avia.wikisort.org - Aerodrome

Search / Calendar

RAF Tempsford is a former Royal Air Force station located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) north east of Sandy, Bedfordshire, England and 4.4 miles (7.1 km) south of St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, England.

RAF Tempsford

The Control Tower at Tempsford during the Second World War
  • IATA: none
  • ICAO: none
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
LocationTempsford, Bedfordshire
Coordinates52°09′31″N 000°15′49″W
Map
RAF Tempsford
Location in Bedfordshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
00/00 0 0 Concrete
00/00 0 0 Concrete
00/00 0 0 Concrete
The 138 and 161 Squadron badges on display inside St Peter's Church, Tempsford
The 138 and 161 Squadron badges on display inside St Peter's Church, Tempsford
The memorial plaque inside St Peter's Church, Tempsford
The memorial plaque inside St Peter's Church, Tempsford

As part of the Royal Air Force Special Duty Service, the airfield was perhaps the most secret airfield of the Second World War. It was home to 138 (Special Duty) Squadron and 161 (Special Duty) Squadron, which dropped supplies and agents into occupied Europe for the Special Operations Executive (SOE). 138 (SD) Squadron did the bulk of the supply and agent drops, while 161 (SD) Squadron had the Lysander flight, and did the insertion and pick-up operations in occupied Europe.

RAF Tempsford is very close to Little Gransden Airfield and can be clearly seen from flights climbing out from the westerly runway 28. Other active airfields nearby include the former RAF bases at Gransden Lodge and Bourn.


Units



Tempsford now


By 2002 part of the former Tempsford airfield was a concrete-making facility and some of the main airfield buildings had been turned into various commercial workshops. A nearby public footpath led to the end of a substantially intact runway and then on to Gibraltar Farm, the agents' final dispatch point.

This barn contains several plaques and memorials to the agents, both men and women, who were flown from the airfield, many of whom were later killed after being captured and tortured. A memorial is also to be found in St Peter's Church, in the nearby village of Tempsford, and the Tempsford Memorial is outside the church, commemorating the men and women who served as secret agents in occupied Europe during the Second World War and the RAF aircrew who transported them.

Tempsford Museum & Archives in the village of Tempsford houses a vast collection of photographs, papers, maps, uniforms and aircraft parts associated with RAF Tempsford.


People


A Westland Lysander of the type that was used to drop and pick up SOE agents from Occupied Europe
A Westland Lysander of the type that was used to drop and pick up SOE agents from Occupied Europe

References



Citations


  1. Jefford 2001, p. 45.
  2. "Tempsford". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 25 September 2021.

Bibliography







Текст в блоке "Читать" взят с сайта "Википедия" и доступен по лицензии Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike; в отдельных случаях могут действовать дополнительные условия.

Другой контент может иметь иную лицензию. Перед использованием материалов сайта WikiSort.org внимательно изучите правила лицензирования конкретных элементов наполнения сайта.

2019-2025
WikiSort.org - проект по пересортировке и дополнению контента Википедии