The Wartime Memories Project - Martlesham Heath

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Information. Commissioned on January 16, 1917 the new aerodrome started work as the Aircraft Testing Flight. After the First World War both military and civil aircraft were tested and in March 1924 the station changed its name to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, (A&AEE) which today is located at Boscombe Down. The RAF’s first parachute section was formed at Martlesham Heath commanded by Flt Lt John Potter, inventor of the Potter Parachute. Martlesham Heath gained world- wide acclaim but the outbreak of World War Two necessitated a move of the A&AEE back to Wiltshire. During the winter of 1939-40 the first Defiant Squadron, No 264, arrived followed by almost all the squadrons of No 11 Group, Fighter Command which were in the Battle of Britain. Many well-known pilots of that era, including Bader, Standford-Tuck, and Peter Townsend, stayed at Martlesham. After the Battle of Britain, Hawker Typhoons, arrived to continue the attack on occupied Europe. In 1943 the United States Army Air Corp and three squadrons of P47 Thunderbolts replaced the Typhoons. Later the Thunderbolts were replaced by P51 Mustangs, which stayed until the end of World War Two. The airfield closed in March 1963. Many of the RAF buildings still stand but others have been lost. The site is now partly covered by housing and commercial development, and is home to British Telecom's research and development centre, Adastral Park. RAF links remain in some of the road names and the public house named "The Douglas Bader" The control tower has recently been restored and now housed The Zone Control Tower Museum. A Memorable Experience On 8th February 1944, I flew 3 hours, my third mission, on an escort mission to Germany. We intercepted 30 to 40 FW-190`s at the same time of rendezvous with the bombers. With the bombers the sky was full of airplanes and 30 seconds later we didn`t see any. The enemy aircraft ignored us and dived down through the bombers with our squadron (16 planes) on their tails. The gunners in the bombers were firing at the enemy fighters but, no doubt, were unconcerned whether their fire was hitting the p-47s which were in close pursuit. My flight leader, Lt Perrin, chased enemy aircraft all over the sky from 26,000 feet down to the deck. Somehow I managed to stay on Perrin`s wing during those acrobatic gyrations (something few had done before in combat) and also managed to fire one short burst at a FW-190 in a vertical dive but had to break away when I began to go in front of the enemy aircraft due to excess speed. Our attacks were being made as the enemy aircraft dived toward the ground and we had to break off each attack when our excess speed threatened to put us in front of the enemy`s guns. (No plane in the sky was faster in a dive than the P-47) Perrin fired all his ammunition and got credit for one enemy aircraft destroyed and one damaged. This action from 26,000 feet down to the deck probably only lasted about 30 seconds but it seemed much longer. Thirty seconds was more typical of the average dogfight than the two or three minute engagement which I had on 5 February. Now being out of ammunition and probably suffering from excess adrenaline, Perrin headed for home, still at full throttle. (Most combat was at full throttle.) When he began to slowly pull away from me, I called on the radio, "Chinwag Red Leader, slow down a little. You are leaving me behind." "Who`s calling?" He answered. "This is your wingman" I replied. "Okay" He did not expect to have a wingman and thought he was alone. While concentrating on staying with Perrin, I was unaware that we were being attacked from the rear by two ME-109s. Someone, still in a dogfight at 26,000 feet above, called a warning to his partner: "BREAK" I thought Perrin was calling me and he thought I was calling him, so he broke left and dived to gain escape speed. As we broke I looked over my shoulder and saw projectiles from the enemy aircraft exploding near me. (20mm projectiles explode on contact or at a burnout point) That providential radio message (another miracle) from another person to his partner at 26,000 feet fitted our situation perfectly and probably saved our life. We evaded the attack and continued our homeward flight at treetop level. I turned my gun switch to "camera only" and shot some beautiful pictures of country scenes in the lowlands of Holland. We flew across the Zeider Zee observing many fishing boats on the water and as we approached the coast of the English Channel, there appeared to be an embankment so that we had to gain altitude to go over it. Out over the water at an altitude of 10 feet, I looked back to see enemy small arms making splashes in the water. I feared a water splash from large coastal artillery would endanger us and gained altitude as a precaution. I didn`t get hit but later learned that I had taken two hits from 50 calibre (probably from the bombers) Over the Channel, the fuel level warning light came on and I had a few nervous moments before reaching home base which was near the English Coast. My Most Memorable Experience On 20 March 1944 I flew 2.5 hours on what was supposed to be an escort mission with the bombers. I was flying on Captain Bailey`s wing when we went into a solid overcast at 5,000 feet and one hour later turned back at 30,000 feet with out seeing the top of the overcast. Bailey and I were the only two in the flight of four still together. Apparently the other two could not overcome the difficulty of flying in close formation in clouds with poor visibility. Lt Tuckey probably fell out in a spin and could not recover in the clouds and did not have enough altitude under 5,000 feet to recover and crashed into the Channel near Orfordness. After turning back on a heading toward home, our angle of descent was shallow but our speed was well over 220 to 250 mph, much faster than our climb-out speed of 170 mph. After several minutes we came out into the clear at 5,000 feet, passing over an unidentified body of water. (Not sure whether or not Bailey thought we had just passed over the English Channel) In any case, While Bailey was trying to pinpoint our location, while flying at 5,000 feet, we began to receive very close and accurate flak. It was so close I could hear the explosions. I feared being shot out of the sky and called Bailey on the radio to suggest that we go down to the deck (ground level). Anti-aircraft artillery could not get line-of sight on low flying aircraft. At treetop level there was no immediate threat to our safety and so we began to enjoy the scenery while flying at 50 feet on a heading towards home. On a previous mission while flying low level over Holland, I had turned my gun switch to "camera only" and got some beautiful 16mm pictures of the Zeider Zee and Coastal Installations. This time I wanted better close-ups and so was descending on the targets to being them into closer range of the camera. I remember shooting a truck driving down a road and other country scenes. Suddenly a cross-country electric transmission line came into view and too late, I realised I should have gone under it. My first impulse and reaction was to go over it and I hit the wires going upward at 45degrees to the land surface. A huge ball of fire or illumination resulted from my contact with the wires but I did not feel any electric shock or force of impact. (Later I learned that the wires had damaged both wings, the propeller and the elevator (tail) section, so badly that repair was not feasible and so the plane was put into salvage. It was the first flight in my first personal plane and never had time to remove "Mona Lou" from the cowling.) At 1,000 feet, when the plane had lost excess speed and the nose had dropped to level flight attitude, I discovered that the damaged elevator could not maintain level flight even with the stick in the full back position. In a gradual descent and gradually loosing altitude, the plane began to gain more speed. I did not loose hope of regaining control until the altitude was too low to jump. Then a realised that contact with the ground was inevitable and would be disastrous at high speed. I did not want to disappear without someone knowing what had happened and so I called Bailey on the radio, told him that I had hit those wires, could not maintain level flight, and concluded with the British expression, "I think I`ve had it." There probably was no more than 60 seconds remaining before ground impact and what happened next, in what I thought was my last 60 seconds on earth, was by providential guidance (another miracle or guiding angel) because my mind was not functioning normally under the stress of the circumstances. It suddenly came to me as if by some divine inspiration that there was one additional control that was not being used. It was seldom used, trim tab on the elevator for stabilising the plane on take off and landing. With that control cranked in to the maximum, I was able to fly back home with 15 to 25 feet of half inch cable hanging on the plane. Someone hung the wire overhead in the "ready room" and wrote a comment in the "Stars and Stripes" about the "lights going out in Berlin." There are guardian angels. George Yoakum Photographs If you have any Photographs you would like to share please get in touch. List of those who served here. Lt. Charles W Adams 356th Fighter Group F/O. Robert S Alexander 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Clifford T Ashby 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Julius B Ashbridge 356th Fighter Group Wing Commander Douglas Bader RAF Lt.Col. Donald A Baccus 356th Fighter Group Lt. James B Baker Jr. 356th Fighter Group Maj. Thomas F Bailey 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Robert E. Barnhart. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Ben B Barnes 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Walter M Baskin 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Melvin W Baylor 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Warren A Beach 356th Fighter Group Capt. Charles E Beck 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Luther E Bennett Jr. 356th Fighter Group Lt. Airus E Bergstrom 356th Fighter Group Lt. John E Jr. Blewett 356th Fighter Group Capt. Roy B Jr. Bluhm 356th Fighter Group Capt. Amos H Bomberger II 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Bernard Borelli. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. James A Bowers 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Robert D Jr. Bradshaw 356th Fighter Group Capt. William C Brearly 356th Fighter Group Capt. Jack F Brown 356th Fighter Group Lt. Howell L Broxton 356th Fighter Group Lt. John L Bruce 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Rex R Burden 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Clinton D Burdick 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Fred W Bruner 356th Fighter Group Lt. William W "Fats" Burns 360th Fighter Sqdn Maj. Mark J Burke 356th Fighter Group Capt. Orvil L "Ray" Burwell 356th Fighter Group Lt. Robert L Campbell 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Raymond H Campbell 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Donald D Carlson 356th Fighter Group Lt. Nunzio B Ceraolo 356th Fighter Group Lt. James G Charlton 356th Fighter Group Lt. Rolf L Chickering 356th Fighter Group Lt. Dante G Ciocchi 356th Fighter Group Capt. Millard M Clayborne 356th Fighter Group Capt. Donald B Clayton 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. John H Cline 356th Fighter Group Lt. Paul R Cochran 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Richard B Conroy 356th Fighter Group Capt. Warren C Cooley 356th Fighter Group Capt. James R Cook 356th Fighter Group Lt. Thomas A Cook 356th Fighter Group Lt.Col James M Cooper 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Robert E Cope 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Ernest W Corner 356th Fighter Group Lt. Jack B Cornett 356th Fighter Group Maj. Norman D Jr. Cota 356th Fighter Group Lt. William W "Wally" Cotter 356th Fighter Group Lt. Raymond J Cox 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. William G Craig 356th Fighter Group Lt. Glenn Crum 356th Fighter Group Capt. Jack W "Wild Bill" Crump 356th Fighter Group Lt. Jack H Culp 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Elmer G Dendle 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Norwood C Douglas 356th Fighter Group Lt. Wilford D Drake 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. William K Dunn 356th Fighter Group Lt. John K DuPuy 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Charles B Earnhart 356th Fighter Group (ex RCAF) Capt. Preston W Easley 356th Fighter Group Capt. Bertrum E. Ellingson.360th Fighter Sqdn Lt.Col. Richard N Ellis 356th Fighter Group Capt. Gardner W Engel 356th Fighter Group Capt. Thomas K Epley 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt Milton F Erickson 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Edward L Faison 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. William L Farmer 356th Fighter Group Capt. Westwood H Fletcher Jr. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Frank A Forsyth 356th Fighter Group Capt. Edward C Fremaux 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Raymond H Gansberg 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Charles J Garvey 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Wayne C Gatlin 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt Robert Gibson 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Richard W "Razor Blade" Gillette 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Robert S Gleason 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Harry R Gohsler 356th Fighter Group Lt. Shirley J Green 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. James B Griswold 356th Fighter Group Capt. Alfred R Hale 356th Fighter Group Lt. Herbert B Jr. Hall 360th Fighter Sqdn Maj. John M Hallmark 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Roland J Halverson 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. John O Harrop 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. William R Hayden 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Justus D Jr Henry 356th Fighter Group Capt. Sidney H Hewett 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Merrion G Higginbotham 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Vincent Hockmeyer 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. William L Hoffert 356th Fighter Group Capt. Willis A Holm 356th Fighter Group Capt. Raymond K Holtz 356th Fighter Group Lt. John D Hull 356th Fighter Group Lt. Robert F Humphrey 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. William S Hurley Jr 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Paul H Hyde Jr. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Joseph V Jack 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. William C Jarvis 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Shelby N Jett 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. James K Johnson 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. William E Johnson Jr. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Donald J Jones 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Dayne Kahle 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt.Col. William J Kennedy 356th Fighter Group Capt. Samuel P M Kinsey 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Lester H Knapp 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Alexander S Koczak 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Evert Korhorn 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Elmer A Kovacs 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Lester F Kress 360th Fighter Sqdn Maj. Andrew E Jr. Krieger 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt Henry P. Laviolette. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Robert M Leidy 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Wayne E Leathers 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Harry F LeMoyne 356th Fighter Group Lt. Harry C Leyser III 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. John C Lindsay 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Leonard L Loffler 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Charles C McKelvy Jr. 356th Fighter Group Lt. Thurman W Mauldin 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Wallace G Maxwell 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Reginald C McDowell 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Philip E McCullough 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Harry B McLaughlin 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Edward J Malo 356th Fighter Group Col. Einer A Malmstrom 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Johnnie F Martin 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. James J Meholic 356th Fighter Group Lt. Paul R Mellinger 356th Fighter Group Lt. Durwood B Mercer 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Allen M Metzger 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Richard C Miller 356th Fighter Group Lt. Joseph W Mills 360th Fighter Sqdn Maj. Emery H Montgomery 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Paul F Morel 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Frank A Morgan 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Edward M Nebinger 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Howard W Nielson 356th Fighter Group Capt. Albert V Niemi 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. William C O'Barr 356th Fighter Group Lt. Ralph E Odenwald 356th Fighter Group Capt. Harold A Ogden 356th Fighter Group Lt. Leon Oliver 356th Fighter Group Joseph Ordowski. Free Polish Air Force. Lt. Adolph A Paquet 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Hunter D Parker 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Ernest M Parham 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. George B Peet 356th Fighter Group (ex RCAF) Lt. George S Pelletier 356th Fighter Group Lt. John P Perrin 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Edward W. Pleasant. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Clifford S Poppell 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Fred S Porter Jr. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. James T Price 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. John C Pidwell 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Rolland W "Hambone" Racine 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Raleigh S Ragsdale Jr. 360th Fighter Sqdn Maj. Richard A Rann 356th Fighter Group Col. Harold J Rau 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Vincent S Ray 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Richard J Rensch 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt.Col. Wayne E Rhynard 356th Fighter Group Capt. Lee F Richardson 356th Fighter Group Capt Eldon Riley. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Paul J Jr. "Pinky" Roberts 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Louis L Robertson 356th Fighter Group Capt. Louis L Robertson 356th Fighter Group Lt. Jack T Romine 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Edward G Rudd 356th Fighter Group Capt. Francis M Russell 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Herbert R Rutland Jr. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. George H Schalk 360th Fighter Sqdn Maj. Wilbur R "Will, Scheib" Scheible 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Robert D Schmalz 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Robert Schmidt 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Edward W Schrull 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. George W Seanor 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Charles J Servocky 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Alan C Shepard 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Eldon L Slanker 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. James B Smith 356th Fighter Group Capt. James B Smith 356th Fighter Group Ian Smith Sergeant Irving Smith. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Lucien O Sonnier 356th Fighter Group Group Captain Stanford-Tuck. RAF Lt. John F Stevenson 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Smith C Stoddard 360th Fighter Sqdn Maj. Donald J "Don" Strait 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Blayne A Swift 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Louis R Switzer 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Jean D Tarbutton 356th Fighter Group Lt. Clyde M Taylor 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. William G Thomas 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Edward L Thompson 360th Fighter Sqdn Maj. James H Thorne 356th Fighter Group Lt. Jerome S Thorough 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. David F "Dave" Thwaites 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Arthur J "Toby" Tobiassen 360th Fighter Sqdn Squadron Leader Peter Townsend. RAF Capt. Harold F Traupe 356th Fighter Group Capt. Dick F Tucker 356th Fighter Group Col. Philip E Tukey Jr. 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Eugene C Turner 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Ronald J Upp 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt Theodore J Urban 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Bleftherios A Vangos 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Chester A Vitali 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Thomas Von-Holzhausen 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Richard G Vossler 356th Fighter Group Maj. John W Jr. "Johnnie" Vogt 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. James H Wadlow Jr. 356th Fighter Group Lt. Robert L "Pappy" Wallace 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt.Col. William Waller III 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Russell H Webb 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Herbert Weber 356th Fighter Group Lt. Carlton L Welch 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Harold E "Hal" Whitmore 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. Richard N Whitson 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt.Col. Ernest J White Jr. 356th Fighter Group Lt. Nelson E Wieland 356th Fighter Group Capt. Howard E Wiggins 360th Fighter Sqdn Capt. Raymond R Withers 356th Fighter Group Lt.Col. James N Wood 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. William H Wood 356th Fighter Group Lt. James D Wyatt 356th Fighter Group Maj. Michael P Yannell 360th Fighter Sqdn Lt. George L "Li'l Abner" Yoakum 360th Fighter Sqdn 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 The Martlesham Heath Aviation Society 356th Fighter Group 356th Fighter Group Photos Airfields Index The Wartime Memories Project is a non profit organisation. This website is run out of our own pockets and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running. Or by cheque to: PO Box 325, Stockton on Tees, TS20 1XL. Website and ALL Material © Copyright MM - All Rights Reserved