ATTLEBRIDGE
In furtherance of the programme of providing each principal operational station with a satellite, early in 1941 a pasture at Hungate Common, just south of the village of Weston Longville, was requisitioned for use as an airfield to serve Swanton Morley. At first exceedingly rudimentary with a few huts and farm buildings as cover, it was then developed as a full-size airfield with hard runways laid during the spring of that year. The lengths were 09-27 at 1,220 yards, 14-32 at 1,120 yards and 04-22 at 1,080 yards. Thirty six pan-type hardstandings were placed on access lanes off the perimeter track. In June 1941 the airfield was used to disperse Blenheims of No. 105 Squadron, the crews returning to quarters at Swanton Morley or requisitioned local accommodation. Facilities were hastily developed and in August No. 88 Squadron moved in from Swanton Morley to become the first full tenants. In October the squadron exchanged its Blenheims for Bostons, the first bomber squadron to do so. Anti-shipping strikes were the predominant role for much of the time No. 88 was resident.
Early in 1942, Attlebridge was earmarked for development as a bomber base for the US Eighth Air Force with the necessary upgrading to Class A status. In the late summer of 1942, a sudden requirement for airfields to hold American units destined for Operation `Torch', the Allies invasion of North Africa, caused No. 88 Squadron to be transferred to Oulton at the end of September so that Attlebridge could take two squadrons of B-26 Marauders fresh from the USA. These were part of the 319th Bomb Group, the first Marauder-equipped group to come to Britain and not without much misfortune during the passage via Greenland and Iceland.
In November the Marauders left to fly on to North Africa whereupon Costain began work to enlarge the airfield and lengthen the runways, 09-27 being extended to 2,000 yards, and both 04-22 and 14-32 to 1,400 yards. This work was completed by March 1943. Thirty-four loop hardstandings were added during the course of this construction, 12 of the existing pans being lost or neutralised. Additional stretches of taxiway also had to be provided and two T2 hangars were erected, one on the main south technical site, the other being located on the north side of the airfield. Accommodation for 2,894 personnel was provided on eight dispersed domestic sites to the south.
Although it took until October 1943 to complete all the additional building work, from March 1943 No. 2 Group loaned the airfield, moving in No. 320 Squadron, a Dutch-manned unit that was giving up Hudsons and its Coastal Command assignment in order to fly Mitchells.
With the restricted use of Attlebridge due to the reconstruction, it was not until August that No. 320 undertook its first bombing operation by which time No. 2 Group had left Bomber Command and been placed under the Second Tactical Air Force. In early September the Dutchmen took their Mitchells to Lasham and at the end of the year the airfield was returned to the USAAF. While No. 2 Group was under Bomber Command, six Blenheims and six Bostons were lost during operations flown from Attlebridge.
During the winter of 1943-44, the Eighth Air Force temporarily had a surplus of airfields as several units to be assigned were still completing training in the USA. Thus it was early March 1944 before the 466th Bomb Group and its four squadrons arrived at Attlebridge with 64 B-24 Liberators. The group started operations on the 22nd of that month with a mission to Berlin and flew another 260 missions before its last on April 25, 1945. The Americans had left by early July and on the l5th the airfield reverted to RAF administration. No further flying units operated from Attlebridge and in 1959 the airfield was sold. The runways were retained to support what was called `the largest turkey farm in the world, the poultry sheds thereon being afforded a high degree of isolation for these birds are highly susceptible to disease. At one time more than 300,000 turkeys were held on this site. The Bernard Matthews company also built modern factory buildings there for processing and took over the control tower for use as offices.
