Bomb Groups in Norfolk

The books in this series are A5, pocket sized photo histories of the life and times of the American service men who were part of the USAAF stationed in Norfolk during WWII.

The greater majority of the photos in all the books were taken by those men with their own cameras. Some photos were official, some were semi-official and many were very un-official. The books show how the airfields and the men, their planes and their way of life through their own eyes. Each one is a unique pictorial time capsule.

They are printed on high quality gloss art paper with a full colour gloss card cover with the rear cover depicting the colourful jacket patches of the various operational squadrons. Each book also contains several pages of the now famous ‘nose Art’ which was one of the trade marks of the USAAF bomber squadrons. This series will make a great addition to the library of both the serious student of the history of Norfolk, WWII, or the USAAF; as well as the more casual reader with a general interest in East Anglia and its more recent history.

The 491^st and 492^nd Bomb Groups in Norfolk

North Pickenham (Station 143) was one of the most northerly of the B24 bases in Norfolk during WWII, and unusually was home to two Bomb Groups, despite being one of the last of the East Anglian WWII airfield to be built and commissioned. For local topographical reasons it had the shortest main runway of all the Norfolk airfields.

Just a couple of miles out of the Breckland Market town of Swaffham, large parts of the airfield are intact under a vast Turkey rearing operation and a thriving kart racing track. Easily identified by the 200 ft radio transmission mast, the road past the kart track entrance leads to the village of North Pickenham which houses the memorial to the men who served in the 491^st and 492^nd. This book contains some rare and specialise photos seen through the eyes of the men who flew from this station.

GBP £6.00 each (includes postage to UK address)

Publication date June 2006