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Thorpe Abbotts airfield was built during 1942 and early 1943 for the RAF as a satellite airfield for RAF Horham but the rapid buildup of the 8th Air Force resulted in both airfields being handed over to the Americans. The thirty-six hardstandings originally planned were increased to fifty. Two T-2 hangars were erected, one on the east side of the flying field and one on the south side adjacent to the technical site. This and several of the domestic sites were in woodland stretching south and bordering the A143 Diss to Harleston road.
Thorpe Abbotts was given USAAF designation Station 139 (TA).
The 100th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrived at Thorpe Abbotts on 9 June 1943, from Kearney AAF Nebraska although construction work was barely finished. The 100th was assigned to the 13th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Square-D". Its operational squadrons were:
The group flew the B-17 Flying Fortress as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign. In combat, the 100th operated chiefly as a strategic bombardment organization until the war ended. The group gained the nickname "The Bloody Hundredth" due to its heavy losses during eight missions to Germany when the group experienced several instances where it lost a dozen or more aircraft on a single mission, whereas most units suffered losses in consistent small amounts.
From June 1943 to January 1944, the 100th Bomb Group concentrated its efforts against airfields in France and naval facilities and industries in France and Germany. The 100th BG received a Distinguished Unit Citation for seriously disrupting German fighter plane production with an attack on an aircraft factory at Regensburg on 17 August 1943.
The unit bombed airfields, industries, marshalling yards, and missile sites in western Europe, Jan-May 1944. Operations in this period included participation in the Allied campaign against enemy aircraft factories during Big Week, 20-25 Feb 1944. The group completed a series of attacks against Berlin in March 1944 and received a 2d Distinguished Unit Citation for the missions.
Beginning in the summer of 1944, oil installations became major targets. In addition to strategic operations, the group engaged in support and interdictory missions, hitting bridges and gun positions in support of the Normandy invasion in June 1944. The unit bombed enemy positions at St Lo in July and at Brest in August and September Other missions were striking transportation and ground defenses in the drive against the Siegfried Line, Oct-Dec 1944; attacking marshalling yards, defended villages, and communications in the Ardennes sector during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945; and covering the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
The 100th Bomb Group received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for attacking heavily defended installations in Germany and for dropping supplies to French Forces of the Interior, Jun-Dec 1944.
The 100 BG flew its last combat mission of World War II on 20 April 1945. The following month the unit’s aircrews dropped food to the people in the west of the Netherlands lMichael Jackson Ghost RAF Thorpe Abbotts - pedia, the free encyclopediag q q Acai m Acai Acai yMichael Jackson Ghost RAF Thorpe Abbotts - pedia, the free encyclopediav j Drink