RAF Deenethorpe USAAF Station 128 |
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Located Near Corby, Northamptonshire, England | |
Aerial Photo of Deenethorpe Airfield - 28 May 1945
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Coordinates | 52°30′09″N 000°35′06″W / 52.50250°N 0.58500°W |
Type | Military airfield |
Code | DP |
Site information | |
Controlled by |
Royal Air Force United States Army Air Forces |
Site history | |
Built | 1943 |
In use | 1943-1963 |
Battles/wars |
European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945 |
Garrison information | |
Garrison | Eighth Air Force |
Occupants | 401st Bombardment Group |
Royal Air Force Deenethorpe or more simply RAF Deenethorpe is a former Royal Air Force station located 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Corby, Northamptonshire, England.
Deenethorpe was constructed in 1943 and was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force. It was assigned USAAF designation Station 128.
USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Deenethorpe were:
With the opening of the airfield in October 1943, the 401st Bombardment Group (Heavy), arrived from Great Falls AAB, Montana, in November. The 401st was assigned to the 94th Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Bombardment Division. Its tail code was Triangle-S.
The 401st Bomb Group consisted of the following operational squadrons flying Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresss :
The 401st BG operated chiefly against strategic targets, bombing industries, submarine facilities, shipyards, missile sites, marshalling yards, and airfields; beginning in October 1944, concentrated on oil reserves. The Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for striking telling blows against German aircraft production on 11 January and 20 February 1944.
In addition to strategic missions, group operations included attacks on transportation, airfields, and fortifications prior to the Normandy invasion and on D-Day, June 1944; support for ground operations during the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July, the siege of Brest in August, and the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September 1944.
The Group flew missions against enemy forces during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 - January 1945, by assaulting transportation targets and communications centres in the battle area; and support for the airborne attack across the Rhine in March 1945.