former RAF Thorpe Abbots

 Second World War 1939-1945, abandoned / shut down, RAF - Royal Air Force, draw only border, Army Air Field US, historical layer / disappeared object, former air force base

Thorpe Abbotts airfield was built during 1942 and early 1943 for the RAF as a satellite airfield for RAF Horham but the rapid buildup of the 8th Air Force resulted in both airfields being handed over to the Americans. The thirty-six hardstandings originally planned were increased to fifty. Two T-2 hangars were erected, one on the east side of the flying field and one on the south side adjacent to the technical site. This and several of the domestic sites were in woodland stretching south and bordering the A143 Diss to Harleston road.

USAAF use USAAF Station 139
Thorpe Abbotts was given USAAF designation Station 139 (TA).

100th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
The 100th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrived at Thorpe Abbotts on 9 June 1943, from Kearney AAF Nebraska although construction work was barely finished. The 100th was assigned to the 13th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Square-D". Its operational squadrons were:

349th Bomb Squadron (XR)
350th Bomb Squadron (LN)
351st Bomb Squadron (EP)
418th Bomb Squadron (LD)

The group flew the B-17 Flying Fortress as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign. In combat, the 100th operated chiefly as a strategic bombardment organization until the war ended.

Tail of a 100ARW Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker, Serial 58-0100, displaying the crest of RAF Mildenhall and the historic "SquareD" badge as used by the unit during the second world warThe group earned the nickname "The Bloody Hundredth" due to its heavy losses during eight missions to Germany when the group experienced several instances where it lost a dozen or more aircraft on a single mission, whereas most units suffered losses in consistent small amounts.

From June 1943 to January 1944, the 100th Bomb Group concentrated its efforts against airfields in France and naval facilities and industries in France and Germany. The 100th BG received a Distinguished Unit Citation for seriously disrupting German fighter plane production with an attack on an aircraft factory at Regensburg on 17 August 1943.

The unit bombed airfields, industries, marshalling yards, and missile sites in western Europe, Jan-May 1944. Operations in this period included participation in the Allied campaign against enemy aircraft factories during Big Week, 20-25 Feb 1944. The group completed a series of attacks against Berlin in March 1944 and received a 2d Distinguished Unit Citation for the missions.

Beginning in the summer of 1944, oil installations became major targets. In addition to strategic operations, the group engaged in support and interdictory missions, hitting bridges and gun positions in support of the Normandy invasion in June 1944. The unit bombed enemy positions at St Lo in July and at Brest in August and September Other missions were striking transportation and ground defenses in the drive against the Siegfried Line, Oct-Dec 1944; attacking marshalling yards, defended villages, and communications in the Ardennes sector during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945; and covering the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.

The 100th Bomb Group received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for attacking heavily defended installations in Germany and for dropping supplies to French Forces of the Interior, Jun-Dec 1944.

The 100 BG flew its last combat mission of World War II on 20 April 1945. The following month the unit’s aircrews dropped food to the people in the west of the Netherlands, and in June transported French Allied former prisoners of war from Austria to France. The group flew 306 combat missions.

In December 1945, the group returned to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. Group personnel were demobilized and the aircraft sent to storage. The unit was inactivated on 21 December 1945 and allocated to the reserve.

Legacy
At Camp Kilmer, the group was redesignated as the 100th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and retained as a reserve unit under Strategic Air Command. On 29 May 1947, the group was activated as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit and reassigned to Miami Army Airfield. It was inactivated on 27 June 1949.

The United States Air Force 100th Bombardment Wing (Medium) was activated on 1 January 1956 at Portsmouth (later, Pease) AFB, New Hampshire. The wing was bestowed the honors and history of the USAAF 100th Bombardment Group upon activation. The wing was redesignated as the 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing on 25 June 1966 upon being reassigned to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. It was again redesignated as the 100th Air Refueling Wing on 30 September 1976 upon being reassigned to Beale AFB, California. The Wing was inactivated on 15 March 1983.

The United States Air Forces in Europe reactivated the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall England on 1 February 1992. It is the only modern operational aircraft wing in the United States Air Force allowed to bear the World War II group tail code (Square-D) on the tails of its aircraft.

Postwar use
After the war, the field was transferred to the RAF on 27 June 1946. After many years of inactivity, Thorpe Abbots was closed in 1956. Today, the airfield has largely been returned to agricultural use with most of the perimeter track, runways and hardstands long since removed, however a small airstrip is used for light aircraft. The control tower was restored in 1977 and was turned into a museum. Several World War II era buildings remain in various states of decay.

www.100bgmus.org.uk/museum.aspx
mighty8thaf.preller.us/gallery/Thorpe-Abbotts