For this Balloon Flight over Norfolk we flew from our base at Wendling it was a perfect evening with the wind down to a very gentle south easterly. We climbed out to 2,000 feet with good visibility. We were soon over the disused wartime American airfield at Wendling. This is a large base with most of the runways still intact also the bomb storage area has been completely untouched for over sixty years; there is nothing like that left in East Anglia. It was home of the 392nd Bombardment Group. From August 1943 to June 1945 The group flew 285 combat missions, suffering 1552 casualties including 835 killed in action or line of duty and 184 aircraft lost. They have an excellent website, check it out on www.b24.net it is a fascinating read and very thought provoking.
We then gently drifted over the village of Beeston and onto to Great Dunham. We climbed up to 3,500 feet the wind was a little quicker and we were soon over the village of castle acre looking down on the Medieval castle and 11th century monastery, it’s a beautiful village and well worth a visit. We started our descent and landed in the parish of west acre in a stubble field next to the road greeted by our crew and friends and family who were following. The evening was finalised with the usual champagne toast