RAF Snetterton Heath opened in early 1943 and became home to the American 96th Bombardment Group as the Allies gathered forces in preparation for the invasion of Europe. The 96th flew B-17 Flying Fortresses and played a vital role in many major actions, including D-Day.
Like most bomber groups, the 96th suffered heavy casualties – in the year leading up to D-Day, the group lost a hundred B17s, a thousand men, either killed, wounded, captured or fleeing in Europe.
His most famous mission occurred in August 1943 when the target was a factory producing Messerschmitt fighter aircraft in Regensburg, southeastern Germany. The 96th worked closely with six other bomb groups, all based in East Anglia, including the 100th, based at Thorpe Abbotts, 15 miles southeast of Snetterton.
The mission plan underwent changes. Air force leaders knew the fleet of 146 B-17s would come under heavy fire from Luftwaffe fighters and flak during the flights to and from Regensburg, so instead of returning home, they avoided the fireworks back home by heading southwest, on to Algeria , North. Africa. Then it was back to Thorpe Abbotts after a few days rest and repairs.
The B-17s flew over the Alps after the Regensburg raid, on their way to North Africa, so they didn’t make the two-way trip through flak and German fighters
National Museum of the United States Air Force
The mission was a great success but resulted in heavy losses. A total of 24 B-17s were lost, with a crew of 240. This time the 96th did not lose a single aircraft, while the 100th lost nine of its 21 B17s. On another mission in 1943, 60 USAAF B-17s were shot down – 600 crew members.
The losses were so great that it was never easy to keep crew numbers and planes in the air. America bombed during the day while the British bombed at night. RAF losses were even worse – 57,205 casualties out of a total crew of 125,000, or a death rate of 46% – because their planes were usually shot down by heavy flak, not machine gun fire from fighters.
The story of the so-called Bloody 100th is told in a newly released Apple TV series Air Expert.
The B-17 was a mighty machine, powered by four 1,200 horsepower supercharged nine-cylinder radial engines, armed with 13 machine guns and carrying a bomb load of up to 7.8 tons. Nearly 13,000 were built.
In 1952 Snetterton Heath was returned to its original owner, farmer Fred Riches (after whom the corner was first named), who sold it to Oliver Sear and Dudley Coram of the Aston Martin Owners Club, whose surname was also used to christen the corner. Snetterton hosted its first car race in 1951 (reported in Motorsports Magazine!) and his first motorbike race two years later.
The original circuit layout consisted mainly of taxiways and runways. The start/finish lanes, Riches, Sears, Coram Curve, and Russells are all taxiways, while the back lanes are the airbase’s east/west runways.
Snetterton now – 2023 BSB race at the track, which hosted its first motorbike race in 1953
Traces of Snetterton’s origins are scattered around the circuit site, including sections of concrete runway, runway light fixtures, hardstands, Nissen huts, crew quarters and air raid shelters.
The first Second World War base to officially host motor racing was Long Kesh in Northern Ireland, where Spitfires and Tomahawks flew. Its first meeting took place in November 1945, and ticket proceeds were to be donated to RAF charities.
The seventy-plus Second World War bases (some dating from the First World War) that host motor racing in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are frequently used for racing thanks to the efforts of the Royal Air Force Motor Sports Association. :
Aghadowey (Derry), Aldegrove (Antrim), Andreas (Island of Man), Ansty (Warwickshire), Balado Bridge (Kinross-shire), Ballykelly (Derry), Barskstone Health (Linc), Biggin Hill (Kent), Bishop’s Court (Down), Bring (York), Boreham (Essex), Karnaby (York), Combe Castle (Withered), Catterick (York), rental space (Scottish Borders), Chivenor (Devon), the Coles (Withered), Crail (Flute), Krimond (Aberdeenshire), Small farm (York), Darley Moor (Derbyshire), Eastern Luck (East Lothian), Edzell (Angus), Elvington (York), Wrong (Perth and Kinross), Fairwood (Gower Peninsula), Flookburgh (Cumbria), Gamston (Nottinghamshire), Gask (Perthshire), Grandsden Inn (Cambridgeshire), Gaydon (Warwickshire), Goodwood/Westhampnett (West Sussex), Haddenham(Buckinghamshire), Jury (Island of Man), Evil (Withered), Kinnell (Angus), Kirkis city (Down), Little Rissington (Gloucestershire), Mainland (Glamorgan Valley), Kesh is long (Lisburn), Marston Long (Warwickshire), Maghaberry (Antrim), Middleton St George (Durham Country), Mona (Anglesey), Moreton valence (Gloucestershire), New townspeople (Down), North Weald (Essex), Nutts Corner (Antrim), Ouston (Northern Land), Pembrey (Carmarthenshire), Perton (Staffordshire), Radlett (Hert), Saint Angelo (Fermanagh), St Athan (Glamorgan), St Eval (Cornwall), Sculptor (Norfolk), stupid (Cumbria), silver stone (Northerners), Snetterton (Norfolk), Stapleford Tawney (Essex), Staverton (Gloucestershire), thorny (York), Thorney Island (West Sussex), Thruxton (Hampshire), Equip (Shropshire), Tofanau (Gwynedd), Tranwell (Tyne and Wear), water beach (Cambridgeshire), Wellsbourne (Warwickshire), West Raynham (Norfolk), winning field (Scottish Borders), wrought (Withered).
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