Royal Air Force Bodney or more simply RAF Bodney is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Station located west of Watton,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Originally built as an RAF Bomber Command airfield during 1939-1940, Bodney was transferred to the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in the summer of 1943. Placed under the jurisdiction of

VIII Fighter Command The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European The ...

of Eighth Air Force, it was primarily the home of the 352d Fighter Group, the "Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney". The unit briefly moved to Belgium in January 1945 due to the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, although it returned in April. It was closed after the 352d returned to the United States in November.

History

Royal Air Force use

Initially it was used by aircraft of No. 21 Squadron RAF and No. 82 Squadron RAF (

No. 2 Group No. 2 Group is a Group (military aviation unit)#United Kingdom, group of the Royal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was react ...

)

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

. They carried operations over France and later the Netherlands and even Norway. Their

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

IVs were joined on occasions by, in May 1941, 90 Squadron evaluating its new Boeing Fortress Mk 1s some

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

s for mining operations. 90 Squadron suffered heavy casualties and the use of the Fortress I was discontinued. Towards October 1942, the Blenheims were changed to Lockheed Venturas but the squadron moved on to

RAF Methwold Royal Air Force Methwold or more simply RAF Methwold is a Royal Air Force station located north east of Feltwell, Norfolk and north west of Thetford, Norfolk, England. History RAF Methwold opened as a dispersal airfield for RAF Feltwell i ...

before the Venturas were operational. Relief Landing Ground for No. 17 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF between January 1942 and May 1943.

United States Army Air Forces use

RAF Bodney - 352d Fighter Group - P-47 Thunderbolt and Pilots

RAF Bodney - 352d Fighter Group - P-51B Mustang 42-106459

Lt. Lincoln Delmar Bundy, a

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

fighter pilot flying from here, was shot down over occupied France on 10 June 1944. Eluding capture, he joined a mixed group of French resistance fighters and British soldiers in the SAS. Their mission, known as Operation Bulbasket, was sabotage of SS units coming north to oppose the Normandy invasion. The group was ultimately captured, and Bundy, along with the others, was murdered. USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Bodney were: * 1st Service Group (VIII Air Force Service Command)

352nd Fighter Group

RAF Bodney - 352d Fighter Group - P-51D Mustang 44-14906

* 328th Fighter Squadron * 486th Fighter Squadron * 487th Fighter Squadron

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Freeman, Roger A. (1978) Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now. After the Battle * Freeman, Roger A. (1991) The Mighty Eighth The Colour Record. Cassell & Co. * Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * *
mighty8thaf.preller.us Bodney

352d Fighter Group on www.littlefriends.co.uk

External links

Photographs of RAF Bodney from the Geograph British Isles project

352d Fighter Group website

RAF Bodney
photos taken in 2007
RAF Bodney photo album
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodney Airfields of the VIII Fighter Command in the United Kingdom Royal Air Force stations in Norfolk Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom RAF Bodney