RAF Mendlesham

RAF Mendlesham USAAF Station 156
Located Near Stowmarket, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Aerial Photo of Mendlesham Airfield - 18 January 1947.
RAF Mendlesham USAAF Station 156
Coordinates	52°13′59″N 1°07′05″E / 52.233°N 1.118°E / 52.233; 1.118
Type	Military airfield
Code	MD
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Controlled by	Royal Air Force  United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1943 (1943)
In use	1944–1954 (1954)
Battles/wars	European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945
Garrison information
Garrison	RAF Fighter Command Eighth Air Force RAF Maintenance Command
Occupants	34th Bombardment Group

Royal Air Force Station Mendlesham or more simply RAF Mendlesham is a former Royal Air Force station located 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Stowmarket, Suffolk, England

Mendlesham airfield was built in 1943 and the first flying unit based there was a Royal Air Force Fighter squadron which moved in during February 1944 and out in April. This was No. 310 Squadron equipped with Spitfire IXs and manned by Czechoslovakian pilots.

In March 1944, Mendlesham was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force. It was assigned USAAF designation Station 156.

From 30 March 1944 though 11 July 1945, Mendlesham served as headquarters for the 93d Combat Bombardment Wing, 3d Bombardment Division, Eighth Air Force.

The first USAAF tenant was the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force 34th Bombardment Group (Heavy), arriving from Blythe AAF California. The 34th was assigned to the 93d Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Square-S". Its operational squadrons were:

The group flew both Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.

The 34th flew 170 operations from the station, the first sixty-two while flying B-24 Liberators and the remainder with B-17G Fortresses. The change-over was made during the summer of 1944 when, in common with other groups assigned to the 93rd Combat Wing, the 3rd Division standardized on the Fortress. The group helped to prepare for the invasion of Normandy by bombing airfields in France and Germany, and supported the landing in June by attacking coastal defenses and communications. Continued to take part in the campaign in France by supporting ground forces at Saint-Lô, 24–25 July, and by striking V-weapon sites, gun emplacements, and supply lines throughout the summer of 1944.