051797 - THROUGH THE FLAK, FOG & FLAME: USAAF Emergency Landings at RAF Woodbridge

By Ray Bowden

RAF Woodbridge was expanded in 1943 to be one of three emergency landing grounds for stricken Allied aircraft. It's huge runway was able to accommodate the largest bombers landing without hydraulics or brakes, or severely damaged by fighters or flak. In its two years of operation in WW2 the emergency field became a safe haven for more than 4,000 aircraft, half of them American. Some just landed seeking urgent replenishment of fuel but many others brought more dramatic events and tragic consequences. Based on the Woodbridge Tower wartime log book and American veterans' recollections, these stories of USAAF aircraft are recorded almost minute-by-minute. Though built and run by the RAF, many American crews from the 8th and 9th Air Forces had good reason to be thankful for Woodbridge's special facilities, including FIDO the innovative fog dispersal system.