| Summary : A military airfield which was opened in 1942. The site is now known as "Rougham Field" but was formerly known as "Bury St Edmunds Airfield", "Rougham Airfield" and also as "USAAF Station 468". The airfield was designed to be used by United States Army Air Force Bomber Groups, and so was constructed with three long runways with tarmac and wood chip surfaces and a technical site situated close to the A45 on the south east side of the complex; this area is now Rougham Industrial Estate. Two aircraft hangars (type T2) were erected as opposite sides of the site, one of which is still extant ( please see TL 86 SE 189 and TL 86 SE 190). Temporary dispersed accomodation (mainly Nissen huts) for up to 3000 personnel was constructed mainly to the south of the road in the direction of Rougham village and Blackthorpe (see TL 96 SW 32). The base was used at first briefly by 47 Bomber Group, replaced in December 1942 by 332 Bomber Group. They did not begin to actively fly their Marauder aircraft until 1943. The 332nd sustained heavy casulties on their second mission: this was a target in Holland from which none of those that set out returned. In June 1943 they were replaced by 94 Bomber Group, who flew 300 missions from the base. In December of 1945 the Americans left, and the airfield was placed under Royal Air Force then War Office control. In 1948 the military disposed of the airfield; since then it has had irregular use by civil light aircraft, including air displays in the summer months. By 1978 some of the runways had been removed but some of the technical site buildings were incorporated into the industrial estate. From 1993 onwards the control tower (now as museum)and some other buildings were restored by The Rougham Tower Association (please see monument TL 86 SE 188). |
More information : Bury St Edmunds airfield, TL 898644, opened 1942, closed 1948. Wartime use was by the 8th USAAF, operational Bomber Groups. Use in 1985 given as "industrial" (1)
Bury St Edmunds airfield was originally known as "Rougham Airfield", also known as "USAAF Station 468". The airfield was constructed between 1941-1942 Richard Costain Ltd, as a "class A" status airfield constructed with three long runways with tarmac and wood chip surfaces and a technical site situated close to the A45 (now Rougham Industrial Estate). Temporary dispersed accomodation (mainly Nissen huts) for up to 3000 personnel was constructed to the south of the road in the direction of Rougham village. The base was used at first briefly by 47 Bomber Group, replaced in December 1942 by 332 Bomber Group. They did not begin to actively fly their Marauder aircraft until 1943. The 332nd sustained heavy casulties on their second mission: this was a target in Holland from which none of those that set out returned. In June 1943 they were replaced by 94 Bomber Group, who flew 300 missions from the base, including some leaflet drops in 1945. In December of 1945 the Americans left, and the airfield was placed under Royal Air Force then War Office control. Susequently some of the buildings from the technical site were incoprated into the industrial estate. The source includes useful reproductions of aerial views of the base. (2)
Rougham Airfield. The 94th Bomb Group were involved in the large raids on ball bearing works at Eberhausen and Schweinfurt.MJF Bowyer noted that in 2000 that since 1948 there has been "spasmodic" use of the former Bury St Edmunds airfield site by civil light aircraft, "during the sommer months air displays are held at Rougham Field upon which visiting aircraft land". The source notes the contined survival of some airfield buildings at the former technical site (Rougham Industrial Estate). (3)
Bury St Edmunds Airfield outline depicted centred at TL 890 644, OS Sheet TL 86 SE. (4)
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