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The 2nd Air Division in East Anglia during WW2 & the Memorial Library
| compiled by the late Roger Freeman, 2nd Air Division Memorial Trust Governor
In the 1939-1945 conflict known as the Second World War, air power was a decisive force in securing the Allied victory. When the United States of America entered hostilities in December 1941, it was agreed with the British that until such time as an invasion of continental Europe could be undertaken, the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force would engage in strategic bombing against Nazi Germany. Strategic bombing involved campaigns to destroy the industries and communications that directly or indirectly supported the enemy's war effort. In the event, RAF Bomber command concentrated on night attacks while its American counterpart, the 8th Air Force, operated mainly in daylight.
 | | Famed B-24 Witchcraft in action |
The US 8th Air Force was, in terms of men and aircraft, the largest offensive air force in history. Indeed, had not much of its planned strength been diverted to other American air forces fighting the Nazis and their supporters, it would have comprised almost two thirds of the total USAAF combat strength. The 8th Air Force was, ultimately, composed of three Air Divisions which were, in effect, air forces within an air force, each with fighter units and maintenance organizations to support the bomber operations. The 1st Air Division (in the Huntingdon area) and the 3rd Air Division (in Suffolk and Southwest Norfolk) were equipped with Boeing B-17 Fortress bombers whereas the 2nd Air Division (in Norfolk and northeast Suffolk) flew Consolidated B-24 Liberators. The Second Air Division evolved out of the reorganization of the VIII Bomber Command in to the Eighth Air Force. Starting as the Second Bomb Wing, it became the Second Bomb Division and when the fighter wing was assigned, in September 1944, it was redesignated the Second Air Division in January of 1945.
The Second Air Division's first bombing mission was flown on November 7, 1942; the last on April 25, 1945. A total of 95, 948 sorties were flown in 493 operational missions by the division's B-24s, dropping 199,883 tons of bombs. Targets attacked ranged from Norway in the north, as far east as Poland and Rumania, while several Mediterranean countries were reached from temporary bases in North Africa. Six 2nd Air Division groups received special presidential citations for outstanding actions and five airmen received the Medal of Honor (highest US award for bravery), four posthumously. In combat the 2nd Air Division gunners claimed 1,079 enemy fighters destroyed against losses of 1,458 B-24s missing in action and many others lost in accidents.
A total of 6,700 men serving with the 2nd Air Division lost their lives during the conflict. At one period the chance of an individual airman completing a tour of operations(25 missions, later 30-35) was as little as one in three, so formidable was the flak (anti-aircraft artillery) and fighter defenses of the German Luftwaffe. There was also little safety margin in the heavily loaded Liberators if some mechanical or equipment failure occurred. Besides the risk to life and limb, an airman had to endure from between four to eight hours--and sometimes as much as ten--in cramped conditions exposed to constant noise and vibration. Much of the time the flight was at altitudes where uncomfortable oxygen masks had to be worn and temperatures down to minus 40 degrees Farenheit necessitated heavy clothing to prevent frostbite. Such was the grim lot of a Liberator crew member.
For every man in the air there were another three on the ground engaged in support--cooks, clerks, mechanics, armourers and a score of others performing duties, many of them menial but essential to the functioning of the group.
The Hubs : Second Air Division Bases in Norfolk
Each airfield was occupied by a single Bombardment Group consisting of four flying Bombardment Squadrons, a squadron having an average complement of 12 to 16 B-24s and 200 combat airmen. Total personnel on a bomber station varied between two and three thousand. The Group was the basic operational unit of the air force and each had a numerical designation. At full strength the 2nd Division had 14 bombardment groups. A cluster of three airfield groups (but sometimes two or four) made up a Combat Wing and the groups of a wing usually operated in support of one another. The fighter contingent of the 2nd Air Division was the 65th Fighter Wing controlling five fighter groups based at airfields in Essex, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. A fighter group was composed of three fighter squadrons with approximately 30 aircraft each. Fighter types in the 2nd Air Division were mostly North American P-51 Mustangs, but a single group flew Republic P-47 Thunderbolts.
| | Bases of the 2nd Air Division |
The 2nd Air Division Headquarters used Ketteringham Hall, six miles south-west of Norwich, although this command was originally at Old Catton, then Horsham St. Faith, until late in 1943.
The Liberators : The Skies Are Filled with B24s
The Liberator, the 2nd Division's tool of trade, was a large aircraft for its day, having a wing span of 110 feet and a gross weight of more than 30 tons. Powered by four 1,200 horsepower radial engines, it had a maximum fuel capacity of 2, 814 US gallons and the bomb load varied from 4,000 to 8,000 pounds depending on the distance of the target to be attacked. The crew varied from eight to ten men, five or six of whom acted as gunners, manning the ten machine guns usually carried for defense.
The operating technique with these heavy bombers was, after take-off, to assemble large formations of from 20 to 40 aircraft while climbing to operational altitude of 20,000 to 25,000 feet. Such an assembly was despatched from a single airfield and joined with other formations to form a division column of perhaps 500 to 600 bombers. On reaching the target each formation released its bombs on the aim and signal of the leading aircraft.
For more information about the various bases of the 2nd Air Division in East Anglia and online scrapbooks for the different bomb groups, please click here.
The Memorial Library
The 2nd Air Division Memorial Library grew from funds raised in 1945 by 2nd Air Division personnel, which were placed under the care of the Memorial Trust of the 2nd Air Division USAAF. In 1963, eighteen years after those original funds were raised, the 2nd Air Division Memorial Room was opened to the public, in the new Norwich Central Library.
The dedication of the 2nd Air Division Memorial Room took place on June 13, 1963. The Memorial Room contained a Roll of Honor, as well as a collection of books on various aspects of American life. In addition, a Memorial Fountain, complete with stones from all 50 states in the United States, was built outside the Memorial Room.
On August 1, 1994, a devastating fire broke out, levelling the entire Norwich Central Library. With few exceptions, only the records of the Norfolk Record Office, located in the basement, escaped the fire. All of the books and display items in the 2nd Air Division Memorial Room, including uniforms, photographs, and anything else on display or on the shelves of the Memorial Room, were lost to the flames.
The Memorial Library was moved to temporary quarters until the new location, The Forum, was opened on November 1, 2001. Many veterans of the 2nd Air Division came to Norwich, which was selected as the site of their annual convention that year to mark the occasion.
2nd Air Division Memorial Library Home Page |
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