Grafton Underwood
Airfield
384thbombgroup.com
Object Number - US_7PH_GP_LOC309_V_5020 - Aerial photograph of Grafton Underwood airfield looking north east, Geddington village is on the left, 22 April 1944. Photograph taken by 7th...
Grafton Underwood was built in 1941 by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd. It was the first airfield in England to receive an Eighth Air Force flying unit, when in May 1942 personnel of the 15th Bomb Squadron took up residence. As a satellite airfield for Polebrook, the airfield was then home to two squadrons of the 97th Bomb Group. The airfield became home to succession of Bomb Groups, including the 305th, 96th, and 384th, all equipped with B-17s. The RAF's No. 236 Maintenance Unit occupied the airfield after the war, before being declared surplus to requirements in 1959. A memorial to the crews that flew from the airfield was erected in 1977.
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: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-675567
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Civilian
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 544th Bomb Squadron 384th Bomb Group
- Service Numbers: O-776642
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier / Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 6th Service Squadron 384th Bomb Group
- Service Numbers: 19080162
- Highest Rank: Corporal (RAF)
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12144819
- Highest Rank: Corporal
- Role/Job: Armorer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 547th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13090947
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Damn Yankee
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron 306th Bomb Group 423rd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Little Audrey
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 384th Bomb Group Base Air Depot 1 368th Bomb Squadron 544th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Patches (was originally named Cunningham's Coffin after the pilot, but no nose art carried)
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 365th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 97th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron 414th Bomb Squadron 99th Bomb Group 346th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Revisions
Removed media associations which do not depict, or cannot be positively identified to depict Grafton Underwood
Connected up aircraft records with 'Grafton Underwood' in their biography field.
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978).
