466th Bombardment Group at Attlebridge

It was stationed at Attlebridge in Norfolk, England, from February 1944 to April 1945 and flew B-24 Liberators.

The bulk of its crews' training was carried out in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

In February 1944, it moved to its base near the village of Weston Longville.

The group's first mission was on 22 March 1944 to Berlin. It was the longest first mission flown by any group in the European theatre of operations.

This was noted by Lt Gen James Doolittle in a letter welcoming the 466th to the Eighth Air Force.

During the course of the war, the 466th flew more than 5,600 sorties in 231 missions over France, Germany, and Belgium.

A total of 333 men lost their lives during those missions, with an additional 171 taken prisoner, eight evading capture and 27 interned in neutral countries.

Almost 100 B-24 Liberators were lost during the missions.

The 466th also participated in the Gas Missions. This involved flying gasoline to the US Army in France and Germany, which had moved so quickly it had outdistanced its supply lines.

If you want to view various records relating to the 466th, you can visit our digital archive.

It was built in 1941 close to the village of Weston Longville. 

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 site is located south-west of the village of Attlebridge, which is on the A1067 Norwich to Fakenham road.

It's about eight miles north-west of Norwich.

The tower has been extensively renovated and is used as offices by Bernard Matthews Limited, which owns the airfield site.

The briefing room and HQ block still exist, the latter being used as a private house.

The T2 hangars have long since gone, but a few of the old Quonset huts and other structures remain on some of the dispersed sites. They are used for a variety of purposes.

Bernard Matthews has built a considerable number of turkey sheds on the remaining concrete areas, as it has at several other former Second Air Division bases.

This memorial is pictured below.

Weston Longville has an ornamental village sign commemorating the men who lost their lives serving with the 466th Bomb Group.

This was dedicated in August 1977, during a visit by a group of veterans.

All Saints Church at Weston Longville contains a 466th Bomb Group Roll of Honor.

Among these histories are:

• Peter Bodle and Mike Harris: The 466th Bomb Group in Norfolk: A Pictorial History 
• Earl Wassom and Chris Brassfield: Attlebridge Arsenal 
• Lt Col John H Woolnough: The Attlebridge Diaries

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

You can also visit the 466th Bomb Group Association website for more information including history and reunions.