North Pickenham Airfield
The 492nd Bombardment Group (Heavy) (BG (H) was constituted on 14th September 1943, at Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico and was activated on 1st October 1943. The Group consisted of four Bombardment Squadrons (BS) namely the 856th, 857th, 858th and 859th The group moved to North Pickenham, on 14th April 1944 and was assigned to the “Mighty Eighth Air Force” 8AF, 2nd Bomb Division, 14th Combat Wing.
Due to the 492nd BG being combat ready before the 491st BG, the 492nd entered combat on 11th May 1944 when they arrived at North Pickenham instead of the 491st BG. Throughout the following three months they operated primarily against industrial targets in central Germany. They also attacked airfields and V-weapon launching sites in France during the first week in June. They bombed coastal defences in Normandy on 6th June 1944 (D-Day) and in the following weeks, attacked bridges, railroads, marshalling yards and other interdiction targets in France until the middle of the month. They then resumed bombardment of strategic targets in Germany and, except for support of the infantry during the St Lo breakthrough on 25th July 1944, they continued such operations until 5th August 1944.
They and their Consolidated B-24 Liberators, suffered heavy losses on several occasions—most notably during the Misburg mission on 26th November 1944, where half of its bombers were destroyed by enemy fighters. Due to these extremely heavy losses suffered in only 89 days the Group were taken off operations, broken up and were dispersed to other Bomb Groups.
With a few exceptions all Crews with less than 15 missions were transferred to the 859th BS, prior to movement |and Lt Colonel Mahoney went with them to Rackheath where they became the 788th BS, 467th BG. (Mahoney finished the war as Deputy Group Commander). A dozen other crews accompanied their own designations to Harrington, Northamptonshire, where they began flying black B-24s and later other types on special night missions over Europe. Five lead crews accompanied Colonel Snavely, Major Adans and Major Turnbull to the 44th BG at Shipdam, Norfolk, where they all assumed the same position, they had occupied with the 492nd.
The 492nd BG is immortalised with the quote "No other Bombardment Group in U.S. history ever lost as many aircraft in combat in so short a time."
The 492nd BG flew 66 Missions (1602 sorties) and lost 55 aircraft with the loss of 530 airmen.
Their Commanders: Were; Colonel Arthur Pierce, 19th October 1943, Major Louis C. Adams, 17th December 1943 and Colonel Eugene H Snavely, 16th January 1944.
The 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was the last Heavy Bombardment Group to be assigned to 8AF. was constituted at Army Air Base, Davis-Monthan Field on 14th September 1943, and activated on 1st October 1943. The 491st BG, trained for combat with Consolidated B-24. Liberators. On 1st January 1944. The Group consisted of 852nd BS, 853rd BS, 854th BS and 855th BS. The Group, less the air echelon, was transferred without personnel and equipment to North Pickenham, where personnel were assigned later. The air echelon continued to train in the US until it joined the group in England in May 1944 at Metfield, Suffolk.
It served in combat with 8AF, 2nd Bomb Division, 95th Combat Wing until August 1944 (Due to an accidental explosion of the bomb dump at Metfield airfield) when the Group moved to North Pickenham. This move placed it in the 14th Combat Wing, until the end of hostilities.
In a very short time, the "Ringmasters" as the group was known had established themselves in the European theatre. The 49lst are quoted “We are proud to be referred to as “THE LAST AND THE BEST.”
The Group began operations on 2nd June 1944 and attacked airfields, bridges, and coastal defences both preceding and during the invasion of Normandy. Then concentrated its attacks on strategic objectives in Germany, striking communications centres, oil refineries, storage depots, industrial areas, shipyards, and other targets in such places as Berlin, Hamburg, Kassel, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Bielefeld, Hannover, and Magdeburg; on one occasion attacked the headquarters of the German General Staff at Zossen, Germany. W
Although engaged primarily in strategic bombardment, the group also supported ground forces at St Lo in Jul 1944; assaulted V-weapon sites and communications lines in France during the summer of 1944; dropped supplies to para-troops on 18 Sep 1944 during the airborne attack in Holland; bombed German supply lines and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge.
While on a mission to bomb an oil refinery at Misburg on 26th November 1944, the Group was attacked by large numbers of enemy fighters; although 15 of the 31 Liberator aircraft that were dispatched failed to return from the mission, the remainder fought off the interceptors, and successfully bombed the target, and won for the group a Distinguished Unit Citation.
“Despite the vicious, relentless and overwhelming number of the Luftwaffe, and disregarding intense and accurate flak, the small, gallant force, stripped of its fighter support, courageously and doggedly opposed the enemy for more than thirty minutes to reach this vital target, inflicting heavy damage on the installations at a time when its operation was imperative to the enemy's resistance. Photographs show that extensive damage was done by our bombers and much of the destruction of this installation may be credited to the valiant airmen who battled a numerically superior force tenacious in his endeavour to halt the Liberators. By the outstanding valour, professional skill and determination of the combat crews, together with the technical ability and industry of the ground personnel, the 49lst Bombardment Group (H) has honourably upheld the highest traditions of the military service, reflecting great credit upon itself and the Armed Forces of the United States
December 1944-Jan 1945; the Group supported Allied forces in the airborne drop across the Rhine in March 1945; and interdicted enemy communications during the Allied drive across Germany in April 1945. Returned to the US in July. They were inactivated on 8th September 1945.
The 49st BG, flew 187 Missions (5005 Sorties) and lost 70 aircraft with the loss of 700
airmen (this data includes their time at Metfield, Suffolk).
Their Commanders were: Colonel Dwight O Monteith, 10th October 1943, Colonel Jack G Merrell, 20th December 1943, Colonel Wilson H Banks, 5th January 1944, Major Alex E Burleigh, 19thJanuary 1944, Lt Colonel Jack G Merrell, 29th January 1944, Lt Colonel Carl T Goldenberg, 12th February 1944, Colonel Frederick H Miller, 26th June 1944, Col Allen W Reed, 20th October 1944 – July 1945.
“NO OTHER GROUP WAS EVER COMMITTED TO ACTION SO FAST AND FLEW SO MANY MISSIONS IN SO SHORT A TIME, ACHIEVING SUCH FINE RESULTS.”
Both these Groups flew Consolidated Liberators B24, four engined aircraft. All up weight was 29 tons and it had a top speed of 290 MPH with a service ceiling of 28,000 ft it carried a fuel load of up to 3,516 gallons. The aircraft had a range of 2,100 miles.
Some of the memories of the airmen are recorded in their unit’s official history: Vince Cahill who was a Bombardier on the “Greaser air crew”, told this story in a letter that he wrote home:
“Our base was laid out like most in England with a small village close by; our village was North Pickenham, a very small village with very few residents and only a few shops. Swaffham, a much larger town was about 3 miles southeast of the base. The buildings on the field were all Nissen huts painted olive green and were in five areas, the four squadrons and the Group Headquarters. Going from Headquarters to the Squadron area, we passed fields of
sugar beets, through the village, and then to our area. A young girl, who along with her sister farmed the area, became known as "Tractor Annie" to everyone.” (Of course, “Tractor Annie” and her sister have since been identified as our very own, Mid and Dianne Warner).
“I flew as a lead Pilot with the 852nd Squadron out of North Pickenham. Weather was one of the things that caused us many problems flying in and out of England. We were sent out many times in extremely marginal conditions so at one time I asked the people in the control tower how they determined the flying status of the airfield. They said if they could see the top St Andrews church tower in North Pickenham from the control tower it was good enough to fly. I estimated the tower to be about fifty feet high but the base of the tower was much lower than the airfield, so much for scientific weather forecasting.”
“One way many used to get back into the home field at North Pickenham worked even better than the weather forecasting. We could home in on radio beam from buncher 21 (a radio locating beacon), as you passed over the buncher you could pick up a heading of about 90 degrees, drop down until you were out of cloud cover and could see trees and buildings, next you intercepted the Swaffham Rail Road tracks, made a hard left turn and followed the tracks to a small bridge. As you passed the bridge you added flaps, dropped your gear and turned to 240 degrees, and bingo, there is the runway and all this at near zero visibility.”
Researched and compiled © by
Riccard Parsonson MA
North Pickenham Control Tower and flight control personnel
B24, 42-95619 Bi-U-Baby On the tarmac at North Pickenham
B24, 44-40194, Burk Crew & Little Beaver
North Pickenham, MP Picket Post, between Manor Farm & The Street
Tractor Annie, Di Wells
This is a photo of North Pickenham taken in January 1946 showing the airfield .
Memories of long ago in North Pickenham
I was quite young in the early 40’s. When coming downstairs one Christmas morning I found that Father Christmas had left me a bicycle. After learning to ride rather unsteadily Di Warner would take me for bike rides, usually to chat to the soldiers manning the Searchlight Battery at Warren Lodge which was up a lane off the Hilborough Road.
The lane is still there but Warren Lodge went, when the men and machines came to build the airfield and accommodation sites for the service men.
Some of the workers lodged with people in the village. We had a carpenter from Norwich lodging with us. Opposite the pit at South Pickenham was a hut that was sometimes used as a cinema for the workers. If the film was suitable for children we would be allowed to go, there was no road then; just a track with three gates on it – just before you got to South Pickenham village.
When the American’s arrived, we were very excited as ‘any gum chum’ had preceded them. One Christmas they gave us and children from surrounding villages a party in one of the hangers. We had never seen so much ice cream, sweets, cake and fruit before. We got to know some of the Americans very well, as my mother, like other ladies in the village would wash and iron their clothes for them, so there was usually one or 2 of them in the house in the evenings, especially if they had been playing cards and lost and had no money left to go to the pub, but Dad always had a few bottles of beer in the house for such emergencies.
We liked to watch the planes come back from their missions and would go and sit on the Railway Bridge (no longer there) and watch them come into land. Some only had 2 engines working. You could also see the large holes in the fuselage where they had been hit. Depending on the damage to the aircraft or crew they would shoot red, orange or green flares out. Red meant priority in landing for that aircraft.
At the top of Houghton Lane and beyond the No Entry sign about 100 yards on the left was an old chalk pit which the Americans turned into their rubbish dump. They dumped anything and everything, unopened chocolate boxes, clothes, tins of meat and fruit, packets of cigarettes usually flattened and live ammunition. We would take out the bullets and light the cordite and wait for the cap to go off.
On the right-hand side of the entrance was an old wooden gate post with a large split in it. There you could wedge a live round in it, hold a nail on the cap and hit the nail with a large stone. We never could find out where the bullets went. There was always a fire smouldering away and we would throw live ammo into the fire and stand well back. No one ever got hurt or injured, more by good luck than good judgement I expect. This is only part of what I could tell you about my memories of the Americans in North Pickenham.
The Americans have gone, and we are a little bit older, the summer holidays come and if the weather was warm we would dam the river two meadows upstream from the bridge to make it deeper for us to swim in, the river was quite narrow then so after about 2 days the pressure of water would flatten the dam. There was one time when we built a dam that held so well that the farmer that lived in Meadow Lane told us to take it down as it had virtually stopped the flow of water downstream and he didn’t think that there would be enough water for his cattle.
We could also go into the harvest fields and chase the rabbits as they ran out of the corn that was being cut. We always manged to get some and the farmer would usually give us one to take home (dead, of course).
The dark nights of Autumn and winter came and at times with our sticks and torches we would go ‘ratting’. We would go quietly up to the corn stack, switch all our torches on at once to try and dazzle the rats, we would kill one or 2 but most got away.
Our garden was next to the sandpit, where The Grange is now. In winter if there had been plenty of snow we would sledge down the sand pits slopes as it was about 18 feet deep, it was great fun.
In 1990 some Americans came back for a reunion and we were able to meet up again with some we got to know when they were stationed here. Both my wife and I were fortunate in being asked to their reunion dinner in Norwich.
The Community Centre, we called it ‘The Hut’ was a large wooden building, I think originally it was a 1st World War 1 barrack room. It stood where No 1 The Grange is now, and it was used for all social events. The heating was by a large coke burning Tortoise stove, not very efficient for such a cold draughty building. In the cold dark nights of winter if The Hut was to be used, Joe the caretaker (who was also the Parish Clerk, Verger, cricket captain and grave digger and who one of the seats on Johnson’s Playing Field is in memory of) would light the fire about 3 hours before its use. He would always start off with coal and then fill it up with coke. About ¾ of an hour before the public arrived Joe would check to see if all was well, it had been known for him to arrive to find the building full of smoke. He would then open all the windows and doors and hope the smoke had gone before the public arrived, this was because someone had put a wet sack over the metal chimney that was on the outside of the building. What naughty boys we were!
USAF BOMBER GROUPS
THE FOLLOWING WERE NOT SQUADRON'S THEY WERE BOMB GROUP'S.
THE 1ST BOMB GROUP TO COME TO NORTH PICKENHAM WERE THE 492ND BOMB GROUP. THEY STARTED TO GET HERE IN APRIL 1944. THE SQUADRON'S FROM THE 492ND WERE THE FOLLOWING 856TH BOMB SQN. 857TH BOMB SQN. 858TH BOMB SQN & THE 859TH BOMB SQN.
THE 2ND BOMB GROUP TO COME TO NORTH PICKENHAM WERE THE 491ST BOMB GROUP. THEY CAME HERE IN THE AUGUST OF 1944 FROM METFIELD IN SUFFOLK. AFTER THE 492ND BOMB GROUP WERE DISBANDED AS A HEAVY BOMBER GROUP DUE TO VERY HIGH LOSSES IN MEN AND AIRCRAFT.
THE 491ST BOMB GROUP ALSO FLEW WITH 4 SQUADRONS. THEY WERE HERE AT NORTH PICKENHAM UNTILL THE END OF THE WAR IN 1945.
AS A MATTER OF INTEREST THE 492ND BG WENT ONTO NIGHT FLYING WITH THE 801ST WHICH BECAME THE 492ND/801ST. FLYING FROM HARRINGTON IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
Information provided by Mr Allan Sirrell
