Air Base Deenethorpe - Home of the Screamin' Demons

A few months before I was shipped overseas, , I was assigned to the 614th Squadron of the 401st Bomb Group.

We were stationed near the small village of Deenethorpe, about 70 miles north of London. Interestingly, because of the danger from German bombers, our four squadrons were positioned about a half mile apart along a highway. Both our station headquarters and officer's club were separated from the squadrons.

Since the bases were being bombed early on, they didn't want them right next to each other. So our base was divided into four squadrons scattered across the farmland. Bicycles were issued to us officers to help us get around between squadrons. The bicycles were instruments of destruction with hand brakes on the handles. We often referred to them as "Germany's secret weapon".

Our living quarters were adequate but rustic. We slept in Nisson Huts which resembles a steel tunnel with cracks in the floor and in the sides and roof. Our token stoves was a bit of a joke. They were very small and required the ingenuity of a MIT graduate to light a fire. Fortunately we had plenty of blankets.

Ambulances waiting for the bombers to return.

Headquarters for the 401st Bomb Group

The Officer's Club

We would try to get into London at least once a month. You could go a little stir-crazy on the bases. And the bathing facilities left much to be desired. So a trip into London was often in the works. In the pictures on this page and preceding pages, are my pictoral documentation of my trips on my bike and my walks around London, England.