Page 38 - World Airshow News Autumn 2024

...A WORLD WAR II HIStORy tOuR...

Right: These restored Nissen Huts give the 100th Bomb
Group Memorial Museum the feel of the World War II
bomber base it once was.
Middle: The restored tower cab at Thorpe Abbotts.
Thanks to a recording of B-17 sounds that plays
continuously, visitors are transported back to the sights
and sounds of 1943.
Bottom right: The ceilings of the RAF Bar at The
Eagle Pub in Cambridge are covered with graffiti that
dates back to World War II. The walls are covered with
memorabilia from the pilots and aircrew who still
frequent the bar today.
Bottom left: “Masters of the Air” mini-series Co-
Producer Kirk Saduski (left) and best-selling “Masters
of the Air” author Dr. Donald L. Miller (right), join the
author and his wife Pam on the observation deck of the
Thorpe Abbotts control tower.

tHORpE AbbOttS, HOmE OF
tHE bLOODy HuNDREDtH
The highlight of the trip for me may
have been our visit to Station 139/Thorpe
Abbotts, home of the 100 Bomb Group
th
during World War II. The 100 was the
th
centerpiece of the “Masters of the Air” TV
mini-series.
During the war, Thorpe Abbotts was a
small city of over 3,000 men and women,
encompassing over 500 acres. Its three
runways were arranged in a triangular
pattern, and ringing the runways was
a 3.5-mile perimeter taxiway with fifty
paved hard stands where the bombers
were parked between missions. The con-
trol tower was located on the north side of
the main runway with the crew quarters
on the far south side of the base.

www.airshowmag.com 38 Quarter 4, 2024