RAF Horsham St. Faith memorial

RAF Horsham St. Faith was a Royal Air Force station at Norwich, Norfolk, which was operational from 1939 to 1963. It was then developed as Norwich International Airport (NWI)

The airfield was first developed in 1939 and officially opened on 1st. June 1940 as a RAF bomber station. It had been built with five C-type hangars.

The first aircraft there were Bristol Blenheims dispersed from 21 Squadron at RAF Watton, Norfolk in 1939 but the first operational aircraft there were fighters, Supermarine Spitfires of 19 and 66 squadrons from RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire. Boulton Paul Defiant's of A Flight, 264 Squadron began sorties on 12th. May 1940.

The first operational bomber units were 139 Squadron and 114 Squadron of No. 2 Group of RAF Bomber Command with the Blenheim IV. 114 Squadron then moved onto RAF Oulton, Norfolk which was a new satellite station for Horsham.

In August 1941, an aircraft from 18 Squadron flying from Horsham St. Faith en route to attack a power station at Gosnay, France, dropped a box by parachute over the south-west corner of St. Omer - Longeunesse airfield, containing a pair of legs for Wing Commander Douglas Bader who had been shot down over France and had lost his artificial limbs in the process.

In December 1941, 105 Squadron arrived from RAF Swanton Morley, Norfolk to begin training on the new de Havilland Mosquito fast bomber and from June 1942 the squadron carried out photographic and bombing missions over Germany.

In September 1942 Horsham St. Faith was made available to the USAAF for use by the Eighth Air Force. The USAAF designated the airfield as Station 123 (HF).

The first USAAF tenants at the airfield were the 319th. BG (M), arriving from RAF Shipdham, Norfolk on 4th. October 1942. Flying the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber, the group stayed until 11th. November when the group reassigned to Twelfth Air Force as part of the North African Campaign at Saint-Leu Airfield, Algeria.

The airfield then lay unused over the winter until the arrival of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt's of the 56th. FG, transferring from RAF Kings Cliffe, Cambridgeshire on 6th. April 1943. The group, nicknamed 'Zemke's Wolkpack' after their commander, Colonel Hubert 'Hub' Zemke consisted of the following squadrons:

61st. Fighter Squadron (HV)

62nd. Fighter Squadron (LM)

63rd. Fighter Squadron (UN)

The group entered combat with a fighter sweep in the area of St. Omer on 13th. April 1943, and flew numerous missions over France, the Low Countries, and Germany to escort bombers that attacked industrial establishments, V-weapon sites, submarine pens, and other targets on the Continent.

On 8th. July, the group had to move to RAF Halesworth, Suffolk when work started on enlarging Horsham St. Faith for use as a heavy bomber station with hard surface runways and concrete hardstands and a perimeter track. The move was not particularly popular with the men of the 56th. who had to give up the comparative comfort of Horsham's barracks for the temporary huts and muddy accommodations at Halesworth.

With runway construction finished, the 458th. BG (H) arrived at Horsham St. Faith late in January 1944 from Tonopah AAF, Nevada. The group consisted of the following squadrons:

752nd. Bomb Squadron

753rd .Bomb Squadron

754th. Bomb Squadron

755th. Bomb Squadron

The group flew its first mission on 24th. February with Consolidated B-24 Liberators.

On 2nd. March, B-24-H, serial number 41-28669 and nicknamed 'Ginny' of the 752th. BS, took off on it's first operational mission, commanded by 1st. Lt. Kenneth Gorrell. Shortly after take off it stalled possibly due to icing on the wings and crashed at Hellesdon in Norwich which was under it's flightpath. Of the crew of ten, seven died in the crash, the other three, including the pilot, returned to duty.

In September 1944, like other bomber groups in the area it participated in shipping fuel to American forces in France, these were known as 'Trucking missions'

At approximately 1630, on the 20th. September, B-24-H, serial number 42-7516 and nicknamed 'Gator' of the 755th. BS took off, heading to Clastres under the command of 2nd. Lt. Herbert H. Humke. This aircraft had only flown on 27 combat missions, but those missions had taken their toll. The aircraft had been declared, "unfit for tactical use" almost one month before. The aircraft was loaded with almost 7,000 pounds (3,530 galls) of fuel and the day was hot with no wind blowing, less than ideal take-off conditions for a heavily laden aircraft. Add to this an inexperienced pilot and the danger is multiplied. While 2nd. Lt. Humke had 500 hours total flying time, he had no combat experience although he had been checked out as proficient and ready to fly combat, but this would be his first take-off in a fully loaded Liberator.

Witnesses stated that the Liberator used the entire length of the runway before becoming airborne. They also stated that the nose did not appear excessively high at any time during the take-off run but that the engines sounded normal and that the pilot seemed to be having difficulty in getting aircraft into the air when the runway ran out. The Liberator just managed to clear the airfield's perimeter and flew on for one mile before crashing at 16.31 hrs. and 30 seconds on Hastings Avenue, Hellesdon, killing Mrs Ethel Smith from number 21 and causing minor injuring to five other civilians. Twenty civilian homes were either damaged or completely destroyed by fire and impact of the aircraft. Six of the crew died including the pilot and four survived. The responsibility for the accident was listed as 'unknown' but undoubtedly the pilot’s inexperience was a contributing factor.

The group flew its last combat mission on 25th. April 1945, flying 240 missions, losing 47 aircraft in combat along with another 18 in non-combat accidents before returning to Sioux Falls AAF, South Dakota in July 1945. The group claimed the destruction of 28 enemy aircraft.

The airfield was transferred back to RAF Fighter Command on 10th. July 1945. Four Gloster Meteor Squadrons one of which, 307 Squadron, was entirely composed of Polish personnel, were the first RAF aircraft to return with the jets arrived during 1946-48.

RAF Horsham St. Faith was a front-line RAF station for many years and its squadrons participated in many post-war exercises until the station was closed on 1st. August 1963.

With the end of military control the airfield was redeveloped into Norwich International Airport (NWI).

 

 

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