Harrington

Airfield
An A-26 Invader of the 492nd Bomb Group at Harrington. Image via A Pecquet. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Harrington Spring 1945.' media-380942.jpg FRE 2137 An A-26 Invader of the 492nd Bomb Group at Harrington. Image via A Pecquet. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Harrington Spring 1945.' Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 2137 - An A-26 Invader of the 492nd Bomb Group at Harrington. Image via A Pecquet. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Harrington Spring 1945.'

Harrington was built by the 826th and 852nd Engineer Battalions of the US Army in 1943. Completed in 1944, it was the furthest Eighth Air Force combat airfield from the east coast.The Eighth's Special Operations Group was based at the airfield, first known as the 801st Bomb Group and then, from August 1944, the 492nd Bomb Group. The crews in their black-painted Liberators supported the resistance in occupied Europe. The USAAF left in July 1945, and the airfield was unused until the 1960s, when it became one of the RAF's Thor missile sites, part of Britain's nuclear deterrent. The site is now home to a museum which explores the history of the airfield.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 490th Bomb Group 801st Bomb Group 850th Bomb Squadron 492nd Bomb Group
  • Service Numbers: 31308746
  • Highest Rank: Technician Third Grade
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 492nd Bomb Group 801st Bomb Group 406th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33669701
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 492nd Bomb Group 801st Bomb Group 36th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-802693
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 492nd Bomb Group 801st Bomb Group
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 467th Bomb Group 492nd Bomb Group 801st Bomb Group 788th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-693837
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Baldy and his Brood
  • Unit: 44th Bomb Group 801st Bomb Group Base Air Depot 1 506th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: 792
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 492nd Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron 858th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: The Old Goat
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 492nd Bomb Group 784th Bomb Squadron 858th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Gunga Din
  • Unit: 486th Bomb Group 833rd Bomb Squadron 835th Bomb Squadron 857th Bomb Squadron 492nd Bomb Group
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Powerful Katrinka
  • Unit: 34th Bomb Group 493rd Bomb Group 4th Bomb Squadron 857th Bomb Squadron 863rd Bomb Squadron 492nd Bomb Group

Revisions

Date
Contributoroconnornj
Changes
Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978).

Harrington: Gallery (32 items)