9th AF Patch

416th Bombardment Group (L)

Wethersfield RAF Station, England

Station AAF-170

1 February 1944 to 23 September 1944

 

 WWII-Medal

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Click Here for Base Transfer Ceremony Photos



wethersfield1945       wethersfieldmap
L: Wethersfield RAF Station, March 1945 (Royal Ordinance Survey photo)
R: Organizational Map of Wethersfield, 1944


668thParkingArea       669thParkingArea       670thParkingArea
L: 668th and 671st Bomb Squadron Parking areas - Park Wood to upper right - 1944
M: 669th Bomb Squadron Parking Area and Central Base Facilities - 1944
R: 670th Bomb Squadron Parking Area - 1944
(F.J. Cachat photos via Andy Fluxe)


Wethersfield German Dossier
German Target Dossier for Wethersfield, Essex, England, 1943 - NARA ID: 241202425
The Allies developed Target Identifiers for enemy targets, Germany also produced similar files on Allied targets.
From NARA Target Dossiers Pertaining to the British Isles


Air Photo 1       Air Photo 2
March 26, 1944 Aerial Photographs of Wethersfield, Braintree, Essex, England
Spot Number D6304, Sortie US 10 GP 30 PRS LOC 21
L: Exposure VV-23 - NARA ID: 195954790
R: Exposure VV-24 - NARA ID: 195954792
From NARA Aerial Photographs, 1935-1970


1944 tower       WethersfieldTower2
Wethersfield Tower 1944
(NARA photo left,  F.J. Cachat photo right)


wethersfield-warmup
Wethersfield - Warmup 27 May 1944


wethersfieldtower       wethersfieldflightline
L: Watchful eyes at Wethersfield Tower 1944 (Ralph Conte photo)
R: A-20 emergency landing at Wethersfield on or after 6 Jun 44,
one main gear and nose gear still up (Bob Kehres photo)


668wethersfield_crews
668th officers at quarters on Wethersfield
Back Row: L-R: Meredith(P), Ebenstein(P), Peede(P), Cruze(P)
Front Row: L-R: Bradford(P), McBrien(BN) (Wayne Downing photo)


Wethersfield-Evans-unknown
Capt. Reece Evans (left) and unknown Capt. before 668th quarters at Wethersfield


conn-1       conn-2
Billy Conn, Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion
visiting the 416th Bomb Group at Wethersfield on 5 August 1944 (F.J. Cachat photos)
(for a video of the Billy Conn vs. Joe Louis fight click here)


highstreetwethersfield       Village_of_Wethersfield%288-APR-44%29
L: High Street, Wethersfield, England prior to WWII
R: Village of Wethersfield - 8 Apr 44 (F.J. Cachat Photo via Andy Fluxe)


Aero Club Opening
Aero Club Opening, Globe-Gazette, IA, May 6, 1944, p. 12
(Newspapers.com)


wethersfield1979       wethersfield1990s
L: Wethersfield RAF station 1979 (Glyn Baker photo)
R: Wethersfield RAF station1990s (Brian Render photo)


Wethersfield_England_GoogleMaps2019
Wethersfield RAF station, England - Google Maps 2019
Approximate Latitude/Longitude: 51.97361111,0.50583333 (51° 58' 25" N, 0° 30' 21" E) (Click to view in Google Maps)


Memories of RAF Wethersfield

The base had an Officers Club and an Enlisted Club. They both had a bar and food.  One could spend off
duty time in his respective club.  Once in a while they would have a dance and bring in a group of English
girls to dance with. The nearest town with any night life was Braintree, about ten miles away.  The base would run a couple of
2 and 1/2 ton trucks into Braintree each night around 6 PM. Anyone who was off duty could go. The trucks returned at
10:30 PM.  Braintree had quite a few Pubs.  They all had plenty of English beer (both mild and bitter) and Port and Sherry Wine.
They were rationed to one bottle of Scotch an evening so it went the first hour.  Pubs were open from 6 to 10 PM.
The routine was to have a beer at each Pub until we found one that had some action i.e. friendly natives and or a lively English
Dart game,  Then we would stay a while. Whenever we could wangle a two day pass, we would go to
Braintree and catch a train to London for some big city activities.
(Submitted by Wayne E. Downing)




See Also:

Ross Stewart, RAF Wethersfield Historian and Curator,
has written the Digital PDF ebook A Brief History of RAF Wethersfield.

For some additional photos and information, see the Wethersfield page at the American Air Museum.

History of RAF Wethersfield
The history of RAF Wethersfield from creation in 1942 to present day.
Published on YouTube May 5, 2017 by Wethersfield Museum.
Duration (Min:Sec): 09:28

Wethersfield History Talk 2018
Wethersfield History Talk given by Curator Ross Stewart in the Base Chapel at Easter 2018.
Published on YouTube Feb 25, 2022 by Wethersfield Museum.
Duration (Hr:Min:Sec): 1:01:29

RAF Wethersfield, Essex
Traveling back to 1940s RAF Airfields
Sean Edwards has produced this superb video about the history of RAF Wethersfield.
Duration (Min:Sec): 03:24

Memorials at RAF Wethersfield, Essex
Some of the known memorials at RAF Wethersfield record on the 23/4/2022
The Museum Team have created this video to record the known memorials at RAF Wethersfield due the disposal of the site by MOD.
Duration (Min:Sec): 06:23

RAF Wethersfield Facebook Public Group.

Wethersfield Airfield Museum Public Facebook Group.

Richard E Flagg's UK Airfields photography of Wethersfield, Essex page.