Originally planned in 1942 for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command, located in Norfolk, England, roughly 4 miles northwest of the town of East Dereham. The airfield was built by British civil engineering firm Taylor-Woodrow. However, as the American military buildup in Britain accelerated under the "Mighty Eighth" Air Force, the station was handed over to the Americans before completion. It held a unique geographical distinction: it was the most northerly of all the Eighth Air Force heavy bomber fields in England. The airfield was designed in a classic wartime Class-A layout, featuring three intersecting concrete runways, two massive T2 hangars, and dispersed living quarters made of Nissen huts.
Home of "The Crusaders"
From August 1943 until the end of the war in Europe in June 1945, Wendling was entirely synonymous with one group: the 392nd Bombardment Group (Heavy), nicknamed "The Crusaders."
The 392nd was a trailblazing unit. They were the very first group in the Eighth Air Force to be fully equipped with the B-24H Liberator-a variant modified with a nose turret right out of the factory line to defend against lethal head-on attacks by German fighters.
The 392nd Bomb Group:
Combat Record & Sacrifice
The 392nd suffered some of the heaviest losses among Eighth Air Force bomber groups. The crews at Wendling lived in a relentless operational cycle. Their strategic bombing campaign took them deep into occupied Europe and Germany, targeting aircraft factories, V-1 rocket sites, and railyards.
Decorations
The unit received a prestigious Distinguished Unit Citation for a daring, high-stakes raid on an aircraft component factory in Gotha, Germany, on February 24, 1944, right in the middle of "Big Week." Later in the war, they directly supported major ground operations, including D-Day, the airborne invasion of Holland (Operation Market Garden), and the assault across the Rhine.
Life at Station 118
When the Americans arrived, the small, quiet Norfolk villages of Beeston and Wendling-which had a combined local population of just a few hundred-were suddenly inundated with nearly 3,000 American servicemen.
What the Airfield Looked Like
Nissen huts (prefabricated steel structures) and quarters were spread across the landscape. Because the base was highly rural, the favorite mode of transportation for local leave was the bicycle. Bumping around the narrow country lanes at night during wartime blackouts after visiting local pubs became a common, often humorous staple of base life.
To the south-east of the runway, situated on the edge of the station, among earth revetments designed to contain explosions a local woodland named Honeypot Wood was completely cleared and utilized as the highly secure, heavily guarded bomb dump. It was away from living quarters and aircraft parking areas.
What Remains Today:
Following the departure of the American forces in 1945, the airfield was returned to the RAF. It served as a standby airfield under RAF Maintenance Command until 1961. The United States Air Force briefly utilized a small corner of the facility as a radio detachment until 1964, after which the military closed the site for good. Today, the land has largely been returned to agriculture. In a bizarre twist of post-war history, large commercial turkey sheds were built directly on top of sections of the old concrete runways.