Bungay airfield was originally planned as a satellite for nearby
RAF Hardwick and was constructed by Kirk & Kirk Ltd., during 1942 with a main runway of 6,000 feet in length and two intersecting secondary runways, one of 4,220 feet and the other of 4,200 feet. In common with other airfields of the period, the technical, administrative and domestic buildings were dispersed to lessen the impact of any enemy air attack. The buildings were all of a temporary nature and the various sites were chiefly to the west of the airfield.
United States Army Air Forces use The airfield was allocated to the Americans and transferred to the
United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force and designated
Station 125. USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Bungay were: • 460th Sub-Depot (VIII Air Force Service Command) • Quartermaster Depot Q-104 • 18th Weather Squadron • 25th Station Complement Squadron • 555th Quartermaster Battalion • 1214th Quartermaster Company • 1248th Military Police Company • 1821st Ordnance Supply & Maintenance Company • 885th Chemical Company • 979th Quartermaster Service Company • 987th Military Police Company • 2035th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon • 212th Finance Section • 558th Army Postal Unit
428th Bombardment Squadron Bungay was still unfinished when the
Twelfth Air Force 428th Bombardment Squadron,
310th Bombardment Group (Medium) at
RAF Hardwick arrived with fourteen
North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers in October 1942. The squadron moved on to
Médiouna Airfield,
French Morocco on 18 November 1942. A 12th Air Force film clip indicates that the 310th Bombardment Group was the first 12th Air Force group to fly the northern transport route from the United States to Europe and initially arrived at
Prestwick, Scotland in October 1942.
329th Bombardment Squadron In December 1942, eight
Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the
329th Bombardment Squadron,
93d Bombardment Group (Heavy) at
RAF Hardwick were sent to Bungay to prepare for special intruder operations. These aircraft conducted raids in bad weather with the mission of harassing the German air raid warning system. The 329th flew these missions until March 1943 when they rejoined the 93d at Hardwick.
446th Bombardment Group (Heavy) Additional construction was performed at Bungay until November 1943 when the airfield received the
Eighth Air Force 446th Bombardment Group (Heavy) from
Lowry AAF,
Colorado. The 446th was assigned to the 20th Combat Bombardment Wing and the group tail code was a "Circle-H". Its operational squadrons were: •
704th Bombardment Squadron (FL) •
705th Bombardment Squadron (HN) •
706th Bombardment Squadron (RT) •
707th Bombardment Squadron (JU) The 446th operated chiefly against strategic objectives on the Continent from December 1943 until April 1945. Targets included
U-boat installations at
Kiel, the port at
Bremen, a chemical plant at
Ludwigshafen,
ball-bearing works at Berlin, aero-engine plants at
Rostock, aircraft factories at
Munich, marshalling yards at
Coblenz, motor works at
Ulm, and oil refineries at
Hamburg. Besides strategic missions, the group often carried out support and interdictory operations. It supported the
Normandy landings in June 1944 by attacking strong points, bridges, airfields, transportation, and other targets in France. It aided ground forces at
Caen and
Saint-Lô during July by hitting bridges, gun batteries, and enemy troops. Dropped supplies to Allied troops near
Nijmegen during the
airborne attack on the Netherlands in September. Bombed marshalling yards, bridges, and road junctions during the
Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 - January 1945. Dropped supplies to airborne and ground troops near
Wesel during the
Allied assault across the Rhine in March 1945. The 446th Bomb Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April, attacking a bridge near
Salzburg. It returned to
Sioux Falls AAF,
South Dakota, during June and July 1945, being inactivated there on 18 August 1945. The
Pima Air & Space Museum as of 2013 has a Liberator N7866 with nose art "Bungay Buckaroo" related to the 446th Bomb Group stationed at Bungay in 1944.
Royal Navy The
Royal Navy acquired use of the former USAAF used airbase, when it was transferred from the
Air Ministry on loan in September 1945 and it was
commissioned on 25 September as HMS
Europa II. Known as Royal Naval Air Station Bungay (RNAS Bungay), it was used as a satellite airfield to
RNAS Halesworth, Suffolk, under the
command of
Lieutenant Commander R.J. Hanson . However, there is no record of any
Fleet Air Arm units operating out of this airfield. It was subsequently
‘paid off’ on 31 May 1946 and was returned to the Air Ministry, closing on the same day.
Royal Air Force In 1946 it was returned to RAF control and was assigned to
No. 53 Maintenance Unit RAF and became a maintenance sub-unit of
No. 94 MU RAF which had its HQ at
RAF Great Ashfield. Stored on the runways and in the buildings, were 250 lb., 500 lb., 2000 lb., and 4,000 lb. bombs, balloon cable cutting cartridges, depth charges, 7-inch parachute flares and German ammunition. The latter two items were eventually taken to 53 MU at
RAF Pulham, and destroyed there. Some time in July 1949, the site was taken over by 53 MU until Bungay's closure in 1955. The airfield was eventually put up for sale and disposed of in 1961/1962.
Post war With the end of military control Bungay airfield was the location of the
Martlesham Heath Parachute Club, with
Cessna 182 G-ATNU and crop sprayers, including
Pawnee D G-BFRY. In 1981-82, the Flixton Church Roof Restoration Fund held mini air shows. Until 1983, the main runway and peritrack were in good condition, but the following year work started on breaking them up. In the spring of 1986 a new set of oak gates were hung at St Mary's Church, Flixton, which stands close to the old airfield. These were bought as a result of donations by veterans of the 446th BG to replace those originally presented in 1945 by the Americans at Flixton. A small memorial plaque carries the inscription, "These gates were presented in memory of the men of the 446th Bombardment Group, USAAF, who gave their lives in the defence of freedom, 1941-1945". ==Current use==