United States Army Air Forces use The airfield was used by the
United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force and
Ninth Air Forces. It was known as
USAAF Station AAF-150 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "BX". USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Boxted were: • 33d Service Group (VIII Air Force Service Command) : 41st and 45th Service Squadron; HHS 33d Service Group • 15th Station Complement Squadron • 1030th Signal Company • 1126th Quartermaster Company • 1181st Military Police Company • 1631st Ordnance Supply & Maintenance Company • 2124th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon • 589th Army Postal Unit
386th Bombardment Group (Medium) Although Boxted was scheduled to receive the
96th Bombardment Group in June 1943, plans were changed and the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress group went instead to
RAF Snetterton Heath in
Norfolk. In its place, the
386th Bombardment Group (Medium) was moved from Snetterton on 12 June to consolidate the
Martin B-26 Marauder groups in
Essex for operations. The group was assigned to the
VIII Bomber Command 3d Bomb Wing and flew both B-26B/C Marauder aircraft. Its operational squadrons were: •
552d Bombardment Squadron (RG) •
553d Bombardment Squadron (AN) •
554th Bombardment Squadron (RU) •
555th Bombardment Squadron (YA) The group flew its first mission on 20 July, with operations concentrating on airfields but also attacked marshalling yards and gun positions along the channel coast. The group was transferred to
RAF Great Dunmow on 24 September 1943.
354th Fighter Group The
354th Fighter Group, was under the operational control of the
VIII Fighter Command during its stay at Boxted, arriving from
RAF Greenham Common on 13 November 1943 Its combat squadrons were: •
353d Fighter Squadron (FT) •
355th Fighter Squadron (GQ) •
356th Fighter Squadron (AJ) The group provided long-range escort for US heavy bombers and received a
Distinguished Unit Citation for its activities up to mid-May 1944 during which the 354th was instrumental in the development of the P-51 for use in long-range missions to escort heavy bombers on raids deep into enemy territory. During that same period
Colonel James H Howard won the
Medal of Honor for his single-handed efforts to defend a bomber formation that was attacked by a large force of enemy planes while on a mission to
Oschersleben, Germany on 11 January 1944. Colonel Howard attacked a formation of thirty German aircraft pressing home the attack for more than thirty minutes he destroyed three aircraft and, even when he was low on fuel and his ammunition was exhausted, he continued his aggressive tactics to protect the bombers. In mid-April 1944, the 354th flew south to
RAF Lashenden in
Kent prior to moving to the Continent after the
invasion of Normandy.
56th Fighter Group With the departure of the 354th, its place was taken by the
56th Fighter Group which was transferred from
RAF Halesworth on 19 April 1944 to enable that base to be converted to a heavy bomber installation. Its operational squadrons were: •
61st Fighter Squadron (HV) •
62d Fighter Squadron (LM) •
63d Fighter Squadron (UN) Flying the
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, the 56th Fighter Group was the most successful of the Eighth Air Force groups in air-to-air combat, and the second most successful in the USAAF with 665.5 (the 354th FG had 701 while the Pacific-based 49th FG had 664). It engaged in counter-air and interdictory missions during the
invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Supported Allied forces for the breakthrough at
Saint-Lô in July and participated in the
Battle of the Bulge, December 1944-January 1945. Helped to defend the
Remagen bridgehead against air attacks in March 1945. While at Boxted, the group received a
Distinguished Unit Citation for strikes against antiaircraft positions while supporting the
airborne attack on the Netherlands on 18 September 1944, an operation in which 16 P-47s were shot down or crashlanded in Allied territory. The commander of the 61st FS,
Lieutenant Colonel Francis Gabreski, destroyed his 28th enemy aircraft in air combat, a record unequalled by any American fighter pilot in Europe. On 20 July 1944, Gabreski had to make a
belly landing in his P-47 Thunderbolt after his propeller clipped the ground while strafing an airfield near
Koblenz, Germany. Although he avoided capture for five days before being finally arrested and interrogated by the Germans, he was greeted with the words: 'Hello Gabby, we've been waiting for you for a long time!' The 56th remained at Boxted until October when it returned to
Camp Kilmer,
New Jersey, being inactivated on 18 October 1945.
5th Emergency Rescue Squadron Originally designated as Detachment B of the 65th Fighter Wing, the
5th Emergency Rescue Squadron was activated at Boxted in May 1944. The squadron's mission was to perform air/sea rescue missions with war weary
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts transferred from other fighter groups. The squadron's fuselage code was "5F". The aircraft were modified to carry dinghies, marker buoys and flares on their bomb racks. The mission of the unit was to locate pilots who had bailed out over the
North Sea and would drop liferafts and inform sea-based rescue units who would then pick up the pilots. The unit moved to
RAF Halesworth in January 1945.
Royal Air Force use After the war, Boxted was taken over by
RAF Fighter Command and used at first by
de Havilland Mosquito night fighters and then, in 1946, by a
Gloster Meteor jet squadron
No. 234. By the end 1946, the flying units had moved on and work had begun on resurfacing the main runway. It was closed on 9 August 1947. The following units were also here at some point: • No 1 Fighter Command Servicing Unit •
No. 25 Squadron RAF •
No. 56 Squadron RAF •
No. 145 Gliding School RAF •
No. 222 Squadron RAF •
No. 263 Squadron RAF •
No. 266 Squadron RAF •
No. 2876 Squadron RAF Regiment • Station Flight, Boxted ==Current use==