Qualla: Old Buckenham Airfield

Old Buckenham Airfield: Introduction

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Twelve miles southwest of Norwich, in the flat farmland of south Norfolk, an airfield that once launched Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers toward occupied Europe now hosts an annual airshow, an electric aircraft charging station, two museums, and a garden path cut in the shape of a figure eight — the symbol of the Eighth Air Force. Three hundred and sixty-six American servicemen died while serving here during World War II. Their memorial stone, carved in the form of a bomber's tailplane, sits at the end of that path. Old Buckenham Airfield has not forgotten where it came from.

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Old Buckenham Airfield: Wartime Origins

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The airfield was built during World War II for the United States Army Air Forces and operated as RAF Old Buckenham, home to the 453rd Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Force. The 453rd flew B-24 Liberators — heavy, four-engine bombers with the range and payload for the strategi...

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Old Buckenham Airfield: A Memorial in the Shape of a Number

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The war memorial at Old Buckenham was installed on 29 July 1990. It is a large stone of black granite, carved into the form of a tailplane from the B-24 Liberators that flew from the airfield. In October 2012, work began to relocate and redesign the memorial into a garden, offici...

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Old Buckenham Airfield: Reinvention and the Annual Airshow

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

After years of financial difficulty and management changes, the airfield was sold in 2013 to local aviation enthusiast Geoffrey Lynch for an undisclosed price, following a period of Morgan Stanley ownership. New hangars, offices, and Nissen hut museums followed. The Old Buckenham...

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Old Buckenham Airfield: Electric Future, Wartime Past

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In July 2021, Old Buckenham became the first airfield in the United Kingdom to install and commission a publicly available electric aircraft charging point. The site is also home to the NUNCATS project, testing a prototype electric CH750 light aircraft intended for use in the dev...

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