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
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
![Lieutenant-Colonel Allison Brooks of the 1st Scouting Force, 364th Fighter Group in the cockpit of his P-51 Mustang. Printed caption on reverse: '69433 AC Colonel Brooks, Commanding Officer of the 1st Scouting Force, 91st Bomb Group, seated in the Cockpit of his plane prior to taking off from the base at Bassingbourne [sic], England on another mission.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-377147.jpg.webp?itok=K1_bMdBO)
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 1st Scouting Force 385th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-25258
- Highest Rank: Major General
- Role/Job: Commanding Officer, 1st Scouting Force. Former Group Operations Officer (401st )
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 1st Scouting Force 384th Fighter Squadron 385th Fighter Squadron Scouting Force (Experimental) (SFX)
- Service Numbers: O-748548
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot / Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 385th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34078162 / O-659797
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Fighter pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 355th Fighter Group 1st Scouting Force 357th Fighter Squadron 384th Fighter Squadron Scouting Force (Experimental) (SFX)
- Service Numbers: 16104275 / O-815648
- Highest Rank: Flight Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 385th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-755876
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-38 Lightning
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 474th Fighter Group 383rd Fighter Squadron 428th Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: - 5 Grand - The Easter Egg
- Unit: 1st Strategic Air Depot 388th Bomb Group 96th Bomb Group 338th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Majero II
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 385th Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Boilermaker Special
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 385th Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Carolyn Ann
- Unit: 364th Fighter Group 1st Scouting Force 383rd Fighter Squadron Scouting Force (Experimental) (SFX)
Revisions
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978)
