RAF Lavenham / Alpheton

The airfield was closed as part of the massive post-war military drawdown. Built as a temporary heavy bomber station for the war effort, it was deemed surplus to requirements once hostilities in Europe ended.

The site has been almost entirely returned to agricultural land. However, significant remnants of its past are still visible. Portions of the main concrete runways and the perimeter track remain, though heavily fragmented and now used as farm access roads. Several original wartime buildings, including Nissen huts and technical site structures, survive in various states of repair, often repurposed for farm storage. The control tower was demolished in the 1980s. A memorial dedicated to the personnel of the 487th Bombardment Group stands at the site to commemorate their service and sacrifice.

RAF Lavenham, designated USAAF Station 137, was a Class A heavy bomber airfield built in 1943. It was a key base for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force. The primary unit stationed here from April 1944 was the 487th Bombardment Group (Heavy). Initially equipped with Consolidated B-24 Liberators, the group converted to Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses in July 1944. The 487th flew 185 combat missions, targeting strategic sites such as marshalling yards, airfields, oil refineries, and industrial targets in Germany and occupied Europe. They provided tactical support for the D-Day landings, the Battle of the Bulge, and the airborne crossing of the Rhine (Operation Varsity). The group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for an attack on German positions at a crossroads in Sottevast, France, just before the D-Day invasion. A notable figure associated with the base was the actor James 'Jimmy' Stewart, who, as a command pilot, flew several missions from Lavenham while serving as Group Operations Officer for the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening RAF Lavenham as an operational airport. The site is privately owned, primarily used for agriculture, and its aviation infrastructure is severely degraded and incomplete. Its significance is now purely historical.