Honington
Airfield
IWM, English Heritage Collection
Object Number - RAF_106G_UK_1589_FS_2415 - 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....
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.
Connections
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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.
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 383rd Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18137839 / O-763018
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group 1st Scouting Force 510th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-823210
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot, Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 384th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-760431
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 384th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17113563 / O-760220
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 385th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-720710
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: The Hun Hunter / Texas
- Unit: 355th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 1st Scouting Force 354th Fighter Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Silver Queen
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 334th Bomb Squadron 335th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Peggy Ann
- Unit: 1st Strategic Air Depot 25th Bomb Group 802nd Reconnaissance Group (SP) 94th Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group Base Air Depot 2 412th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Slightly Dangerous
- Unit: 1st Strategic Air Depot 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron 412th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Hell's Messenger
- Unit: 2nd Strategic Air Depot 364th Fighter Group 544th Bomb Squadron 384th Bomb Group 547th Bomb Squadron
Revisions
Mighty Eighth War Manual (R A Freeman 1984)
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978)
