NHER 3063 (Monument record) - Attlebridge World War Two Airfield

Umbrella number for airfield.
See NHER 40729 to 40763 for individual structures.
J. Allen (NLA), 7 September 2004.

Airfield. World War Two.
Runways remain but are mostly covered by battery chicken houses. Some buildings remain.
E. Rose (NAU) 13 July 1977.

Known as Attlebridge Airfield. 1941 to 1946, both RAF and USAAF, latterly as bomb dump.
E. Rose (NAU)

World War Two anti aircraft artillery.
See file.
D. Gurney (NLA), 28 January 1997.

April 2003.
Area of site extended to include associated sites.
See (S1) in file and also associated site NHER 38190.
D. Gurney (NLA), 15 April 2003.

September 2007. Norfolk NMP.
Structural elements of the Attlebridge Airfield site are visible on aerial photographs, such as (S3), consulted during the NMP mapping of the area to the immediate southwest of the airfield for the ALSF project (ENF118570). As the main area of the site falls outside of the ALSF project area no additions to the site were made as it would be preferable for the site to be dealt with as a whole as the methodology for mapping and recording will potentially differ from project to project.
S. Massey (NMP), 12 September 2007.

Attlebridge airfield opened in July 1941 as a satellite of the Bomber Command station at Swanton Morley.
See (S4) for further information.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 13 January 2010.

The central grid reference for this site has been altered from TG 101 145 to TG 1007 1479.

April 2010. Norfolk NMP.
The World War Two RAF and USAAF airfield at Attlebridge is visible on aerial photographs (S3, S5-S9). The site is centred on TG 1007 1479 and has been extended to include additional defences and structures visible on the aerial photographs. Extensive and detailed mapping of the airfield, undertaken by the RAF in 1944 (S1) and subsequently by the Ordnance Survey, means that there is little benefit in the mapping of the majority of the airfield structures and layout from the aerial photographs. The airfield has also been the subject of considerable buildings survey as part of the Attlebridge Airfield Survey and individual structures and groups of structures surviving above ground have been recorded individually. Consequently very little detailed NMP mapping and recording will be undertaken of the airfield and associated features. The airfield runways, control tower and main hangars have been mapped however to give the NMP site context when viewed without a map background. The extents of significant areas of structures, such as accommodation sites, have also been defined on the NMP map.
The earlier aerial photographs of the airfield taken in 1942 (S2, S5) reveal evidence of early defences, consisting of several areas of trenches, gun emplacements and barbed wire obstruction, most significantly in the area of TG 0972 1487 and in a linear spread to the north of the northern runway. These have not been mapped due to limited time and reference should be made to the photographs (S2, S5) for a detailed understanding of this phase of the airfield development and defences. The layout and organisation of the site in the 1946 aerial photographs (S6-S9) is consistent with the detailed RAF plan of 1944 (S1) and has therefore not been mapped. Not shown on this map are the accommodation areas, consisting of huts, buildings and air raid shelters are visible situated around the southern periphery of the airfield at TG 0906 1440, TG 0939 1442, TG 0930 1402, TG 0964 1391, TG 1005 1381 and TG 1089 1370. An additional area of camouflaged buildings visible within Fir Covert to the west of the airfield accommodation at TG 0856 1446 (S7) have been added to the airfield, although given the position of the site it is possible that they were related to the RAF Hockering Forward Ammunition Depot in Hockering Wood to the immediate west (NHER (38190).
S. Horlock (NMP), 28 April 2010.

January 2011. Listing request turned down.
A request was submitted for the buildings at Attlebridge airfield to be listed, but the appilcation was rejected. It was highlighted that the site was certainly of local significance and should be considered for 'local listing'.
See (S10).
S. Howard (HES), 21 October 2011.

The flagole from the WW2 airfield was relocated to The Old Rectory, Morton on the Hill (NHER 58757).
D. Gurney (HES), 14 March 2013.

September 2013-January 2014. Watching Brief.
Maintained during installation of two wind turbines adjacent to the former runways.
No archaeologically-significant remains were exposed.
A metal-detector survey recovered a range of objects likely to relate to activity at the World War Two airfield, including nail fragments, bolts, washers and miscellaneous ferrous items. The most notable finds were a 0.50 calibre Browning machine gun round and a steel dog tag that had belonged to an American serviceman.
Information from draft report. See NHER 65583 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 20 May 2022.