Attlebridge airfield had runways of 1,220, 1,120 and 1,080 yards length but, when the base was earmarked for USAAF use, these were extended and the airfield was enlarged to meet heavy bomber requirements. The main E-W runway was increased to 2,000 yards and the others to 1,400 yards each. The perimeter track was also extended and the number of hardstands was increased to fifty. In enlarging the airfield, several small, country roads were closed in the parish of Weston Longville, in which the larger part of the airfield was sited.[3]
The airfield was then a satellite field for RAF Horsham St. Faith where the Group HQ and some personnel were stationed. These were the first squadrons flying this type of medium bomber to arrive in the UK from America.[3]
466TH BOMB GROUP, 786th Sq, Dougherty Crew # 612. While waiting for a delayed mission, crew members were taking it easy when a jeep rolled up and a photographer took this picture.
The 466th began operations on 22 March 1944 by participating in a daylight raid on Berlin. The group operated primarily as a strategic bombardment organization, attacking such targets as marshalling yards at Liège, an airfield at St Trond, a repair and assembly plant at Reims, an airfield at Chartres, factories at Brunswick, oil refineries at Bohlen, aircraft plants at Kempten, mineral works at Hamburg, marshalling yards at Saarbrücken, a synthetic oil plant at Misburg, a fuel depot at Dülmen, and aero engine works at Eisenach.[10]
Other operations included attacking pillboxes along the coast of Normandy on D-Day (6 June 1944), and afterwards striking interdictory targets behind the beachhead; bombing enemy positions at Saint-Lô during the Allied breakthrough in July 1944; hauling oil and petrol to Allied forces advancing across France in September; hitting German communications and transportation during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 − January 1945; and bombing the airfield at Nordhorn in support of the airborne assault across the Rhine on 24 March 1945.[10]
After the war, RAF Attlebridge was placed in "care and maintenance" status for a few years, eventually being closed in 1950. It was sold during 1959-62 and was chosen as a site for extensive poultry rearing operations.[9]
Today, rows of turkey houses line the runways, isolated from each other because this is an important requirement in escaping the infectious diseases to which turkeys are prone. The runways, perimeter track, and a few of the hardstands remain as does the control tower, now extensively renovated and used as offices by the owners of the airfield site. The briefing room and HQ block still exist, the latter being used as a private house.[9]
The T-2 hangars have long since gone but a few of the old Nissen huts and other structures remain on some of the dispersed sites, used for a variety of purposes.[9]
During the 1992 reunion a memorial was dedicated at a crossroads near the airfield.[12]
^466th Bomb Group - The Flying Deck (Memorial outside former airfield). In the centre of a junction south west of the former RAF Attlebridge: The 466th Bombardment Group Association. 1992.
^ abcd"RAF Attlebridge". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
Falconer, J (2012). RAF Airfields of World War 2. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN978-1-85780-349-5.
Freeman, R. Airfields of the Eighth - Then and Now. After the Battle. London, UK: Battle of Britain International Ltd., 2001. ISBN0-9009-13-09-6.
Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. ISBN1-84037-141-2.
Maurer, M. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. USAF Historical Division. Washington D.C., USA: Zenger Publishing Co., Inc, 1980. ISBN0-89201-092-4.
Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J; Halley, J (1997). Royal Air Force flying training and support units. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN0-85130-252-1.