Sted

RAF Rivenhall Airfield

Beskrivelse

Rivenhall was known as USAAF Station AAF-168 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "RL".

363d Fighter Group
On 22 January 1944, a squadron of the 363d Fighter Group arrived from RAF Keevil where it had been awaiting equipment. The group had been selected as the third in the European Theatre to be equipped with the new North American P-51B Mustang. The group consisted of the following operational squadrons:

380th Fighter Squadron (A9)
381st Fighter Squadron (B3)
382d Fighter Squadron (C3)
On 14 April 1944, as part of a general movement of Ninth Air Force fighter units in the Colchester area to the advanced landing grounds, the 363d moved to RAF Staplehurst. The actual movement of all elements had begun two days previously.

397th Bombardment Group
On the day following the departure of the 363d, the first Martin B-26 Marauders of the 397th Bombardment Group arrived from RAF Gosfield. The group consisted of the following operational squadrons:

596th Bombardment Squadron (X2)
597th Bombardment Squadron (9F)
598th Bombardment Squadron (U2)
599th Bombardment Squadron (6B)
The group's identification marking was a yellow diagonal band across both sides of the vertical tailplane.

Early in August, officially on the 5th, the 397th transferred from Rivenhall to RAF Hurn in Hampshire, to give the Marauders a better radius of action as the break-out of the Allied forces from the Normandy beachhead meant that potential targets were receding.

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