RAF Blakehill Farm
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RAF Blakehill Farm |
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Douglas Dakotas of No. 233 Squadron RAF lined up on the perimeter track at RAF Blakehill Farm, for an exercise with the 6th Airborne Division, 20 April 1944.
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IATA: none – ICAO: none | |
Summary | |
Airport type | Military |
Location | Cricklade, Wiltshire |
In use | 1944–1952 |
Occupants | Royal Air Force |
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Map | |
Location within Wiltshire |
RAF Blakehill Farm was an RAF airfield (base) situated in Wiltshire, England.
Contents
History
The station was originally allocated to the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force but not used.[1] It opened in 1944 and was home for transport aircraft of No. 46 Group Transport Command. In 1948 the airfield was a satellite of RAF South Cerney and used by training aircraft before the airfield closed in 1952 and was returned to agricultural use. The site is now a Wiltshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve.
Units and aircraft
Unit | Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
No. 233 Squadron RAF | 1944-1945 | Douglas Dakota | ||
No. 271 Squadron RAF | 1944-1945 | Douglas Dakota | Detachment from RAF Down Ampney | |
No. 437 Squadron RCAF | 1944-1945 | Douglas Dakota | ||
No. 575 Squadron RAF | 1945-1946 | Douglas Dakota | ||
No.22 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit RAF |
1945 | Waco Hadrian |
Post-war intelligence role
After WWII, GCHQ set up an "experimental radio station", a top secret research facility, on the site of the RAF's wartime airfield at Blakehill Farm. It consisted of huge communications masts arranged in mysterious strategic patterns in the middle of the old airfield. The site was still active in some capacity until the mid 1990s and traces of the former antenna bases can still be seen on satellite photographs. [2]
See also
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to RAF Blakehill Farm. |
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