Station 174: RAF Sudbury 80 years on
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- Опубликовано: 12 дек 2024
- Eighty years after the really quite brief period that RAF Sudbury, home to the 486th BG, USAAF, was operational, this video reveals the buildings, runway and taxiway fragments that survive to this day, and tells the story of the tragedy at Wood Hall, when a B-17 which had taken off on a raid to Cologne lost power and crashed, killing all but one of the crew and a local boy.
I'm grateful for the music used as backing:
1940's Slow Dance and Sing Swing Bada Bing - Doug Maxwell_Media Right Productions, and
Big Swing Band by Audionautix, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommon...
Artist: audionautix.com/
Other links you might find useful to find out more about the airfield:
Americans in Sudbury, including accounts of incidents, with details of the Wood Hall crash - americans.sudb...
Harley R. Stroven Film, 486th Bomb Group, U.S. Eighth Air Force - wartime footage of the airfield and of the surrounding towns and villages 9don't miss this!) - • Harley R. Stroven Film...
Aerial photograph of the airfield in 1944 - www.americanai...
Further modern aerial and ground-level photos of the site - www.ukairfields...
Wartime photos of Sudbury, including the airfield and the Wood Hall crash site - photoarchive.s...
Monument record for the airfield - heritage.suffo...
Great video 👍
There was also a incident where a bomber took off and developed engine problems but because of the amount of aircraft couldn’t return to the airfield and ended up ditching in Great Cornard
Yes - extraordinary story! One of the luckier USAAF crews, that's for sure. It's also a reflection on how lucky we are, and how different life was, to think that they were denied an immediate emergency landing. I guess other airfields weren't an option - either busy or blacked out - because the first and most obvious thing would otherwise seem to be to to fly straight and (fairly!) level to avoid losing altitude in turns. Ridgewell is, what, eight miles ahead, and pretty much in line with Sudbury's runway 25.
Over the last 10 years I have explored over 200 defunct airfields in East Anglia and East Midlands by aircraft and on the ground.
Flown over this airfield many times!
They're wonderful places, aren't they? I learned to glide in the air cadets in the early 80s at Debden (not calling it Carver Barracks!), and I think that was where my appreciation of them, and the things they've seen and heard, started.
East Anglia is my favourite area for cycling holidays. I've been visitng since 1972. Two useful books I have are Norfolk Airfields in the Second World War and the corresponding Suffolk version, by Graham Smith. There's so much recent history to discover there, and quite poignant to me, as my grandfather served as a navigator in the Czech RAF and his myriad photographs gave great insight into his flying life through that period.
We share two passions, then! I think if you have family who served, then that makes it even more special. Thank you for the comment.
My dad used to take me driving there in 1976 when I was 16 to practise handling the car. it was locally called Waldingfield aerodrome back then
Yes, still often is, I think. Not hard to understand why!
I met a lovely person called Antonio "Adolph" Undari from Torrington Connecticut who was stationed there at RAF Sudbury. He got to the rank of staff sergeant. He also said they also dropped Napalm bombs.
Yes, the place must hold a lot of memories.
Simon thank you so much for this lovely video very interesting lovely back ground music 🎶 good old days best regards 😊
Really glad you enjoyed it - thank you for the comment.
Very interesting thank-you 👍
Thank you again for your comment, Susan!
having lived in melford all my life this area is very close to me and I'm fond of the history it has. sadly I do feel that all that happened all those years ago are somewhat forgotten for the most part. with all these old air fields that we have, they all seem to be falling into a sorry state. would be nice if some of them could be restored.
Agreed. Some are in better condition than others; at least most of the Suffolk airfields aren't under housing estates, like Hornchurch. Yet...
@ very true. Once a cheap housing estate gets dumped on top it’s all lost.
My father told me years ago that as a boy , he would watch the B 17's stacking before grouping and flying to bomb Germany. He said the first aircraft up had to wait until all aircraft were airborne. Sometimes circling and hour or more before moving off. He said any German spies would have warned of the intended action. He also saw two planes collide and crash during the circling. So sad for all involved. How do you continue when some of your buddies never even got to go? Terrible.
hi very good video i was wondering if you would like a tour of raf graveley and i used to live there and my nephew is there now still alot buildings there still cheers jim
That's really kind - thank you! Yes, that would be fantastic. Perhaps it would be better to wait until next spring now, especially if it would be okay to fly the drone and to film...a day like today would, erm, be less than ideal. Gravely is a little way from me, but I do venture that way sometimes.
Thanks again!
The risk is that rayner will classify it as grey belt and it will get built on.
Aircraft generally did not land with a bomb load, the exception being Grand Slam and Tallboys, they were so big it took weeks for the explosive which was melted and poured into the casing to set and so made them hard to get, i suspect fuel would have been dumped as well to lower the fire risk, the plane and crew were more important. Not withstanding this closing the road was probably a very good idea in emergencies.
No, agreed. I assume it was more related to aircraft taking off, rather than landing.
The railway would have been useful. I remember passing Sudbury in a diesel multiple unit in the 1960s.
My friends uncle Val Hemingings was in charge in there in the 1960s , been there many times ,
That's amazing! Quite a special place, I think, and I imagine that's especially the case for you.
@simondaw I think that he was Air comadore ,but I might be wrong , I remember he lived a very nice house onstite , & had a bat man that took care of all his clothes,
Brilliant! Thanks again for sharing it.
Didn't Clark Gable make his movie there, Air America?
There you've got me, I'm afraid! It's certainly not something I've ever heard (but that's far from conclusive evidence! 😂)
Polebrook
Thanks, @georgewaters9587 !
I started in gliding at Meir Aerodrome in Stoke-on-Trent in 1967 and am still gliding now at Wormingford near Colchester. Meir Aerodrome closed in 1973 and was redeveloped.
The same is happening to Wormingford in September 2026, less than 2 years to go.
History repeats itself!
My gliding and flying has taken me all over the Midlands, North, West Country , South Coast, South Wales, East Anglia and Germany.
Incidentally , I did a ground visit to Carver Barracks in 2015 to see what remains of RAF Debden.
All traces of that airfield are gone.
I felt very humbled when one of the security staff , an ex Ghurka , saluted me on eventual departure.
Yes, there is a definite spirit on disused airfields , especially military ones.
Oh, no - I wasn't aware that Wormingford is being developed! Quite apart from the loss of the airfield itself, it sounds as though that's going to be yet another parcel of countryside gone forever.
The farmer who owns the land is not renewing the gliding club lease when it expires in September 2026.
Raydon ( Wings ) has been rejuvenated as a power aircraft airstrip and is not keen to accommodate a gliding operation as well.
The hangar and buildings at Raydon have been repurposed for commercial use and are well worth a visit on the ground.
Like Sudbury airfield I have flown over this site in powered aircraft many times from both Southend and Earl's Colne prior to the airstrip being reactivated.
Spent many hours flying and gliding over Suffolk and Norfolk disused military airfields 2015 to 2016.
The airfields project started in August 2014 and, so far, has taken in East Sussex, Kent, Essex, Eest Herts, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.
Incidentally, not only have I 'lost' Meir Aerodrome and am about to lose Wormingford, which goes back to 1917, other lost airfields in my log books include Burtonwood, Morridge, Woodford, Firle Beacon, Weston-super-Mare and Bessacarr , which goes back to 1909 !
The other gliding club in Essex is based at Ridgewell near Haverhill and now owns it's own site.
A wise precaution in these times.
The demise of Rougham airfield should be a stark reminder.
Another lost airfield in my flying records, although the control tower museum still exists at the moment.
The weather always deteriorated badly whenever I flew to or near Rougham!!
Similiar experience with a site in North Wales.
Sad to hear Sudbry airfield under threat too.
I was recently one of the flying members of Rougham unceremoniously kicked out as part of Skyways flying school which I think has now folded, despite much hard work to try and find an alternative site. By the way, I also remember Meir Aerodrome before it got taken over by the pottery industry and latterly a housing development. An older friend told me that during the war, newly produced Blenheims from the Rootes shadow aircraft factory at Blythe Bridge were taxied up the road and flown onward from Meir to their allocated squadrons.
Happily, I have now joined the Norfolk Gliding club to continue flying with a share in a T61 based there. With some foresight they managed to purchase the runways at Tibenham and should be able to resist the pressure of inevitable development for some time
Good luck with your T61 at Tibenham. It's a nice site. Flown a similiar aircraft the SF25B/C in Germany , and at Bessacarr, North Weald and Withybush.
We have a T61 at Wormingford.
Yes , like your good self I have a few 'lost' airfields in my log books including Meir, Church Broughton, Morridge, Burtonwood, Firle Beacon and Weston-super-Mare.
Losing flying and gliding sites appears to be an occupational hazard for recreational pilots.
Almost forgot , you can add Woodford to the lost list, they used to have a company gliding club there.
Good luck with your T61!