At the intersection. The brick pillar, where the 405^th’s plaque was mounted, is on the right hand side of the Purewell Cross war memorial.

A square-shaped bronze plaque mounted on a Purbeck stone brick pillar and is placed above the Royal Navy - Fleet Air Arm plaque. The 405th's plaque has a blue background and is inscribed in English in relief lettering. It also features the reliefs of the 405th FG's, the 9th Air Force's, the 509th, 510th, the 511th Fighter Squadron's insignias and a P-47 Fighter plane depiction. The plaque commemorates the airmen of the 405th FG which operated out of RAF Christchurch during World War II. 

Christchurch airfield saw the arrival of the USAAF 405th Fighter Group on 4 April 1944, the group arriving from Walterboro Army Airfield South Carolina. The 405th had the following operational squadrons:

• 509th Fighter Squadron (G9)
• 510th Fighter Squadron (2Z)
• 511th Fighter Squadron (K4)

After setting up camp and training over England, the group began combat operations over France. During this period their primary task was ground attack ahead of the coming Operation Overlord invasion of Normandy. The group disrupted German positions and transportation infrastructure. Train locomotives were a favorite target. The group destroyed the Seine River bridge at Mantes-Gassicourt, northeast of Paris, just before the invasion, to inhibit movement of German materiel. The group was grounded during the 6 June invasion activities because Allied command was concerned that inexperienced anti-aircraft batteries would mistake P-47s for the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190. The 405th resumed flying on 10 June, providing close air support to the beachhead. On 18 June 1944, the group was redesignated to the 405th Fighter Group. A few weeks after the invasion, the 405th packed up and moved to a POE near Southampton.

While encamped at Christchurch, the Group officers bivouacked in Bure Homage, an English manor adjacent to the airfield that was requisitioned by the British Ministry of Defence for the war.

Source of information: Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, https://en.wikipedia.org

Source of images: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk

IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO

SERVED

WORLD WAR II

1943-1945

MARCH 1944 – JULY 1944

405TH FIGHTER GROUP