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The 3rd Edition of the USAAF Station 526
Prior to D-Day, the USAAF 416th Bomber Group at Wethersfield was instrumental in the preparation for the invasion of Europe and mostly targeted German Coastal Defences, V-1 Launch Sites, Airfields and Marshalling Yards.
The 416th flew two missions on D-Day to support the Allied Expeditionary Forces who secured their beachhead and began their drive towards Germany, the Group's primary role became one of tactical support for the advancing ground troops.
But are you aware that Wethersfield and all other all USAAF airfields in Essex and South Suffolk were replenished with Bomber and Fighter Munitions stored at Bures.
The Bures Forward Ammunition Depot (FAD) was the largest of the three based in East Anglia.
(1) Bures, Essex (2) Earsham, Norfolk (3) Barnham Nr Thetford, Suffolk.
From 2005 to 2019, I conducted extensive research into the history of the United States Army Air Force in Bures, during the years 1943 to 1945.
During this period, the USAAF initially commandeered all the land surrounding Butlers Farm along the Earls Colne road, then later the Minor roads and country lanes to store large quantities of bombs and other munitions, which were then transported to airfields in Essex and South Suffolk.
The munitions were primarily transported to Chappel by train from Liverpool and Immingham Docks.
The trains never stopped at Bures to offload their wagons, due to the high risk of attracting attention to the adjacent Ammunition Depot. They continued to Chappel which was not ideal, as the Luftwaffe made numerous attempts to destroy the Viaduct and Fuel store at the Station.
Upon reaching Chappel, the munitions were either loaded onto waiting lorries for dispersal to the Bures Forward Ammunition Depot or transported via the local Halstead branch line to be stored at Earls Colne and White Colne sidings.
Efficiency dictated that the Essex airfields were primarily serviced from the Earls Colne yard, rather than traveling to the Bures Depot.
Surprisingly, there were no official records of the Bures Munitions Depot maintained by the UK War Department or the USAAF, with the exception of the station number.
My research even attracted the attention of ex-servicemen in the United States, who provided additional material.
I heavily relied on interviews with residents of Bures, Pebmarsh, Colne Engaine, Wakes Colne, White Colne, Earls Colne, and surrounding areas, extending as far as Braintree and Rayne. While the exact number of individuals interviewed is unknown, it certainly exceeds eighty.
This makes the information I have gathered unique and not available elsewhere.
Unfortunately, most of these contributors have since passed away, but their memories and insights continue to be invaluable.
After 14 years of extensive research, I was able to publish a book on this unique subject in 2019.
The book has gained immense interest both domestically and in the USA and Europe, consequently on June 1st 2024 it underwent a 4th reprint
Rest assured, 100% of my sales have received positive feedback.
LINK to a Trial Web Page.
LINK to "the story behind why the book was launched"
Some of the contributors to the research
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The 1st Ed (2019) consisted of 102 pages, the 2nd (2021) 124 pages and finally the 3rd (2022)which has 144 pages.
This additional material was donated by followers of my research.
So that makes an additional 42 pages of new information, since the book was first published.
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