Post-War History & Restoration

Redeployed States in June/August 1945. the aircraft left from Framlingham on the 25th and 26th of June 1945. the ground unit sailed from Greenock on the Queen Elizabeth on the 5th of August 1945 and arrived in New York on the 11th of August 1945. The group was established at Sioux Falls AAFd South Dakota and inactivated there on the 28th of August 1945. The unit was reactivated as a Titan missile wing in 1962 with its headquarters at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizonia.

After the war in Europe, runways were broken up & buildings were allowed to become dilapidated and when not pulled apart, were used for farm storage. Among them was the Control Tower, shot up & abandoned after the Americans held a riotous farewell party there in August 1945. Framlingham Station 153, as the 390th Bomb Group knew the airfield, now stood neglected, windowless & derelict.

In 1976 a small band of determined enthusiasts decided to restore the decaying building as a museum in tribute to the endeavours of the 390th Bomb Group, 8th US Army Air Force & other Allied airmen operating from bases throughout East Anglia, during the Second World War. A five year restoration programme began, using volunteer labour & funded from their own resources. The Control Tower was finally dedicated as the 390th Bombardment Group Memorial Air Museum of the USAAF on 13 May 1981 & since then has remained in active contact with, and received steadfast support from US veterans & their relatives, supporters & friends.

 

Photos of the Control Tower's restoration will follow shortly.