453rd Bombardment Group at Old Buckenham
History
The 453rd Bombardment Group was stationed at Old Buckenham in Norfolk, England, from December 1943 to April 1945.
James "Jimmy" Stewart, the acclaimed film star, served as group executive officer of the 453rd from March 1944 through the end of the group's time in England.
The group was activated on June 1, 1943 at Wendover Field in Utah. It was established at Pocatello Air Field in Idaho in late July 1943 and crews spent two months in training at that base.
From there, the 453rd was moved to March Field, near Riverside, California for the rest of its training.
It left in December 1943 for England and arrived a few days before Christmas.
The ground crew travelled on the Queen Elizabeth, while the air crew flew their ships via the southern ferry route.
The 453rd flew its first mission on February 5 1944 against the airfield at Tours, France. From that time until its last mission on April 12, 1945, the group flew 259 missions, completing 6,655 sorties and losing 58 aircraft in combat.
The 453rd Bomb Group's other claim to fame is that the 733 BS flew 82 consecutive missions without losing an aircraft.
The 453rd was removed from operations on April 12 1945 in preparation for its return to the United States for redeployment in the Pacific Theatre.
It was inactivated in September 1945.
If you want to view photographs and other records relating to the 453rd, you can visit our digital archive.
Old Buckenham Airfield (Station 144)
The airfield is still in use for light aircraft and hosts an annual airshow.
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 about two miles south-east of Attleborough, which is on the main A11 road between Norwich and Thetford.
Remaining buildings
The control tower, hangars and buildings on the technical site have long since gone.
Portions of the perimeter track are still in existence, although reduced in width. There are remnants of a few of the hardstands.
Light aircraft flying from Touchdown Aero Centre use one of the runways: the rest have been broken up for hardcore.
A few of the Nissen huts on some of the dispersed sites still remain in reasonable condition.
The Norden bomb sight store and the administration building are still standing on what was the administration site, located to the south of Bunn's Bank industrial estate.
The status board is still visible on the wall of the administration building.
The industrial estate is located on the "Command Area"/WRAF site.
Many of the original buildings are still standing, but converted to industrial use.
These include the gymnasium, squash court, back-up power station, meat store and various Nissen huts.
Memorials
A memorial to the 453rd Bomb Group was dedicated during a Second Air Division reunion in 1990.
It's made of black granite and is shaped like a B-24 Liberator fin.
This memorial, pictured below, is located on the airfield site, near the Touchdown Aero Centre buildings.
An extension to Old Buckenham's village hall was dedicated as a memorial during a reunion in May 1983.
It honours the members of the group who lost their lives serving in the UK.
Museum
The 453rd Bombardment Group Museum opened at Old Buckenham Airfield on Remembrance Sunday 2015.
It houses a large collection of 453rd memorabilia and is also home to the 8th Air Force Heritage Gallery.
This tells the stories of US servicemen and women based in East Anglia during the Second World War.
If you want more find out more on the 453rd Bombardment Group Museum website.
Bibliography and website
There are several good histories of the 453rd Bomb Group available for use in the American Library.
Among those histories are:
- Michael D Benarcik: In Search of Peace: A review of Events and Emotional Experiences endured by the 8th Air Force Bombardment Groups during World War II
- Peter Bodle and Tony North: The 453rd Bomb Group in Norfolk: A Pictorial History
- Andy Low (comp): The Liberator Men of "Old Buc"
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're interested in the history of the 453rd and Old Buckenham Airfield, you may also find the following website useful:
Images
453rd Bomb Group memorial
The memorial to the 453rd Bomb Group, dedicated during the reunion in 1990. It is shaped like a B-24 Liberator fin.
