Royal Air Force Bungay or more simply RAF Bungay (known locally as Flixton) is a former Royal Air Force station located south-west of Bungay in the English county of Suffolk.
The airfield is also known after the village of Flixton, near which it was built.
History
Bungay airfield was originally planned as a satellite for nearby RAF Hardwick and was constructed by Kirk & Kirk Ltd., during 1942 with a main runway of 6,000 feet in length and two intersecting secondary runways, one of 4,220 feet and the other of 4,200 feet. In common with other airfields of the period, the technical, administrative and domestic buildings were dispersed to lessen the impact of any enemy air attack. The buildings were all of a temporary nature and the various sites were chiefly to the west of the airfield.
United States Army Air Forces use
The airfield was allocated to the Americans and transferred to the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force and designated Station 125.
USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Bungay were: 460th Sub-Depot (VIII Air Force Service Command) Quartermaster Depot Q-104 18th Weather Squadron 25th Station Complement Squadron 555th Quartermaster Battalion 1214th Quartermaster Company 1248th Military Police Company 1821st Ordnance Supply & Maintenance Company 885th Chemical Company 979th Quartermaster Service Company 987th Military Police Company 2035th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon 212nd Finance Section 558th Army Postal Unit
428th Bombardment Squadron
Bungay was still unfinished when the Twelfth Air Force 428th Bombardment Squadron, 310th Bombardment Group (Medium) at RAF Hardwick arrived with fourteen North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers in October 1942. The squadron moved on to Médiouna Airfield, French Morocco on 18 November 1942. A 12th Air Force film clip indicates that the 310th Bombardment Group was the first 12th Air Force group to fly the northern transport route from the United States to Europe and initially arrived at Prestwick, Scotland in October 1942.
329th Bombardment Squadron
In December 1942, eight Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the 329th Bombardment Squadron, 93d Bombardment Group (Heavy) at RAF Hardwick were sent to Bungay to prepare for special intruder operations. These aircraft conducted raids in bad weather with the mission of harassing the German air raid warning system. The 329th flew these missions until March 1943 when they rejoined the 93d at Hardwick.
446th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
Additional construction was performed at Bungay until November 1943 when the airfield received the Eighth Air Force 446th Bombardment Group (Heavy) from Lowry AAF, Colorado. The 446th was assigned to the 20th Combat Bombardment Wing and the group tail code was a "Circle-H". Its operational squadrons were:
704th Bombardment Squadron (FL) 705th Bombardment Squadron (HN) 706th Bombardment Squadron (RT) 707th Bombardment Squadron (JU)
The 446th operated chiefly against strategic objectives on the Continent from December 1943 until April 1945. Targets included U-boat installations at Kiel, the port at Bremen, a chemical plant at Ludwigshafen, ball-bearing works at Berlin, aero-engine plants at Rostock, aircraft factories at Munich, marshalling yards at Coblenz, motor works at Ulm, and oil refineries at Hamburg.
Besides strategic missions, the group often carried out support and interdictory operations. It supported the Normandy landings in June 1944 by attacking strong points, bridges, airfields, transportation, and other targets in France. It aided ground forces at Caen and Saint-Lô during July by hitting bridges, gun batteries, and enemy troops. Dropped supplies to Allied troops near Nijmegen during the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September. Bombed marshalling yards, bridges, and road junctions during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 - January 1945. Dropped supplies to airborne and ground troops near Wesel during the Allied assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
The 446th Bomb Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April, attacking a bridge near Salzburg. It returned to Sioux Falls AAF, South Dakota, during June and July 1945, being inactivated there on 18 August 1945.
The Pima Air & Space Museum as of 2013 has a Liberator N7866 with nose art "Bungay Buckaroo" related to the 446th Bomb Group stationed at Bungay in 1944.
Royal Navy/Royal Air Force use
After the war, the field was transferred to the Royal Navy and the station became , being the satellite of HMS Sparrowhawk (RNAS Hatston) where three Fleet Air Arm squadrons were located.