Fersfield
AirfieldIWM, English Heritage Collection
Originally named Winfarthing when the site was allocated to the Eighth Air Force in 1942, it was renamed Fersfield when built for the Eighth Air Force 1943-44. USAAF and US Navy projects 'Aphrodite' 'Batty' and 'Anvil' (attempts to develop and use radio-controlled aircraft as precision weapons) were launched from the airfield in 1944, one of which resulted in the death of Lt Joseph Kennedy, elder brother of future US President John F Kennedy. The airfield was closed in 1946, and it has since been since returned to agriculture.
Connections
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People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 560th Bomb Squadron 388th Bomb Group 458th Bomb Group 753rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16003306
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-?
- Highest Rank: Major
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Flight Eng/Autopilot Eng
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 560th Bomb Squadron 388th Bomb Group 458th Bomb Group 753rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-676383
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Flight Eng / Autopilot Eng
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Quarterback
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: T'aint A Bird II
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group Base Air Depot 1 334th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Ruth L III
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 338th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Olin's 69ers, Gremlin Gus II
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 560th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Tom Paine
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 389th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
Revisions
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Mighty Eighth War Manual (London, 2001)
Michael Bowyer, Action Stations 1: Wartime Military Airfields of East Anglia 1939-1945 (Cambridge, 1979)