Parham Airfield Museum

Parham Airfield Museum stands on the site of the former RAF Framlingham airfield near Parham in Suffolk. The control tower and nearby buildings now house two separate museums. One remembers the American 390th Bombardment Group which flew from here during the Second World War. The other tells the story of the British Resistance Organisation’s Auxiliary Units, Britain’s secret underground force. The 390th Bombardment Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from this airfield between 1943 and 1945. After the war the site fell into disrepair until volunteers began a five-year restoration of the control tower in 1976. The restored tower opened as a memorial air museum in 1981. Exhibits include recovered aircraft engines, uniforms, photographs and combat records from the U.S. 8th Air Force, the Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe. The British Resistance Organisation museum sits in a Quonset hut next to the control tower. It explains how Auxiliary Units were trained to stay hidden in underground bunkers if Germany invaded. The displays include a replica operational base, special weapons, dead letter boxes and secret radio equipment. Photographs and documents show how these volunteers prepared to fight behind enemy lines.