Hethel
Airfield
IWM, English Heritage Collection
Object Number - RAF_106G_UK_1429_RP_3169 - Aerial photograph of Hethel airfield, looking south, the technical site with three T2 hangars is left, 16 April 1946. Photograph by No. 541 Squadron,...
Construction of Hethel airfield began in 1941, and was finished in late 1942. The number of hardstandings was increased from the planned 36 to 50 in 1942, in order to accommodate a full heavy bomb group. The 320th Bomb Group occupied the base for ten days in November 1942 before moving to North Africa. Elements of the 310th moved in in 1943, and in June that year, the 389th Bomb Group took up residence. Although assigned temporarily to North Africa and the Mediterranean, the 389th and its B-24 Liberators flew over 300 missions from Hethel. In May 1945, the airfield was handed over to the RAF, and it was closed in 1948.
Connections
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People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 567th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 565th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 31311683
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 565th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12188073
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 0683871
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Lucky Tiger
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 567th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: War Champ
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 567th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Nana, Salvaged Sally
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
Revisions
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978).
