8th Air Force

Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945. ...

9th Air Force

354th Fighter Group

Group
The Group moved to England in the autumn of 1943 and was assigned to the Ninth Air Force in December 1943. The Group were the first to fly P-51 Mustangs operationally and in their bomber escort missions pushed to find the long-range limits of the...

359th Fighter Group

Group
The 359th Fighter Group flew 346 missions from East Wretham between December 1943 and April 1945. In the main these missions were escorting bombers flying over occupied Europe. The Group, soon after converting from Thunderbolts to Mustangs, were...

356th Fighter Squadron

Squadron

370th Fighter Squadron

Squadron

Charles Hipsher

Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 359th Fighter Group
On 3 Feb 1944 on return from bomber escort mission , P-47D #42-74640 was low on fuel and had to land at RAF Oulton, Norfolk under construction and upon touchdown the landing gear hit a pile of dirt. RTD.

William Walbrecker

Military | First Lieutenant | Fighter pilot | 354th Fighter Group
Assigned to 356FS, 354FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Periers, France. Strafing horse drawn convoy, hit telegraph and attempted to belly land. Killed in Action (KIA), 26-Jun-44. MACR 6482. Awards: PH.

East Wretham

Military site : airfield
East Wretham was not improved to Class A standard. It retained its shorter runways, although eventually pierced-steel planking was laid to make take offs and landings easier for the Thunderbolt, and then Mustang, pilots. Steel matting was also laid to...

Lashenden

Military site : airfield
Close to but completely separate from RAF Headcorn, Lashenden was built for the RAF during 1942-43 as an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG), initially as a light bomber base and then as a training base for mobile fighter squadrons. Enlarged and improved for...