The middle plaque.

A square bronze plaque inscribed in English in raised lettering. On the center of the plaque are the depiction of the 364^th Fighter Group insignia and the outline of Mustang and Lightning aircraft. The inscribed text contains the commemoration message and small info about the group. 

In addition to 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 escorts for B-17/Consolidated 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, marshaling yards, bridges, barges, and other targets.

Converted from Lockheed P-38 Lightnings to North American 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 inactivation. Even then, Honington remained the lone Eighth Air Force outpost in the UK becoming Fighter Command HQ on 5 October.

The US flag comes down for the last time at RAF Honington in February 1946

The US flag comes down for the last time at RAF Honington in February 1946

Honington was the last USAAF station to be returned to the RAF. By the beginning of 1946, the airfield remained the only active station that 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. The airfield, which was the first transferred to the United States Army Air Forces for its use in 1942, was the last to be returned to the Air Ministry.

Source of information: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk, en.wikipedia.org, Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register

Source of photos: eastangliamemorials.blogspot.com