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RAF Deenethorpe is situated 9 miles North East of Kettering in Northamptonshire. The base opened in 1943. It was known as USAAF Station: 128 when home to the bombers of 612, 613, 614, 615 Sqns of the 401st Bomb Group who flew 255 combat missions from here losing 95 B-17s between December 1943 and June 1945. For a year from June 1945 the site was used as No. 11 Recruitment Centre by the RAF. It was also used for many years by the Royal Observer Corps.
The airfield closed in 1946 and today the site is used for agriculture
Squadrons stationed at Deenethorpe, Station 128.
- 612th Bomb Squadron. 401st Bomb Group
- 613th Bomb Squadron. 401st Bomb Group
- 614th Bomb Squadron. 401st Bomb Group
- 615th Bomb Squadron. 401st Bomb Group
Support Units at Station 128:
- 450th Sub Depot
- 78th Station Complement
- 379th Service Squadron
- 861st Chemical Company
- 1597th Ordnance Supply and Maintenance Company
- 1199th Military Police Company - Photo
- 1209th Quartermaster Service Group
- 2966th Finance Detachment
- 860th Chemical Company
- 18th Weather Detachment
My Uncle was with the 613th at Deenethorpe. He was with the 401st BG from 1942 in Washington State thru the end of WWII. His name is William C Fennell. He's 91 and still going strong.
George L Fennell
My Uncle, Sgt Douglas F. Brotherton flew with the 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group in AC 42-97811.
Douglas Brotherton was born on May 30,1924 in the Piedmont section of North Carolina. He was the first son of a hardscrabble farmer and he learned what hard work was all about at a very early age. Despite the demanding duties of farm work he was able to achieve honor student status, graduating third in his High School class of 194l. Like many young men from the Southern United States he decided not to wait for the draft so at the age of 18 he enlisted in the U. S. Army Air Corps on February 17, 1943. After a few weeks of basic training at Keesler Field in Biloxi, MS., Private Brotherton spent the next 12 months stateside attending armament and gunnery schools at Lowrey and Buckley Fields in Colorado, and at Fort Myers, FL. He was stationed at Nellis AFB, known then as Las Vegas AFB, as a gunnery instructor. After several months he was finally granted his request for overseas duty as a member of a combat flight crew.
In January of 1944, Douglas was assigned to the crew of Lieutenant John W. Myretetus, a West Point graduate. The crew was sent to Alexandria, Louisiana to fly practice missions and to learn to work together as a team. The crew departed for England via Iceland and Ireland on April 26, 1944 in a B-17G Flying Fortress. The Myreteus crew was assigned to the 40lst Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the American Eighth Air Force located at Deenethorpe, North Hamptonshire, England.
The 40lst was the first Bomb Group (H) to be activated with the all new B-17G model aircraft. Deenethorpe was located 80 miles north of London and 4 miles southwest of Corby, North Hamptonshire. The base was officially opened for operations on November 24, 1943. Located in the far northwest section of East Anglia. (Bowman 7) In 1944 the southeastern part of England known as East Anglia was saturated with airfields both British and American. There were now 72 American bases in operation. (Freeman 154) This area averaged an airfield every 5 miles making it the heaviest concentration of air activity in history.
Lt. Myretetus’ crew was assigned to the 612th Bombardment Squadron and flew their first combat mission on May 24, 1944 to Berlin, Germany. (Maslen 18) This was quite an introduction to flying combat missions for this group of young Americans some of whom were still teenagers. The mission went off without incident for the Myretetus crew despite heavy anti-aircraft fire (flak) over the target area. On June 25, 1944 the 401st flew its 100th mission. It was the Myretetus crew’s 15th mission. This mission called for deep penetration into France to bomb an underground fuel depot near the French/Spanish border at Montbartier, France. The Myretetus crew in their B-17G “Slick Chick”, serial number 42-97811, took off at 0700 hours with a southeasterly heading which took them over the Normandy invasion area. “Upon crossing the Normandy beachhead the B-17 formation came under what was described as “light but accurate flak.” (Freeman 84) Aircraft No. 42-97811 was hit by anti-aircraft fire some 20 miles inland near St. Lo, France. Comments in the Missing Aircrew Report (MACR) by returning aircraft crews said that Myretetus’ plane “took a direct hit in the bomb bay area and burst into flames.” The aircraft then started to circle back as if trying to make it back to the beachhead and behind allied lines.”(MACR 2) Another crew reported “The aircraft remained in flight for quite awhile and objects were seen leaving the stricken plane thought to be crew members bailing out.” (Maslen 20) After the war, seven of the ten crewmembers were liberated from POW camps, the following statements were recorded. “We were flying in the last block of B-17s and were the lowest in the formation per flight plan instructions. We had just cleared the beachhead between Caen and St. Lo, France when we took a direct hit in the bomb bay. The aircraft was on fire and the intercom system was out of commission. The top turret gunner, Sgt. Malcolm Paine, reported that the alarm bell rang signaling that it was time to bail out. At this point I noticed that my parachute had been damaged by fire making it useless. I made my way aft in the aircraft to find Sgt. Brotherton standing in the left waist gun window. He offered me his chute saying that he would ride the aircraft down. I told him we would jump together using his chute and he refused. Shortly thereafter I located a spare chute and buckled it on and assisted Douglas with his chute. I then jumped from the crew door. When I last saw Sgt. Brotherton he was still standing in the waist gun window calmly smoking a cigarette. It appeared to me that the aircraft exploded soon after I jumped. (MACR) This story was confirmed in 1987 during a phone conversation with Paine.
In early July the Brotherton family was duly informed via telegram that Sgt. Brotherton was missing in action. Then in September another telegram came stating that information received through the German Red Cross confirmed that he had in fact been killed. Based on information given to the family by returning crew members, the logical assumption was that he never left the aircraft and was killed either by the explosion of the aircraft or when the plane crashed. None of the correspondence received from the War Department revealed all the facts. The military had found out other information in mid-September l944 when from mail intercepted by the U. S. Army from the German 2nd Panzer Division.
It was not until May of 1987 when one of Sgt. Brotherton's brothers and a nephew launched an effort to gather as much information as possible that the facts came to light. When Sgt. Brotherton’s personnel file was received from the Military Record Center (MRC) in St. Louis, MO. the first thing they saw was the subject line on the top memorandum which read: EXECUTION OF AMERICAN AIRMAN. Also contained in the file were copies of the captured German documents setting forth the findings of their interrogation and their decision to execute him for what they considered partisan activities and hostile acts against German soldiers.
Based on the German documents, and investigative reports prepared by officers of the U.S. Army after the war. They interviewed French citizens in the Torteval area in an attempt to locate Sgt. Brotherton’s remains which to this date are known only to God. It became painfully clear that Sgt. Brotherton’s last days went pretty much as follows:
Sgt. Brotherton did evacuate the aircraft and landed safely near La Bigne, France much to the surprise and perhaps chagrin of a French farm family who well knew the penalty for aiding enemies of the Germans. Nevertheless, they hid him under an apple crusher just before German soldiers arrived to take him into custody. (Duchmin) He apparently departed this farm soon after the soldiers left and spent the night at a nearby farm. During the night he decided he would try to make it to the British lines which were only a mere l0 miles away. The next day, in the company of a nephew of the farmer, Sgt. Brotherton was escorted to the home of another French farmer near St. Germain where “he was given food and allowed to sleep for a few hours.” (MRC) By this time Sgt. Brotherton had been outfitted with civilian cloths and the Frenchman, Maurice Costil, thought he could safely lead Sgt. Brotherton to the British forces just a short distance away. They departed late in the afternoon of June 26 and were “within 300 meters of the British lines when they were accosted by a two-man German patrol near the town of Torteval.” (MRC) They were told that they would be taken back to their command post and during the march back the Germans apparently suspected that something was amiss due to the lack of conversation between Sgt. Brotherton and the Frenchman. Sgt. Brotherton did not speak either French or German. They were ordered to empty their pockets and the Frenchman promptly complied while Sgt. Brotherton probably reasoning that it was either now or never, pulled his concealed .45 Cal. Service pistol. He quickly shot both soldiers killing one and severely wounding the other one. Sgt. Brotherton then ran toward the British lines and the Frenchman went in the opposite direction. The American was soon recaptured and taken to a command post or perhaps Division headquarters where he was interrogated, judged to be guilty of partisan activities, and was sentenced to be shot. According to German documents he was stripped of his dog tags and was executed by firing squad at 2 p.m. on June 26. (War Crimes Dept. National Archives 5) This date had to be June 27 since he was not captured until late in the evening of June 26.
The nephew, using documents from the National Archives was able to locate 4 surviving crewmembers of the “Slick Chick” who all said they believed that Sgt. Brotherton was aboard the aircraft when it fell to earth. These crewmembers were surprised upon learning that Sgt. Brotherton had bailed out of the aircraft only to be captured and executed by the 2nd Panzer Division two days later.
In 1987 Sgt. Douglas Brotherton’s nephew went on an exploratory trip to France armed with pertinent documents received from the National Archives, Military Records Center, and a metal detector. With the help of a local French historian and an interpreter he was able to locate the daughter of the farmer on whose farm Douglas landed. The lady, Madam Duchemin, was 18 years old when she saw an American airman descending from the sky on a sunny Sunday morning in June of 1944. This was an extremely emotional reunion as Madam Duchemin had thought the person she was meeting was going to be Douglas. She was very upset when she learned of Douglas’ fate. She had saved Douglas’ parachute and the silk material was used to make her wedding dress. As she still had scraps of the material, which she generously gave to the nephew and her only copy of her wedding photo. A lot of useful contacts were made during the 1987 trip but nothing was found except the crash site of the “Slick Chick” near Benneville, France. A return visit to France in 199l by the nephew and his uncle was quite interesting although the primary purpose of locating Douglas’ remains was not successful. Through the efforts of French friends from Northern France who used their vacation time to meet with them in Normandy, they were introduced to a Mr. Pley who had an interesting story to tell. Mr. Pley was assigned to a work crew by the German authorities. This crew was responsible for repairing roadways to make them passable after bomb damage. Mr. Pley left the crew without permission and was subsequently arrested by the Germans and taken to a Chateau near Torteval. This, according to him, occurred near the end of June 1944. He would recall that he was detained with a young man who had been ill treated and could not speak any French. (Pley Mr.) The physical description he gave would give credence to the possibility that this man was Sgt. Brotherton. In 1992 and again in 1994, Alain Durier, wrote articles concerning Sgt. Douglas Brotherton and published them in the local and regional news media. It was hope that someone, somewhere in that part of France, would remember this wartime incident and provide a clue that would lead to the successful conclusion of the family’s search for the remains. In the meantime we take solace in the words of our dear friend, Alain Durier who said “A person isn’t really dead, until he is forgotten.” Lest we forget.
His name is on the Wall of the Missing at St James American Cemetery in Brittany
You can read the rest of his story at "http://8thcontrails.com/ipw-web/gallery/Sgt-Douglas-Brotherton
B-17# 42-97811 Crew; Front Row starting from the left, Pilot 1st Lt John M. Myrtetus, Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Charles C. Davis, Navigator 2nd Lt Thomas S. Elward, Bombardier, 2nd Lt Thyrl J. Greer, Back Row; Left Waist Gunner SSgt George E. McClelland, Radio Operator TSgt Fred J. Wyatt, Right Waist Gunner Sgt Douglas F. Brotherton, Ball Turret TSgt Clarence F. Brawn, Top Turret Sgt Malcolm W. Paine, Tail Gunner Sgt Robert L. Brisbin
Mark Brotherton
Photographs
photos by Mark Brotherton
If you have any Photographs you would like to share please get in touch.
List of those who served at Deenthorpe.
- Robert Kenneth Auger. 401st Bomb Group.
- Sgt. Harold Babcock. tail gunner 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
- Sgt. Milan Basara. radio operator and top turret gunner 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
- Sgt Douglas F. Brotherton. 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
- Sgt. Hal Churchill. flight engineer and top turret gunner 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
- William C Fennell. 613th BS. 401st BG. Read his story
- Cpl. Fred Gerhardt. waist gunner 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
- Gene Holley. navigator. 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
- Lieutenant John W. Myretetus. pilot. 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group.
- John Sites. bombardier. 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
- John J. Thompson. 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
- Dave Vermeer. pilot. 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
- Sgt. Rod Williams. ball turret gunner 612th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group. Read his story
If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.
If you have a story which you would like to share, or a website dedicated to an airfield or aircrew, please get in touch.
Send an E-mail to The Wartime Memories Project
Links
- Photos of 8th Airforce Basesby Mark Brotherton.
- Photos of Deenethorpe Today
- Deenethorpe Control Tower
- A Chronology of the 401st Bombardment Group (H)
Airfields Index
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