Fersfield
AirfieldIWM, English Heritage Collection
Originally named Winfarthing when the site was allocated to the Eighth Air Force in 1942, it was renamed Fersfield when built for the Eighth Air Force 1943-44. USAAF and US Navy projects 'Aphrodite' 'Batty' and 'Anvil' (attempts to develop and use radio-controlled aircraft as precision weapons) were launched from the airfield in 1944, one of which resulted in the death of Lt Joseph Kennedy, elder brother of future US President John F Kennedy. The airfield was closed in 1946, and it has since been since returned to agriculture.
Connections
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People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 560th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18115880
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-816250
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 753rd Bomb Squadron 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18070535 / O-664876
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 560th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Commanding Officer
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Careful Virgin
- Unit: 2nd Strategic Air Depot VIII Air Force Service Command 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Midge
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Hedron 7
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Liberty Belle
- Unit: 2nd Strategic Air Depot 384th Bomb Group 96th Bomb Group 337th Bomb Squadron 554th Bomb Squadron 803rd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Mugwump, Rum Boogie II
- Unit: 100th Bomb Group 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron 418th Bomb Squadron 803rd Bomb Squadron
Revisions
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Mighty Eighth War Manual (London, 2001)
Michael Bowyer, Action Stations 1: Wartime Military Airfields of East Anglia 1939-1945 (Cambridge, 1979)