RAF Tempsford
Encyclopedia
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
was perhaps the most secret Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
airfield in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was home to the Special Duties Squadrons, No. 138
No. 138 Squadron RAF
No. 138 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force that served in a variety of roles during its career, last disbanded in 1962. It was the first 'V-bomber' squadron of the RAF, flying the Vickers Valiant between 1955 and 1962....
, which dropped Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE) agents and their supplies into occupied Europe, and No. 161
No. 161 Squadron RAF
No. 161 Squadron was a highly secretive unit of the Royal Air Force tasked with missions of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Their primary role was to drop and collect secret agents and equipment into and from Nazi-occupied Europe...
, which specialised in personnel delivery and retrieval by landing in occupied Europe.
RAF Tempsford is very close to Little Gransden Airfield
Little Gransden Airfield
Little Gransden Airfield is a unlicensed airfield located near the village of Little Gransden, southeast of St Neots, Cambridgeshire, England....
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.
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 contained 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
Tempsford
Tempsford is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire.The village is split by the A1 Great North Road and is located just before the junction with the A428 at the Black Cat Roundabout...
.
People
- Andrée BorrelAndrée BorrelAndrée Raymonde Borrel was a French heroine of World War II.-Early life:Andrée Borrel was born into a working-class family in Louveciennes, Yvelines in the suburbs of Paris, growing up an active girl who liked hiking and most other outdoor activities...
and Lise de BaissacLisé de BaissacLise Marie Jeanette de Baissac was born in Mauritius of French descent and British nationality. She was a heroine of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War, a special agent who risked her life running her own operations, but was denied a gallantry award after the war.-Escape...
(Odile), were the first female SOE agents to be parachuted into occupied France. They flew out from RAF Tempsford on 24 September, 1942. - Flying Officer Gerald Cruwys was awarded the Croix de guerreCroix de guerreThe Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
for his work with the French ResistanceFrench ResistanceThe French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
while at RAF Tempsford. - Group Captain Edward 'Mouse' Fielden, Station Commander of RAF Tempsford (1942-1944) and a former royal pilot
- Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Macdonald HodgesLewis HodgesAir Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Macdonald Hodges KCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, DL was a pilot for Special Operations Executive in the Second World War, and later achieved high command in the Royal Air Force and NATO....
was the Commander of 161 Squadron from May 1943 to 1944. - Group Captain Percy Charles PickardPercy Charles PickardGroup Captain Percy Charles "Pick" Pickard DSO & Two Bars, DFC, was a British bomber pilot and commander during World War II. He is best remembered by the public for his role in the 1941 wartime propaganda film Target for Tonight in which he featured as the pilot of 'F for Freddie' – a Wellington...
was awarded a second bar to his DSO in March 1943 for his outstanding leadership in command of 161 Squadron - Group Captain Hugh VerityHugh VerityHugh Beresford Verity was a Royal Air Force officer of the Second World War.At the start of the war he joined a reconnaissance squadron, and in 1941 he joined the RAF's arm of the Special Operations Executive. In 1942, he took command of a section of Lysanders as No. 161 Squadron RAF...
, author of We Landed by Moonlight - Violette SzaboViolette SzaboViolette Reine Elizabeth Bushell Szabo, GC, was a Second World War French-British secret agent.-Early life and marriage:...
flew out on both her missions from RAF Tempsford. - Wing Commander F. F. E. Yeo-ThomasF. F. E. Yeo-ThomasWing Commander Forest Frederick Edward "Tommy" Yeo-Thomas, GC, MC & Bar, Croix de guerre , Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur, was the British Special Operations Executive agent codenamed "The White Rabbit" during World War II...
, otherwise known as the White Rabbit, was dropped in France on 27 February 1943 having been flown out from RAF Tempsford by Pilot Officer Foster.
Operational units and aircraft
- No. 53 Squadron RAFNo. 53 Squadron RAF-History:No. 53 squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Catterick on 15 May 1916. Originally intended to be a training squadron, it was sent to France to operate reconnaissance in December that year. The squadron was equipped with BE2Es—swapped for the RE8 in April 1917...
detachment (1946) - Consolidated Liberator VI and VIIIB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber... - No. 109 Squadron RAFNo. 109 Squadron RAFNo. 109 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II. It operated Wellington VIs.-History:The squadron first formed on 1 November 1917 as 109 Squadron Royal Flying Corps at South Carlton in 1917 operating the de Havilland DH.9 until it was disbanded on 19 August...
(1942) - Vickers Wellington IVickers WellingtonThe Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a... - No. 138 Squadron RAFNo. 138 Squadron RAFNo. 138 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force that served in a variety of roles during its career, last disbanded in 1962. It was the first 'V-bomber' squadron of the RAF, flying the Vickers Valiant between 1955 and 1962....
(1942-1944) - Handley Page Halifax II and VHandley Page HalifaxThe Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing... - No. 149 Squadron RAFNo. 149 Squadron RAFNo. 149 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron between 1918 and 1956. Formed 1918 in the Royal Flying Corps as a night-bomber unit, it remained in that role for the rest of its existence which spanned three periods between 1918 and 1956.-World War I:...
(1943-1944) - Short Stirling IIIShort StirlingThe Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941... - No. 161 Squadron RAFNo. 161 Squadron RAFNo. 161 Squadron was a highly secretive unit of the Royal Air Force tasked with missions of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Their primary role was to drop and collect secret agents and equipment into and from Nazi-occupied Europe...
(1942-1945) - Westland Lysander IIIAWestland LysanderThe Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
and other types - No. 426 Squadron RCAFNo. 426 Squadron RCAF426 Transport Training Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Forces under Royal Canadian Air Force, located at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ontario. It originated as a squadron in the Royal Canadian Air Force that fought during the Second World War as a bomber squadron.The motto of the squadron is "On...
(1945) - Consolidated Liberator VIIIB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber... - No. 617 Squadron RAFNo. 617 Squadron RAFNo. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role...
detachment (1945) - Avro Lancaster I & IIIAvro LancasterThe Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
External links
- MOD site for Tempsford - Details about Tempsford on the Bomber Command section of the MOD website.
- RAF Tempsford Special Duties Squadrons. RAF Tempsford Special Duties Squadrons.
- Tempsford Airfield - A non-commercial website about the secret wartime activities of this R.A.F. airfield in Bedfordshire, England
- Final Flight of Hudson FK790 - In memory of F/Lt J W Menzies DFC, his crew and agents.
- Wartime Memories Project - Recollections from the war years.
- A History of RAF Tempsford - A chronology of some of the main events at RAF Tempsford.
- RAF Tempsford Roll of Honour
- RAF history of 138 Squadron
- RAF history of 161 Squadron