November 13, 2023
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Read MoreRAF Lavenham • Station 137 • Suffolk, England
Lavenham
Airfield
Home of the USAAF 487th Bombardment Group, 1944–1945
185
Missions Flown
2,894
Men Stationed
33
Aircraft Lost
1944
Year Operational
Lavenham Airfield — Station 137, Suffolk
185
Combat Missions
4
Squadrons
1943
Construction Began
80+
Years of History
Friends of Lavenham Airfield
Preserving This Wartime Landscape
FOLA is a volunteer group committed to maintaining the memory of the 487th Bomb Group and the men who served here
✈
Guided Summer Walks
Walk the surviving perimeter tracks, visit the memorial, and see the control tower on our guided tours of the airfield, running every second Sunday from June to September.
Book a Walk★
Memorial Day Service
Each year on Memorial Day we hold a commemoration service at the airfield memorial, honouring the aircrew of the 487th who gave their lives. Open to all.
Events Calendar◈
Heritage Preservation
From maintaining the memorial to building an archive of mission records and crew histories, FOLA works to ensure this piece of history is not forgotten.
About FOLAA Detail Worth Noting
The runways at RAF Lavenham were built using rubble recovered from buildings bombed in London during the Blitz. The signatures of some of the men who laid the concrete are still visible in the taxiway surfaces today — a direct, physical connection between the suffering of one city and the effort to end the war that caused it.
Summer Walks 2026
Walk the Ground They Walked
In 1944, nearly three thousand American airmen called this Suffolk field home. This summer, you can walk the ground they walked — guided tours run on the second Sunday of June, July, August and September.
10am–1:30pm
Duration
£10
Adults / Under-12s Free
20
Places Per Walk
Booking essential — spaces are limited • All proceeds to the 487th Memorial Fund
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News & Dispatches
Support the Memorial Fund
All proceeds from the summer walks go directly to the USAAF 487th Bomb Group Memorial Fund. If you would like to contribute further to our preservation work, donations of any size are gratefully received.
Make a Donation