446th Bombardment Group at Bungay
History
The 446th Bombardment Group were stationed at Bungay in Suffolk, England and became known as the "Bungay Buckaroos".
The 446th was organised as part of the Second Air Division, to fly B-24 Liberators from eastern England against occupied France, the Lowlands and Germany.
The group was activated on 1 April 1943 at Davis-Monthan Field in Arizona.
The air and ground crews were briefly moved to Almagordo in New Mexico, then to Lowry AAB in Colorado to complete their training.
In October 1943 they left Colorado for England.
The air crews took the southern route to England, flying from Florida to Puerto Rico, then on to Brazil before crossing to the African continent and flying north to Marrakesh.
The group arrived at its Bungay base in November 1943 and its first mission was to Bremen, Germany on 16 December 1943.
From that day, through the spring of 1945, it flew 273 missions.
It was also the group that led the Second Air Division on the first heavy bomber missions on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
Two of the bombardment squadrons, the 706 BS and the 708 BS, flew more than 60 consecutive missions without loss.
In June and July 1945, the 446th were redeployed to the United States in preparation for a move to the Pacific Theatre.
The surrender of Japan made this move unnecessary and the group was inactivated on 28 August 1945.
If you're interested in the history of the 446th, you can view photographs and other records in our digital archive.
Bungay Airfield (Station 125)
Work began on the airfield at Bungay (also known as Flixton) in mid-1942.
It opened later that year as a satellite of the American base at Hardwick.
Bungay did not play a fully active part in the Second Air Division's activities until November 1943, which is when the 446th Bomb Group arrived.
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 was situated just to the south of the B1062 Harleston to Bungay road, about two miles from Bungay.
Remaining buildings
Very little remains of the airfield and only a small piece of runway is left.
Some taxi-ways are still intact and the last hard-stand is on the north side, near the site of the shooting-in butts.
The original headquarters building is intact at Abbey Farm.
You'll find a nearly complete site away from the flying field.
The old Aero Club, dining halls, PX building, Red Cross hut and showers are in good order and located just beyond Grange Farm.
The former gym and support building is still standing in the area of the Officers' Club, but the club building itself has gone.
Memorials
Members of the 446th Bomb Group gave a set of wooden gates to St Mary's Church, Flixton, before they left in 1945.
A new set of gates was dedicated in 1987, during a Second Air Division reunion.
A Roll of Honor was also placed in the church, which stood very close to the airfield, as a memorial to the men who lost their lives flying from Flixton.
A wooden seat with a plaque dedicated to the 446th is situated in the church porch.
A black granite memorial stone was erected in a small garden of remembrance in September 2003.
The stone, pictured below, is in the shape of a B24 Liberator tail with 466th BG badges, details of operations and personnel.
The garden also has a seat and information board supplied by Suffolk County Council.
It is on the left-hand side of the road going left (uphill) from St Mary's Church.
It is on land donated by the farmer close to the former HQ buildings, technical site and end of the main runway.
On Memorial Day each year a wreath is placed at the Cambridge American Cemetery by a representative from the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum.
This in memory of servicemen from this group who were killed and missing in action during hostilities.
Funds provided by 446th Bomb Group Association ensure the continuance of this act of remembrance.
Museum
The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum has a display of various aircraft and memorabilia.
Much of the latter is associated with the Eighth Air Force and there is a separate building displaying 446th Bomb Group memorabilia.
Among the items on display is a mosaic which was once part of the fountain outside the old Second Air Division Memorial Library.
You'll also find a memorial featuring a B24 propeller blade on the site. This was dedicated during a reunion in 1993.
The museum is situated off the B1062, next to The Buck Inn.
For more details about the museum, including opening times, visit its website.
Bibliography and website
There are several good histories of the 446th Bomb Group available for use in the American Library.
Among those histories are:
- Peter Bodle and Alan Hague: The 446th Bomb Group in Suffolk: A Pictorial History
- Ed Castens: The 446th Revisited
- Harold E Jansen (comp): The History of the 446th Bomb Group (H), 1943-1945
Information about the individual bases comes from from George H Fox's 8th Air Force Remembered: An illustrated guide to the memorials, memorabilia and main airfields of the US 8th Air Force in England in WW2 (London: ISO Publications, 1991).
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.
Related website
If you are interested in the story of the 446th, you can read more at the 446th Bomb Group Assocation's website.
Images
A crew at Bungay
Crew photo, including Dick Powell, Karl Gjehlahg, Arthur Evans, Adam Manuel, Wayne Metsker, Walter Makowski and Arthur Hill. The picture is from the collection of Wayne Metsker (MC 376/113 792x3) at Norfolk Record Office.
