Plaats van belang

​​Technical Site, Station 139​

Verenigd Koninkrijk

Markeren

Deel

Route

​​​Positioned to the southeast corner of Station 139, Thorpe Abbots, this was the location of the airfield's Technical Site.

​​​Along the perimeter road of the airfield from the south round to the west side were several dispersal pans and areas. This was the name given to the sites where the aircraft were parked when not in use. These dispersal pans were numbers 30 to 50, with most of them around the area of the Technical Site.

The fields south of the nearby large wood, east of Kiln Lane, were where the headquarters and the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) were located. This included briefings areas for the crews to attend prior to operations. It was known as Communal Site B. Just to the north of the wood was the second of the T2 hangars which connected to the perimeter tracks. The hangar is no longer there, and the land has now been returned to agricultural use.

The road at this crossroads led eastwards into the centre of the Technical Site. At the road junction north of this location, the road was once where the perimeter track was located. Eastwards headed into the technical site and west was towards the bomb dump. Across the road into where the airfield once was, there was the airbase works maintenance site with multiple buildings. This is now fields and a small, wooded area. A small part of the original concrete can be seen to the north of the road and is close to where dispersal pan 46 was located.

Buildings within the Technical Site included radio maintenance, bomb site workshop, chapel, ration stores, water tower, gunnery training, bomb aimers training, Provost Marshal's office and parachute packing store, to name just a few. There was a further mess hall alongside the Sergeants and Officers separate mess halls. Local children who lived on or around the airfield were welcomed and loved the American meals, mainly the sweet items. They also got used to drinking coffee.

Just to the north of the Technical Site was a wooded area which is still there today. This is east along the track (old perimeter road) that leads away from Wood Lane into the fields. This was used for clay pigeon shooting by those at the airfield. The site was strictly off limits to the local civilians, especially the local children living on the airfield. Despite the stories of the American crews being hospitable to them, the children knew that this area was not a place to visit.

Adres

​​Wood Lane, Billingford​, ​​Diss​, Norfolk, ​​IP21 4HP​