Airport type Military 00/00 0 Owner Air Ministry | 0 0 | |
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Similar Shuttlewo, Shuttlewo College, Little Gransden Airfield, Sandy Town Council, Moggerh Park | ||
Raf tempsford 1939 45 may 2014
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.
Contents
- Raf tempsford 1939 45 may 2014
- Unveiling of a memorial at raf tempsford hd
- Operational units and aircraft
- Tempsford now
- People
- References
The airfield was perhaps the most secret airfield in the Second World War. It was home to the Special Duties Squadrons, No. 138, which dropped Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents and their supplies into occupied Europe, and No. 161, which specialised in personnel delivery and retrieval by landing 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.
Unveiling of a memorial at raf tempsford hd
Operational units and aircraft
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.