Parham Airfield Guide

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Parham Airfield Guide

Parham airfield museum is dedicated to the operations of the former airfield situated in Framlingham, which is a village situated between Parham and Great Glemham in Suffolk. During World War ll the airfield was officially known as Framlingham Station 153 and was occupied by the 390th Bomb Group of the US Army Airforce (USAAF), who carried out a number of key raids during the war.

History of Parham airfield

The land upon which Parham airfield once stood at first belonged to the Kindred brothers, who were farmers and local landowners in the 1940s and ran an operation called Crabbes & Parks Farms. They were served with requisition papers after army officials had identified their site for possible development. In January 1942 construction of a Class A airfield was announced, with building starting in May 1942.

500,000 tonnes of concrete were used in preparing the site and 4.5 million bricks were used in the construction. The site consisted of three diagonal runways at 60 degrees to each other. All three runways were 150 feet wide, but two were 4400 feet long while the main runway was 6400 feet long. There were two hangars constructed (famous band leader Glenn Miller performed to 6000 people in hangar no.2 in 1944) and the complex also consisted of living quarters, communal and recreational facilities, training facilities, storage and utilities. The entire perimeter of the site measured 3.25 miles in length, and while it was designed to house a maximum of 1500 personnel, it eventually welcomed over 3000.

The airfield was handed over to the USAAF in the summer of 1943 and was officially named Framlingham Station 153. It was initially occupied by the 95th Bombardment Group (Heavy) but they were transferred to nearby Horham after suffering heavy losses in daylight air attacks. The 390th Group replaced them and were equipped with Boeing B-17F and later B17G aircraft. Also known as the “Flying Fortress”, 275 such aircraft were housed at Framlingham and they undertook 301 operations throughout the war, dropping 19000 tonnes of bombs.

390th Group were involved in some significant manoeuvres during the war, including:

  • Attacking Messerschmitt complex in Regensburg – August 1943
  • Bombing anti-friction bearings plant in Schweinfurt – October 1943
  • Partaking in ‘Big Week’ bombings – Feb 20th-25th 1944
  • Bombing oil facilities in Zeitz and Merseberg
  • Bombing marshalling yards in Frankfurt
  • Bombing factories in Mannheim
  • Bombing bridges in Cologne
  • Preparation attacks for the Normandy landings – June 1944
  • Supporting ground forces at St Lo – July 1944
  • Taking part in the Battle of the Bulge – December 1944
  • Airborne assaults on the Rhine – March 1945
  • Bombing a naval installation in Bremen
  • Chowhound Missions

The group’s last mission was in April 1945, and it returned to the US in August 1945. In total, 743 servicemen were either killed or missing-in-action from the operations at Framlingham, while 754 were taken and kept as prisoners of war.

After the war, the runways were quickly broken up and much of the site was left to go derelict. The land was returned to the Kindred brothers who used some of the buildings for farming storage. The control tower was restored by volunteers from 1976 and five years later, in 1981, the memorial museum dedicated to the 390th Bombardment Group was opened. This was supported by veterans and their families.

Please remember that this is just a simple guide to Parham Airfield. If you’re planning to land here, you must conduct thorough research and get permission beforehand. Any pilot or passengers flying to Parham Airfield do so at their own risk.

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