Fersfield
AirfieldIWM, English Heritage Collection
Originally named Winfarthing when the site was allocated to the Eighth Air Force in 1942, it was renamed Fersfield when built for the Eighth Air Force 1943-44. USAAF and US Navy projects 'Aphrodite' 'Batty' and 'Anvil' (attempts to develop and use radio-controlled aircraft as precision weapons) were launched from the airfield in 1944, one of which resulted in the death of Lt Joseph Kennedy, elder brother of future US President John F Kennedy. The airfield was closed in 1946, and it has since been since returned to agriculture.
Connections
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People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 560th Bomb Squadron 388th Bomb Group 458th Bomb Group 753rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 36378272
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-756266
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 325th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing 25th Bomb Group 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron 654th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator / Observer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 560th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-747464
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group
- Service Numbers: 06654176
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Flight / Autopilot Engineer
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Aphrodite
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 388th Bomb Group 526th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 337th Bomb Squadron 36th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Broadway Rose
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 388th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron 546th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 92nd Bomb Group Base Air Depot 1 325th Bomb Squadron
Revisions
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Mighty Eighth War Manual (London, 2001)
Michael Bowyer, Action Stations 1: Wartime Military Airfields of East Anglia 1939-1945 (Cambridge, 1979)