479th Fighter Group at Wattisham
History
The 479th was the final fighter group assigned to the Second Air Division during the war and began operations at Wattisham Airfield in May 1944.
The group was led by Lt Col Kyle L Riddle and were known as Riddle's Raiders.
Its primary mission was to escort daylight bomber formations to and from targets in Europe. The secondary mission was to "seek and destroy".
These missions were flown at very low altitudes against targets such as trains, goods yards, enemy troop concentrations, ammo dumps and enemy airfields.
Initially flying P-38 Lightning aircraft, the group were re-equipped with the P-51 Mustang in September 1944.
On 25 April 1945 the 479th flew their last mission, escorting bombers from the Eighth Air Force which was also flying its last mission.
During the 11 months of combat the 479th Fighter Group flew 355 combat missions. In the air, they destroyed 155 enemy aircraft and damaged 39.
Its ground attacks saw 279 aircraft destroyed with 168 damaged.
It had four fighter aces:
- Arthur F Jeffrey (434th FS) with 14 aerial victories
- Robin Olds (434th FS) with 13 aerial victories
- George W Gleason (434th FS) with 12 aerial victories
- Richard G Candelaria (435th FS) with six aerial victories
The group also earned two Distinguished Unit Citations. One was for attacks on French airfields in August 1944 and the other for combat during a raid on Munster the following month.
The 479th Fighter Group left Wattisham in November 1945 and was deactivated at Kilmar New Jersey in December 1945.
If you wish to view various records relating to the 479th, you can visit our digital archive.
Wattisham Airfield (Station 377)
The airfield is now known as Wattisham Flying Station and is home to a number of organisations.
These are the Army Corps flying Apache Longbows, 7 Battalion REME, RAF Search and Rescue Sea King helicopters, and Suffolk Police Helicopter Unit.
It was home to the 479th Fighter Group from May 1944 to November 1945.
All sites are now private property and you will need permission before you visit.
The library has information on some base contacts and with their permission can pass this onto you. The Library itself is unable to organise site visits.
The airfield is located two miles north-east of Bildeston, Suffolk, north of the B1078.
Remaining buildings at Wattisham
Wattisham was in use as RAF fighter station until 1992.
It is now occupied by the British Army as a main helicopter base.
The original buildings are still intact, although they have been subject to some alterations.
The flying field is also intact and extended, with hard surfaced runways and hardened aircraft shelters added since the 479th Fighter Group was in residence.
479th Fighter Group Memorial
There is a granite memorial dedicated to the 479th Fighter Group and the 4th Strategic Air Depot (US).
It is situated on part of the original wartime dispersal areas, just outside Wattisham airfield perimeter, in the parish of Ringshall.
This memorial, dedicated in May 2005, was presented and instigated by Maggie Aggiss and the Wattisham Airfield Museum Committee.
Wattisham museum
Wattisham Station Heritage consists of two buildings.
The former USAAF church (Nissen hut) houses an extensive photographic record of the airfield, uniforms and memorabilia.
A Cold War Hardened Aircraft Shelter (HAS) contains a former Black Arrows Display Team Hawker Hunter, a Phantom FGR2, a Meteor NF11, a Lightning cockpit, and Gazelle helicopter.
The HAS is situated on the former 436th Fighter Squadron, 479th Fighter Group USAAF dispersal area and is close to the USAAF memorial.
To visit the museum you'll need to book at least three days in advance as it's on a military base.
For more information see the Wattisham Station Heritage website.
Bibliography and website
There are several good histories of the 479th Fighter Group available for use in the American Library.
Among these histories are:
- Terry A Fairfield: The 479th Fighter Group in World War II: in Action over Europe with the P-38 and P-51
- John Stanaway: 479th Fighter Group
- Maggie Aggiss: Wattisham aerodrome at war: from both sides of the fence
For more on the history of the airfield, see:
- Martin Bowman: Bomber Bases of WW2: 2nd Air Division 8th Air Force USAAF 1942-45
- Michael Bowyer: Action Stations Revisited: No 1 Eastern England
- Ken Delve: The Military Airfields of Britain: East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk)
- Roger Freeman: Airfields of the Eighth Then and Now
If you're interested in any of these books you can find and reserve them at the Norfolk Online Catalogue.