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Honington

Military site : airfield

  • Aerial photography of Honington airfield looking south, the technical site with four C-type hangars and bomb dump are at the top, 21 June 1946. Photograph taken by No. 540 Squadron, sortie number RAF/106G/UK/1589. English Heritage (RAF Photography).

    Aerial photography of Honington airfield looking south, the technical site with four C-type hangars and bomb dump are at the top, 21 June 1946. Photograph taken by No. 540 Squadron, sortie number RAF/106G/UK/1589. English Heritage (RAF Photography).

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  • Lt. Col. Richard D. Neece, Jr. with his P-51 (named after his daughter) at Honington Air Base, 1944

    Lt. Col. Richard D. Neece, Jr. with his P-51 (named after his daughter) at Honington Air Base, 1944

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  • 385th Squadron, 364th Fighter Group pilots pose in front of a P-51D, serial #44-15179, codded 5E-L,

    385th Squadron, 364th Fighter Group pilots pose in front of a P-51D, serial #44-15179, codded 5E-L, "Look Homeward Angel II". From left to right: Capt. Eugene Murphy, Maj. William "Bill" Crombie, Capt. Jasper Hargrove, Capt. Arthur McCormick, Lt. Gerald Fine, and Lt. Stanley Houck.

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  • Wilson W. Montague's brother Bobby Montague and two other family members in this picture flew to Germany the weekend of May 28, 2016 to meet witnesses to Wilson's plane crash and to see the field where he crashed and was killed. The Montague family was finally able to get first hand details of what happened to their beloved Wilson. The son of one witness who began the crash research and contacted the family made this memorial plaque honoring Wilson for his sacrifice. On Memorial Day, May 30, 2016 they went to the field in Reicholzheim to place the memorial.

    Wilson W. Montague's brother Bobby Montague and two other family members in this picture flew to Germany the weekend of May 28, 2016 to meet witnesses to Wilson's plane crash and to see the field where he crashed and was killed. The Montague family was finally able to get first hand details of what happened to their beloved Wilson. The son of one witness who began the crash research and contacted the family made this memorial plaque honoring Wilson for his sacrifice. On Memorial Day, May 30, 2016 they went to the field in Reicholzheim to place the memorial.

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  • Lt Edward C Beaumont, pilot of the 364th Fighter Group, 67th Fighter Wing, looks up at the nickname of his North American P-51D 'Beau'S Baby' after returning from a mission, to the 8th Air Force station F-375, Honnington, England. 17 August 1944.

    Lt Edward C Beaumont, pilot of the 364th Fighter Group, 67th Fighter Wing, looks up at the nickname of his North American P-51D 'Beau'S Baby' after returning from a mission, to the 8th Air Force station F-375, Honnington, England. 17 August 1944.

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  • Lt Beaumont and ground crew pose beside P-51D 'Beau's Baby' of the 364th Fighter Group, 67th Fighter Wing, at 8th Air Force Station F-375, Honnington, England. 17 August 1944.

    Lt Beaumont and ground crew pose beside P-51D 'Beau's Baby' of the 364th Fighter Group, 67th Fighter Wing, at 8th Air Force Station F-375, Honnington, England. 17 August 1944.

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  • Major Ernest E Bankey of the 364th Fighter Group, 67th Fighter Wing, poses on the wing of his North American P-51 'Lucky Lady VII' P-51D 44-73045, coded 5E-B at an 8th air force base in England. 23 March 1945. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A12352-71777AC

    Major Ernest E Bankey of the 364th Fighter Group, 67th Fighter Wing, poses on the wing of his North American P-51 'Lucky Lady VII' P-51D 44-73045, coded 5E-B at an 8th air force base in England. 23 March 1945. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A12352-71777AC

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  • 2nd Lt Vaud V Ames 383FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF.

    2nd Lt Vaud V Ames 383FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF.

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  • Lt. William A Cox. SFX/1SF (ex 355th FG). P-51D 44-13699 OS-D

    Lt. William A Cox. SFX/1SF (ex 355th FG). P-51D 44-13699 OS-D "GI Jive".

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  • 1st Scouting Force pilots in front of William A Cox's

    1st Scouting Force pilots in front of William A Cox's "G.I.Jive" From L – R: Capt. Phil Algar, Lt. Cliff Buckles, Lt. Bill Cox, Capt. Dwight Hartman, Lt. Bill Schofield, Lt. Fred Brown, and Lt. Frank Hoder. “G.I.Jive” now seen in the newly adopted 1SF nose band.

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Honington was in use by Eighth Air Force units for a longer period than any other air base in England. The air base, built in the mid 1930s as part of the RAF's expansion programme had seen plenty of action as an RAF base before it was handed over to USAAF in the summer of 1942. The Americans used the base, and the adjacent technical site Troston, as a major repair depot, which increasingly specialised in the repair of B-17s. Damaged aircraft would be instructed to crash land at Honington, if they could, so that repair work on the aircraft could begin straight away. The base also housed a combat group, the 364th Fighter Group from February 1944. The Group did not leave until many months after the war in Europe had ended and Honington, as the Fighter Command HQ for USAAF, was the last Eighth Air Force base to be handed back to the RAF in February 1946.

Detailed history

The memorial is at the entrance to RAF Honington, not inside the airfield, but still on the grounds. Permission MUST be obtained to take photographs. This can be done when you get there, or by prior arrangement.

English Heritage's record description

Not yet known

Service

Units

People

  • Argent Acosta

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 364th Fighter Group
    Assigned to 383FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Area sweep to Berlin, shortly after landfall formation went onto instruments due to overcast, element leader called a break as another group of P-51's where descending onto the formation,...

  • George Adams

    Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot, Fighter Pilot | 351st Bomb Group
    Assigned to 510BS, 351BG, 8AF USAAF. Detached service (DS) with 1st Scouting Force. Ended Tour Duty (ETD).

  • Jerome Adler

    Military | First Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 364th Fighter Group
    Assigned to 385FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF.

  • Alfred Albrecht

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 364th Fighter Group
    Assigned to 384FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort Halle, entered melee with section, became detached and shot down near Eschwege in P-51 44-14174 Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 8785.

  • Philip Algar

    Military | Major | Pilot | 384th Bomb Group
    Flew 25 combat missions with the 384th bombardment Group from 22-Jun-43 to 4-Mar-44. Detached service (DS) with 1st Scouting Force. Transferred to 857BS, 492BG, 8AF USAAF flying Elint Droopsnoot P-38 lightning [gathering Electronic Intelligence].

  • John Allen

    Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot; Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
    He flew on Gwynn Boswell crew. Reported to 306BG on 29-Apr-44. When he was detached service with the 1st Scouting Force (364th FG/384th FS), crashed at Neuringe on 3-Feb-45 in P-51D 44-13686. POW at Stalag Luft 3 Sagan-Silesia Bavaria. ...

  • Robert Allen

    Military | Captain | Fighter Pilot | 364th Fighter Group
    Assigned to 384FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF. Flew 60 missions in P-51's. Released from service in 1945. Awards: DFC, AM ( 7 OLC), WWII Victory.

  • Thomas Allinder

    Military | First Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 364th Fighter Group
    Assigned to 385FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF. Credited with a shared destroyed. Ended Tour of Duty (ETD). Awards: WWII Victory.

  • Vaud Ames

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 364th Fighter Group
    Assigned to 383FS, 364FG,AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort mission to Troyes. Shot down by Fw190 of 3/JG2, abandoned P-38J 42-67222. A/C Crashed near Ramboulet. 25-May-44. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 5272.

  • George Ammerman

    Military | First Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 364th Fighter Group
    Assigned to 330FS, 329FG, USAAF. Transferred to 384FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF. Completed (End) Tour of Duty (ETD). ...

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Aircraft

  • 42-3095 'Peggy Ann'

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Cheyenne 26-Jan-43; Pueblo 1-Feb-43; Dow Field, Bangor, Maine 10-Jun-43; Assigned 412BS/95BG [QW-Z] Horham 2-Jul-43; 14m, (force landed Eye AF 22/2/44), transferred SAD 1-Mar-44; 94BG Rougham 25-Jul-43; 25BG Watton 1-Apr-44; 2 BAD 19-Jun-44;...

  • 42-3263 'Slightly Dangerous'

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Denver 15/4/43; Dow Fd 26/5/43; Assigned 335BS/95BG [OE-V] Horham 15/6/43; 48m, (TG H.S. Boes wia 6/9/43); force landed Bungay AF 16/9/43 SAD 21/6/44; transferred 412BS [QW-V]; Returned to the USA Patterson 7/7/44; Reconstruction Finance...

  • 42-37879 'Wrinkled Belly Baby'

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Denver 29/9/43; Gr Island 22/10/43; Assigned 335BS/95BG [BG-U] Horham 11/11/43; with W.P. Kelley force landed Attlebridge afb, Suffolk, 11/12/43; two days later the u/c would not extend and force landed at Honington AFB with H.M. Powers, Co...

  • 42-67222

    P-38 Lightning
    Assigned to 383FS, 364FG,AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort mission to Troyes. Shot down by Fw190 of 3/JG2, A/C abandoned, crashed near Rambouillet. 25-May-44. Pilot 2nd Lt Vaud V Ames. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 5272.

  • 42-67233

    P-38 Lightning
    Assigned to 383FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) bomber withdrawal support mission in P-38J 42-67233, hit by flak, causing the loss of one engine and resultant loss of control, A/C abandoned and crashed near Kolbitz 8-Mar-44. Pilot 2Lt...

  • 42-67258 Libbuf Nanny

    P-38 Lightning

  • 42-68148

    P-38 Lightning

  • 42-97184 'Lady Godiva'

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Cheyenne 4/2/44; Gr Island 19/2/44; Presque Is 12/3/44; Assigned 562BS/388BG [K] Knettishall 11/3/44; with Bob Scales, Co-pilot: Frank Spangenberg, Navigator: Delmar E Linder, Bombardier: Howard Rohman, Waist gunner: George W Whetstone (5RTD,...

  • 43-28745

    P-38 Lightning
    Assigned to 383FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 428FS, 474FG, 9AF. Failed to Return (FTR) Charleroi, Belgium 1-Mar-45. Lt Ralph N Ramsey KIA. MACR 12804.

  • 43-37716 5 Grand, The Easter Egg

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Cheyenne 15/5/44; Kearney 30/6/44; Dow Fd 13/7/44; Assigned 338BS/96BG [BX-H] Snetterton 14/7/44; during training with Jack Bimemiller unable to lower u/c and ordered to Honington depot to force land, however after repairs completed 78...

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Number
375
Known as
RAF Honington
Construction date
3 May 1937
USAAF from date
September 1942
USAAF to date
26 February 1946
Closure date
Not yet known

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
22 April 2015 00:30:33 Paul Bellamy Changes to name, usaaf from date, usaaf to date, construction date and history
Sources

Mighty Eighth War Manual (R A Freeman 1984)
Date Contributor Update
29 March 2015 16:52:22 usxpat Changes to name, known as, latitude, longitude, history and person associations
Sources

http://eastangliamemorials.blogspot.co.uk/
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:02:16 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

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

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