Air over Stansted heavy with history as Airport commemorates 80th anniversary of D-Day
Pictured above (from left) are Bradford Freeman, Donald Malarkey, – Stewart Wingate (Stansted’s former MD), Lieutenant Colonel William Woods (Assistant US Army Attaché), Neale Jouques (Former Terminal Manager), Ed Tipper and Buck Compton.
On June 6, 1944, allied forces stormed the beaches of northern France in a bid to retake occupied Europe from the Nazis. London Stansted – George Washington Field, as it was known then – played a significant role during World War Two, never more so than on that day.
As the ninth largest US Air Force base in East Anglia, the airfield was home to the 344th Bomb group, known as the 'Silver Streaks', consisting of four squadrons of B-26 Marauders.
At shortly after 4am on June 6, 56 Marauders took to the skies from the airfield to lead 600 aircraft of the 9th Air Force into action. Their targets were to attack heavy costal gun batteries on the Cherbourg peninsular and the nearby Normandy invasion beaches.
Their actions contributed to the success of the operation, paving the way for the allied troops to successfully storm the beaches and establish a foothold in Normandy. The Bomb Group’s intense action supporting on June 6 and during the allied invasion earned them a Distinguished Unit Citation in July 1944.
Tomorrow (Thursday 6th June) London Stansted remembers D-Day and the airfield’s important role on that historic day.
Nick Millar, London Stansted’s Operations Director, said: “London Stansted is extremely proud of its illustrious past and its origins as an US Air Force base in 1943. The airfield is widely recognised and acknowledged as playing a critical role on D-Day and the subsequent allied victory in Europe.
“While most people now know the airport as home to some of the most successful and popular airlines operating today, such as Ryanair, Jet2.com, and Emirates, we should never lose sight of our history or ever forget the hugely significant role the airfield played during World War Two.”
This significant time in the airport's history has been remembered regularly over the years. In July 2009, four legendary American World War Two veterans who were part of the 'Band of Brothers' attended the unveiling of a commemorative display in the terminal.
Buck Compton, Donald Malarkey, Ed Tipper and Bradford Freeman, members of Easy Company, helped honour Stansted's development by the US Army, as well as the operational role it played during the war.
In July 2013, the airport held a spectacular flypast and ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its runway and wartime roots. As part of the ceremony, retired 344th Bomb Group flying ace, 88-year-old Major Edward W. Horn, flew in especially from America.
A Stansted-US ‘Band of Brothers’ began to be forged in 1942 when the British government and American Military decided to build a US Air Force base near the village of Stansted Mountfitchet.
George Washington Field, as it was known then, became the 9th largest US Air Force base in East Anglia and home to four B-26 Marauder squadrons of the 344th Bomb Group.
Despite being fully operational in 1943, the runway had its first unexpected visitor on February 26, 1943, when a battle-damaged RAF Short Sterling bomber made an emergency landing after returning from an air raid.
Stansted bombers led 600 aircraft over the beaches of France to attack enemy positions on D-Day. The Bomb Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for three days of intense action supporting the Allied invasion in July 1944.
A total of 266 missions were flown from Stansted to targets in France and the Low Countries. All US forces had left the airport by August 1945 but they returned in the 1950s to strengthen and extend the runway to 3,048 metres, leaving the airport with what is still there today.
Eighty years later, Stansted is London's third busiest airport, serving over 28 million passengers through one of the world's most iconic terminal buildings.