USAAF Thorpe Abbotts July 2010 (Pic Heavy)

Station 139

During the second world war Thorpe Abbotts became home to an airbase with the designation 139, Thorpe Abbotts. The airbase was built in 1942 by John Laing & Sons Ltd. The base had three intersecting runways laid with concrete which were encircled by a three and a half mile perimeter road. The perimeter road had hard standings for fifty aircraft. There were two hangars, a technical site and a domestic area. The base became operational in June 1943 when the 100th Bomb Group of the United States Army Air Force took up residency. The group became known as the ‘’Bloody 100th’’ because of the heavy losses incurred by the group on a number of their combat missions. The 100th were the only group to fly operations from Thorpe Abbots and during a period between June the 15th 1943 and April 10 1945, 306 missions were flown from the base. The 100th group flew B-17 Flying Fortress from Thorpe Abbotts. The USAAF left the base in December 1945 when the base was transferred to the RAF and it remained inactive until April 1956 when the base was finally de-requisitioned. The land owned by Sir Rupert Mann has been returned back to agricultural use but the perimeter road remained intact until 1986 when it was demolished. Some of the buildings including the control tower still survive. Today the old control tower has been fully restored and contains a museum dedicated to the famous 'Bloody Hundredth' BombGroup. The museum tells the story of Thorpe Abbotts and portrays every-day life on an American bomber base.

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Munchh said:

Is the PH fort a working example btw?

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