of the invasion of Normandy in June 1944; striking road junctions and troop concentrations in support of ground forces pushing across France, Jul-Aug 1944; hitting gun emplacements near Arnheim to minimize transport and glider losses during the airborne invasion of Holland in September 1944; and bombing enemy installations in support of ground troops during the Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944-Jan 1945) and the assault across the Rhine (Mar-Apr 1945).

The 468th Bomb Group returned to the Drew AAF Florida during August 1945 and was deactivated on 7 November.

After the war, the field was closed in 1945.

[edit] Civil Use

With the end of military control, Sudbury airfield was returned to agriculture and was covered in vegetation or been dug up in sections so as to plant crops. Sections of the runways and hardstands have long been removed (though some still remain) and piles of concrete sit in dumps.

The hangars are now used for grain storage, but only the base of the control tower remains.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Albanese, John Doodlebugs and Rockets (V-1 and V-2)"[1]

[edit] External links