389th Bombardment Group at Hethel

The group was known as The Sky Scorpions and flew a total of 321 missions, including 14 when on detachment to North Africa. It lost 116 Liberators in action.

The 389th, with the 44th and 93rd bombardment groups, was detached to Libya to join the 98th and 376th B-24 groups of the Ninth Air Force on the renowned Ploesti raid.

The Romanian oilfields were extensively damaged as a result of this action on 1 August 1943. Second Lieutenant Lloyd H Hughes, a pilot of the 389th, was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor for his valour on the Ploesti raid.

The 389th itself was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its efforts during the mission.

The group was part of the Eighth's programme of intensive bombing in Europe, with a variety of targets including Berlin. It also joined missions supporting Allied troops in France, Holland and Germany.

Film actor James Stewart was among those who served at Hethel. He moved there in 1944 and was promoted colonel and chief of staff of the Second Combat Wing.

If you wish to view photographs and other records relating to the 389th, you can browse our digital archive.

The land was requisitioned for the airfield in 1940 and work began the following year.

Hethel was due to house an RAF unit, but this plan was changed before the airfield opened in 1942.

It was instead assigned to the 320th Bomb Group of the 12th American Army Air Force.

None of its B-26 Marauders arrived however. The aircraft had flown a southern route direct to North Africa, so the group's ground crews moved out of Hethel within weeks of arriving.

By this time the build-up of USAAF heavy bomber groups was under way and Hethel was allocated to the Eighth Army Air Force.

The 389th Bomb Group moved into Hethel in June 1943 and remained throughout the war.  

All sites are now private property and you will need permission before you visit. 

The library has information on some base contacts and with their permission can pass this onto you. The Library itself is unable to organise site visits.

The former airfield is situated just to the east of Wymondham, which is about seven miles south-west of Norwich on the A11.

Little remains of the runways, perimeter track or handstands.

Lotus use the former hangars (now extensively modified) and other buildings on the old technical site for the manufacture of their cars.

Several new buildings have also been constructed on the site.

Very little remains of any buildings on the sites around Hethel Wood.

The only thing of real interest is a former gymnasium which became a chapel.

A crucifix painted by "Bud" Doyle, assistant to the RC chaplain, Father Beck, is located on the end wall of the chapel, behind where the altar formerly stood.

It was painted in early 1944 and remains in good condition.

The chapel has undergone extensive restoration, carried out by a group of volunteers with the full support of the landowner. It is now home to the 389th Memorial Exhibition (see the Museum chapter for more details).

The Hethel Chapel organ, used at services from 1943-45, has been returned to the chapel after standing for many years at Hethel church. It was made by W W Putnam.

The former Second Air Division Headquarters at Ketteringham Hall lies just to the north of the airfield.

This was in memory of 17 members of the 389th Bomb Group, who were killed in a mid-air collision over the parish on 21 November 1944.

A stained glass window in the church is also dedicated to the crew members killed in this collision.

Carleton Rode is situated about six miles south-west of Hethel off the B1113.

A memorial headstone (pictured below) is located in Hethel churchyard and the 389th Roll of Honor is housed inside Hethel Church.

The church is located six miles from Norwich. To get there from the city, go out on the B1113 and turn right in the village of Bracon Ash.

Follow the road until you come to a crossroads and go straight over.

The church is on the right, about half a mile past the crossroads.

Regular open days are on the second Sunday of each month between April and October.

If you wish to visit at other times you can make an appointment. See the museum's website for further details of this and opening times, etc.

The museum is situated on a working farm, so all regulations at the gate must be followed and access to the site may be restricted due to any livestock disease alerts.

Among those histories are:

• 389th BG: Blue Book 
• Peter Bodle and Paul Wilson: The 389th Bomb Group in Norfolk: A Pictorial History 
• Paul Wilson and Ron Mackay: The Sky Scorpions: The Story of the 389th Bomb Group in World War II 

Information about the individual bases comes from from George H Fox's 8th Air Force Remembered: An illustrated guide to the memorials, memorabilia and main airfields of the US 8th Air Force in England in WW2 (London: ISO Publications, 1991).

For more on the history of the airfield, see:

• Martin Bowman: Bomber Bases of WW2: 2nd Air Division 8th Air Force USAAF 1942-45
• Michael Bowyer: Action Stations Revisited: No 1 Eastern England
• Ken Delve: The Military Airfields of Britain: East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk)
• Roger Freeman: Airfields of the Eighth Then and Now

If you're interested in any of these books you can find and reserve them at the Norfolk Online Catalogue.