Lavenham

Airfield
Officers of the 487th Bomb Group outside the 838th Bomb Squadron operations room. media-380850.jpg FRE 2045 Edmund F "Misch" Auer, Mayfield R Shilling, Francis C "Eb" Eberhart and Ralph R Searle of the 487th Bomb Group outside the 838th Bomb Squadron operations room at Lavenham, 1944.

This photo was probably taken soon after the 487th Bomb Group arrived in England in April 1944. Roger Freeman Collection

Transferred biographical details to peoples' biographies

Object Number - FRE 2045 - Edmund F "Misch" Auer, Mayfield R Shilling, Francis C "Eb" Eberhart and Ralph R Searle of the 487th Bomb Group outside the 838th Bomb Squadron...

Lavenham was built as a standard USAAF bomber airfield, with fifty hardstandings, T2 hangars and 2,000 and 1,400 feet runways. John Laing and Son Ltd. carried out the work in 1943, and the airfield opened in April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group occupied the base until the end of the war in Europe. Initially equipped with B-24 Liberators, the Group switched to B-17 Fortresses, and it was with these aircraft that the Group completed most of its 185 missions by April 1945. The airfield was not used by any other military flying units after the war.

Connections

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Detailed History

On the control tower, there are now two memorial plaques. Some original paintwork has also been preserved inside the building, which is STRICTLY PRIVATE. It is possible to visit the site, but not the inside of the building, and permission must be obtained from the Lavenham Tourist Information Office before visiting.

People

Anthony Abatsis in uniform kneeling in front of Quonset Hut

Anthony C Abatsis

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Clyde D Adams

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 487th Bomb Group 839th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Benedict A Andrew

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33730634
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade)
  • Role/Job: Flight Engineer
Black and white portrait of Air Force Charles Bachmann in uniform

Charles Stuart Bachmann

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Dean Merle Bloyd

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 487th Bomb Group 837th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-?
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Aircraft

42-102497

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Flak Hack
  • Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
Ground personnel watch a B-17 Flying Fortress (FR-M, serial number 42-30298) nicknamed "Ragin' Red II" of the 379th Bomb Group start up in snow at Bassingbourn, January 1945. Image by William D "Bill" Pulliam, 91st Bomb Group. Written on slide casing: 'Ragin' Red 379th FG B-17 F Bassingbourn 1/45. Stop a/c 66fw.'

42-30298

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Tender Tit Tillie / Ragin' Red II
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 487th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron 837th Bomb Squadron

42-30857

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: My Devotion

42-3134

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 381st Bomb Group

42-3507

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Duffy's tavern
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 487th Bomb Group 838th Bomb Squadron

Revisions

Date5 Oct 2016 10:33:22
ContributorLucy May
ChangesChanges to aircraft associations
Sources

Connected aircraft records that have 'Lavenham' in their biography fields.

Date1 Apr 2015 16:50:41
Contributorusxpat
ChangesChanges to history
Sources

http://eastangliamemorials.blogspot.co.uk/

Date8 Mar 2015 11:52:48
ContributorVeronicaLavenham
ChangesChanges to known as
Sources

VeronicaLavenham

Date8 Mar 2015 11:51:23
ContributorVeronicaLavenham
ChangesChanges to usaaf from date, usaaf to date, construction date and closure date
Sources

VeronicaLavenham

Date27 Sep 2014 18:02:17
ContributorAAM
ChangesAAM ingest
Sources

Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Michael Bowyer, Action Stations 1: Wartime Military Airfields of East Anglia 1939-1945 (Cambridge, 1979)

Lavenham: Gallery (106 items)