Page started - 19/6/99
Last updated - 26/7/99

The War Years

They were soon replaced by a number of operational squadrons, initially consisting of Blenheim Is and Hurricanes but later being joined by a range of other types of aircraft (many of which had been tested as prototypes there earlier). Martlesham based aircraft were used for a wide range of duties including Air Sea Rescue in the North Sea, tracking German aircraft laying mines along the East Coast, and night sorties against attacking enemy craft. Perhaps the best known pilot from this era is Douglas Bader who led 242 Squadron and after whom one of the village's pubs now takes its name.

One very interesting event occurred in November 1940, when N0. 257 Squadron Martlesham Heath played a critical role in repelling attacks by Fiat made fighters and bombers of the Italian Air Force - the Italian's only forays across to the English mainland during the whole war.

Martlesham came under direct attack on several occasions and by late 1941 the infamous Lord Haw-Haw was claiming that the base had been virtually destroyed. In fact, the base, which by this time hosted a large number of Spitfires, continued to be heavily engaged in offensives over France and the Low Countries.

On 1st November 1943 command of the base was handed to the USAFF. In preparation for this, work had begun on the construction of two new runways suitable for the heavier craft they operated. Because of the nature of the heath, they were built without concrete foundations by simply laying tarmac over oil soaked soil.

Initially USAFF duties centered on providing long range escorts for bombing raids in Germany and the Occupied countries of Europe, always in liaison with the RAF. By the spring of 1944 however, they were operating their own missions against strategic targets such as U-Boat installations and airfields. During the Arnhem campaign for example, they conducted extended bombing and straffing against the enemy gun positions that were pinning down Allied troops in the Rhine Bridges Sector. The arrival of North American P.51D Mustang fighters in November 1944 extended the range of bombing missions well into Central Europe.