RAF Honington RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located six miles south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk , England . Although used as a bomber station during World War II , RAF Honington is now the RAF Regiment depot and home to the Joint CBRN Regiment . Construction of Honington airfield began in 1935 , and the facility was opened on 3 May 1937 . Squadrons of RAF Bomber Command using the airfield prior to World War II were : RAF use . No . 77 Squadron RAF ( Hawker Harts and Vickers Wellesleys ) ( July 1937 - July 1938 ) No . 102 Squadron RAF ( Handley Page Heyford ) ( July 1937 - July 1938 ) - Moved to RAF Driffield No . 75 Squadron RAF ( Handley Page Harrow and Vickers Wellington ) ( July 1938 - July 1939 ) - Moved to RAF Stradishall . No . 215 Squadron RAF ( Harrow and Wellington ) ( July 1938 - July 1938 ) - Moved to RAF Bassingbourn . IX Squadron ( Wellington Mk Is , later changing to Mk lAs . ) ( 4 September 1939 - 1940 ) . IX Squadron flew the first RAF bombing raid of World War II on 4 September 1939 flying a mission against the Kriegsmarine in the Baltic resulting in the loss of two Wellingtons . The squadron lost 79 Wellingtons flying from Honington before moving to RAF Waddington . In July 1940 , No . 311 ( Czech ) Squadron RAF formed at Honnington with Wellingtons , later moving to RAF East Wretham in November 1940 . The Luftwaffe made several attacks on the airfield one of which killed about twenty airmen who were crossing the old parade ground on their way to tea . Another bomb demolished part of Barrack Block 76 , which has since been rebuilt sometime between 1993 and 1996 . In 1941 , a Junkers Ju 88 was shot down by ground fire from Honington . The aircraft crashed at the east end of D Hangar . Then , in May of that year , a Wellington returning from a night trip attempted to land at Honington with its wheels retracted . It skidded to one side and crashed into the main bomb dump where it burst into flames . Group Captain J . A . Gray and Squadron Leader J . A . McCarthy , the station medical officer , were the first on the scene of the crash . Both entered the burning aircraft in an attempt to rescue the crew who were trapped and , between them , two crew - members were saved . For this gallantry , both officers were awarded the George Medal . USAAF use . B - 17s from the 3d Bomb Division at Honnington Air Depot . Lockheed P - 38J - 10 - LO Lightning Serial 42 - 67978 " Betty A " of the 383d Fighter Squadron . North American P - 51D - 15 - NA Mustangs of the 385th Fighter Squadron . 44 - 15493 " Jeannie II " in foreground , 44 - 14322 " Coffin With Wings " behind . Honington was assigned USAAF designation Station 375 . 1st Strategic Air Depot In June 1942 the airfield was transferred to the USAAF and was upgraded to a Class A Bomber base . In September , the VIII Air Service Command set up an Air Depot to service and repair B - 17s , became the 1st Strategic Air Depot . Built to the west of the main airfield it was called Troston , specialising in B - 17 models and supporting the 3d Bomb Division located in the area . Badly - damaged Fortresses were often instructed to crash land at Honington on return from operations , particularly if their landing gear could not be lowered , as this avoided the necessity to dismantle and transport the aircraft from its home base for repair . 364th Fighter Group Besides the air depot , Honington also housed an operational fighter unit when the 364th Fighter Group took up residence at Honington in February 1944 , arriving from Santa Maria AAF California . The group was under the command of the 67th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command . Aircraft of the 364th were identified by a blue / white stripe pattern around their cowlings . The group consisted of the following squadrons : 383d Fighter Squadron ( N2 ) 384th Fighter Squadron ( 5Y ) 385th Fighter Squadron ( 5E ) The 364th FG flew escort , dive - bombing , strafing , and patrol missions in France , Belgium , the Netherlands , and Germany . At first the group operated primarily as escort for B - 17 / B - 24 Liberator heavy bombers . The group patrolled the English Channel during the Normandy invasion in June 1944 , and , while continuing escort operations , supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives , marshalling yards , bridges , barges , and other targets . Converted from P - 38 Lightnings to P - 51 Mustangs in the summer of 1944 and from then until the end of the war flew many long - range escort missions heavy bombers that attacked oil refineries , industries , and other strategic objectives at Berlin , Regensburg , Merseburg , Stuttgart , Brussels , and elsewhere . The 364th received a Distinguished Unit Citation for an escort mission on 27 December 1944 when the group dispersed a large force of German fighters that attacked the bomber formation the group was escorting on a raid to Frankfurt . The 364th also flew air - sea rescue missions , engaged in patrol activities , and continued to support ground forces as the battle line moved through France and into Germany . Took part in the effort to invade the Netherlands by air , September 1944 ; the Battle of the Bulge , December 1944 - January 1945 ; and the assault across the Rhine , March 1945 . Although the last mission by the 364th took place on 25 April 1945 , the group did not depart until November , returning to Camp Kilmer New Jersey for deactivation . Even then , Honington remained the lone Eighth Air Force outpost in the UK becoming Fighter Command HQ on October 5 . Honington was the last USAAF station to be returned to the RAF . By the beginning of 1946 , the airfield remained the only active station of all the 122 which had been used by the Eighth Air Force and a fitting ceremony was planned to mark its closure and official handing back to the Royal Air Force . On 26 February , Brigadier General Emil Kiel - the Eighth Fighter Command commander - was present to hand over the keys of the station to Air Marshal Sir James Robb , AOC RAF Fighter Command . An RAF band played The Star - Spangled Banner as the Stars and Stripes were lowered for the RAF Ensign to be hoisted in its place . Postwar use . With the departure of the USAAF in February 1946 , Honington airfield reverted to the RAF , and became a major servicing centre for RAF Transport Command aircraft . During the Berlin Airlift , Honington played a tremendous part in keeping the aircraft of Transport Command flying . In 1949 the station reverted to Bomber Command . From 1950 to 1956 . RAF Honington housed No . 94 Armament Maintenance Unit for bomb storage . The airfield was upgraded during this time to include a 9 , 000 ft concrete runway . Beginning in February 1955 through 1957 10 , XV , 44 and 57 Squadrons were based at Honington with English Electric Canberra bombers . 10 and XV Squadrons took part in the Suez Crisis of 1956 . Also in 1956 , Honington became one of the main V - Bomber Force bases maintaining three Vickers Valiant squadrons , Nos , 7 , 90 and 199 and later two Handley Page Victor Squadrons , No . 55 and No . 57 . Additional facilities were constructed including a large E - W runway . These squadrons were moved out in 1965 and the airfield was placed in a reserve status . In 1968 the airfield was selected to become the home of the RAF ' s UK - based Hawker Siddeley ( Blackburn ) Buccaneer bomber . The first aircraft arrived in November 1969 and deliveries continued throughout the early 70s . Nos 12 , 15 and 16 squadrons formed there , with 15 and 16 squadrons moving to RAF Laarbruch in West Germany in 1971 . Also No 237 OCU ( Operational Conversion Unit ) formed to provide the training squadron . No 208 squadron formed in 1974 . The Buccaneers operated from Honington until the 80s when they relocated to RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland . The last aircraft ( of the Tornado Weapons Conversion Unit ) based at Honington left in 1994 . The base is now the RAF Regiment depot and home to the Joint NBC Regiment . 1 Squadron RAF Regiment , the oldest unit in the Regiment has now relocated to RAF Honington . The Station is now home to the following RAF Regiment Squadrons : 2 Sqn RAF Regt ; 1 Sqn RAF Regt ; 15 Sqn RAF Regt ; 27 Sqn RAF Regt and 2623 Sqn RAuxAF Regt . Operational units . Wings Squadrons