- An isolated AirfieldHidden in rural South Norfolk
- Used for testing secret technologyAphrodite and Anvil explosive drones were tested here
- Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.'s last flightJoseph P. Kennedy's final flight took off from Fersfield
- Operation CarthageAn audacious but tragic RAF mission to destroy Copehagen's Gestapo HQ
Start here
RAF Fersfield - USAAF Station 554
The overall story of Fersfield airfield, Norfolk: built in secret as a satellite of Knettishall, home to the Aphrodite and Anvil drone projects and the launch point of the Copenhagen Shellhus raid.
Operation Aphrodite and Anvil overview
During the summer of 1944, Fersfield operated under strict secrecy for Operation Aphrodite (USAAF) and Operation Anvil (NAVY). Volunteer pilots took off in worn-out B-17 and PB4Y-1 bombers packed with high explosives, aiming to arm the systems in flight and bail out over England before the aircraft were guided remotely to heavily fortified V-weapon sites in Europe. It was on one such mission from Fersfield that Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and LT Wilford John "Bud" Willy were killed when their explosives-laden drone detonated prematurely in mid-air.
Operation Carthage overview
On 21 March 1945, Mosquitos flying from Fersfield destroyed the Gestapo headquarters in the centre of Copenhagen, a raid of extraordinary precision, a resistance saved, and a school struck by tragedy.
What remains of RAF Fersfield today
Today, much of the airfield has returned to farmland. Sections of the perimeter track serve as farm access roads, nissen huts sit hidden in the hedgerows, and a surviving wartime hangar stores malting barley near the memorial stone - what's left of Station 554
Latest news
25 August 2026
Interview with Aphrodite Crew Chief, Emerson Smith
Sharing a YouTube video of Interview with Aphrodite Crew Chief, Emerson Smith
4 August 2026
This day in history - 4 August 1944 saw the first Operation Aphrodite missions take off from Fersfield, and the tragic death of 1st Lt. John W. Fisher
Operation Aphrodite begins - a summary of the first day of missions on 4th August 1944
1 August 2026
The history of Fersfield, USAAF and RAF base in WW2
Why this site exists, what you'll find here, and how you can help tell the story of Station 140/554.