Lavenham
Airfield
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
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 838th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13068541 / O-?
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 36532061
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 839th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 837th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32909697
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 839th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Naughty Marietta
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 837th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Yankee Maid
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 838th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 486th Bomb Group 832nd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Superstituous Aloysius, Bolt From The Blue
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 837th Bomb Squadron 486th Bomb Group 833rd Bomb Squadron
![A B-17 Flying Fortress (2G-N, serial number 43-37969) of the 836th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group after bombing a medium tank factory at Nurnberg, 10 September 1944. Handwritten caption on reverse: '10/9/44, 285 Extra.' Printed caption on reverse: '53933 - Over The Target - White boiling smoke surges skyward from an edium[sic] tank factory at Nurnberg, Germany about 90 miles north of Munich, as one of the attacking B-17 Flying Fortresses of the U.S. Eighth Air Force passes overhead Sept. 10 1944.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-414558.jpg.webp?itok=THLeb3zk)
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
Revisions
Connected aircraft records that have 'Lavenham' in their biography fields.
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Michael Bowyer, Action Stations 1: Wartime Military Airfields of East Anglia 1939-1945 (Cambridge, 1979)
