Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Then?

This airfield would be my choice although i know the runways are no longer complete, it has a massive history – plus im biased anyway.:)

Now when I had a visit there last year, the Tower museum curator Chris Murphy gave us a guided tour of the whole airfield. He stated that the runways are there, albeit partially covered up. I must say that the soil level was quite a few inches higher that the runway surface. They were supposedly covered to landscape the area. Perhaps they are still there;)

I couldnt agree more with Hornchurch. Indeed these airfields are hallowed turf to aviation enthusiasts that ARE a part of our history.

I am very upset as i have just found out they have built new buildings and car parking spaces almost in front of Bassingbourn’s Grade 2 listed control tower, inside the original perimeter taxi way where forts and the like used to ‘park up’.

I havent been up there in a while but it was not there last time, this airfield IS hallowed turf for me and im sure others, i have made a number of ‘pligrimages’ in the past and have always dreaded the day i see the remaining hangers or taxi ways/ runway gone forever. Today looks like the first step. 🙁

This airfield would be my choice although i know the runways are no longer complete, it has a massive history – plus im biased anyway.:)

I would like to see the hangers, taxi way and remaining perimeter and runway listed as well to protect them from disappearing forever or having yet more houses built over them. 😡

Tibbenham is about as good as it gets

Moggy

My vote would be Attlebridge. Plenty of buildings still standing all the runways, most of the peri -track and one or two loop dispersals.

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=52.691135&lon=1.111761&z=15.5&r=0&src=msl

Still worth a good look through, some of the combat reports are quite interesting inside the cover. One tells of some B-17’s being followed by a strange B-17 which then turned back in the direction of Germany. It’s interesting to see how much the airfields have changed in the last 31 years since many of the pic’s were taken.

I keep missing the pub at North pick every time I pass, one of those places I’d love to visit.

Tibenhams runways are great, not that I’ve flown there but I have visited a few times to see the memorial.

Richard

Norfolk airfields

Graham Smith has written several books Essex airfields of the second world war. Norfolk airfields etc if its any help

This was the only one I could find near to the old airfield.

The Blue Lion
Hillside, North Pickenham, Swaffham, Norfolk, PE37 8JZ
01760 440289

Brian.

Hornchurch,

Could you please advise the name and location of the pub you mention

Thanks
Steve.

Hi Steve; yeah, sorry mate, it’s the ‘Blue-Lion’ at North-Pickenham.:cool:

It’s in the Village itself, which is basically S.E. of Swaffham, Norfolk.

Was used by the crews of the 492nd B.G. & subsequently, the 491st B.G.

BTW, for those others wanting to visit, the Landlady keeps the unit history-books out back; (just ask to view !

Various framed pix & history snippets adorn the walls in the ‘Pool-Room’

Name of pub!

Hornchurch,

Could you please advise the name and location of the pub you mention

Thanks
Steve.

Thanks for the link ozplane.

It looks unusual in that the runways appear to be in decent nick while the perimeter track seems to have gone. It’s usually seems to be the other way round!

On the broader question of preserving airfields, I wonder to what extent the passage of time gives value to something.

While in Norfolk, I wandered up to Coltishall and had a walk round. I can’t imagine anyone right now would want (or have the resources) to preserve it for posterity, despite its wonderful history.

On another website I found some photos of some Gulf War era murals there which in time, no doubt, will be allowed to fade or decay or, worse, will simply be destroyed when the buildings they’re in are demolished to make way for whatever they decide to build on the site.

Some people will recognise these murals’ value now but they have not yet the poignancy they will have (should they still be there) in 20 or 30 years’ time. I suppose I’m hoping that someone is keeping an eye out for them!

Tom

Tom, I should have said the website is www.norfolkglidingclub.com and look under “Photo Gallery”

Tom, have a look at their website and there are aerial photos of them. I landed there on Father’s Day and they’re in good condition….and long!

Moggy mentions Tibbenham. Is there much of the runways left there?

Tom

. Just ghostly outlines in the form of new vegitation where a runway or hardstand once was. Only a handful still seem to have part of the runways or taxiways left.

That begs the question, should the ‘remains’ of one airbase be saved and used as part of a museum (and i mean the hangers/runways, not just the tower). A bit like what it sounds like the gents at East Kirkby have done?

It’s such a shame that nowadays as the level of interest is so comparitively high (as compared to the first 25 subsequent years from 1945), that so little remains.

I was in a well-known ‘Ex’ B.24 base ‘Pub’ the other week & chatting to the Landlady over a pint – she told us that the last remaining
2nd Air-Div to visit had been around 18 months ago (One Octogenarian ONLY !) & that it was extremely rare that the Grandchildren visited.

Glad to see they still retain much of their B.24 memrobilia in their back room (I’ve enclosed a snap taken on Mobile-phone in Feb ’08)
Nice to see they show such respect, & wonderful that the Pub STILL retains the official B.G.’s “Group-History” & various associated publications.

As for the ACTUAL runways, they still remain, ONLY due to the ubiquitous ‘Turkey-sheds’ that proliferate on many of the surrounding 2nd Air Division B.24 bases.

I’ve seen my nearest one deteriorate even in a space of six-seven years, visiting some of the remaining outlying buildings & their unique “two-tone” interior paintwork of strange ‘medium-Blue lower & white upper’ which is the same as the B.26 bases I used to frequent some 25-30 years ago.

I applaud the ‘North Kesteven’ trail & the leaflet that was produced noting the history of (many) of the Lincolnshire Lancaster bases in the district

Nothing like that exists for the Norfolk bases (that I’m aware of), to raise public awareness to folk who might otherwise increase the interest level

That ‘Goxhill’ venture some 10 – 12 years ago was a ‘False-Dawn’ (or, from what I can gather ?) = promised loads & delivered nothing.

These 8th/9th A.F. Airfields are like Hallowed-turf; to an a/c enthusiast – in the same way a famous ground/stadium is to a Football-fan….. yet, though they CHANGED History, they remain largely overlooked.

I’d love the idea of preserving a complete base, but being cynical, I think the likes of Seething/Parham/Thorpe-Abbots etc with their little Control-Tower museums are as good as it’ll get.

Tibbenham is about as good as it gets

Moggy

This is an interesting topic. Just the other day i ‘reviewed’ the 8th’s airfields in east anglia using google earth and was dissapointed to find that there is little evidence left of most of the airfields now. Just ghostly outlines in the form of new vegitation where a runway or hardstand once was. Only a handful still seem to have part of the runways or taxiways left.

That begs the question, should the ‘remains’ of one airbase be saved and used as part of a museum (and i mean the hangers/runways, not just the tower). A bit like what it sounds like the gents at East Kirkby have done?

By the way, Moggy might be able to help on this one. The book has photographs of some of the murals that still remained at Knettishall. Are they still there now?

Regrettably, no 😡

Moggy

Bungay on the front cover always surprise’s me. It looked pretty much intact when the book was published, but you would be hard pushed to find it nowadays.

I remember visiting Bungay in the late 80’s only to discover a great big bulldozer type thing with huge claws mounted at the rear that quite literally tore up the concrete as it moved along forwards.

Bomberboy

Bungay on the front cover always surprise’s me. It looked pretty much intact when the book was published, but you would be hard pushed to find it nowadays.

With hadcore price’s being very high at the moment it wouldn’t supprise me if we loose quite a lot more of whats left in the near future. 🙁

At least we now have satellite imagary on the net, which can give you a fair idea of how the airfields have changed since the book.

The site Aboutmyplace covers some of the country with ‘Birds Eye’ images, as they call it, showing oblique images that you can rotate through the points of the compass. I think so far they mainly cover the more urban areas, but you can, for instance, look at Bovingdon, with amazing clarity, even so far as seeing the old landing lights.