Record Details
| NHER Number: | 2174 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Little Snoring World War Two airfield |
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Summary
A World War Two airfield, opened in July 1943 as a satellite to Foulsham. It was initially used by Lancaster bombers, and later by Mosquitoes and Beaufighters in bombing support operations. After the war it was used as a maintenance base and then for target aircraft training. From 1953 to 1963, the United States Army Air Force used it for storage before it was finally closed as a miltary base. The airfield has since been in private civilian use, most of the runways having been broken up, though some buildings remain. A sunken battle headquarters, designed to coordinate airfield defences in the event of an attack, stood to the west of the control tower, but this was demolished in about 1989. There is a small museum dedicated to the airfield's wartime history, and the local church (NHER 2155) has boards of the time recording hits made on enemy aircraft and decorations awarded to aircrew.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TF 960 333 |
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| Map Sheet: | TF93SE |
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| Parish: | LITTLE SNORING, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
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Full description
Airfield.
Opened 1943 as satellite to Foulsham.
1944; Mosquito base.
1944 to 5; closed.
1945 to 7; maintenance base.
1951 to 3; target aircraft.
1953 to 63; storage.
1977 onwards; pivate airfield.
Static water tank used as swimming pool. Information from (S1).
Large hangers used as commercial storage.
E. Rose (NAU), 3 August 1981.
Underground headquarters; record form in file by source [1].
Press cuttings (S2) and (S3) in file.
For further information on the operational history of the airfield and photographs of remaining buildings, see (S4).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 13 January 2010.
Monument Types
- AIRFIELD (Early 20th Century to 21st Century - 1901 AD to 2100 AD)
- MILITARY AIRFIELD (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- UNDERGROUND MILITARY HEADQUARTERS (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status
Sources and further reading
| --- | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
| --- | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
| <S1> | Serial: Airfields of Norfolk and Suffolk. Vol III. |
| <S2> | Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1985. Hair-raising rescue. 1 July. |
| <S3> | Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2001. Wartime hangar pressed into use. 31 August. |
| <S4> | Monograph: McKenzie, R.. 2004. Ghost Fields of Norfolk. pp 58-60. |
Related records - none
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