Royal Air Force Tempsford or more simply RAF Tempsford is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

station located north east of Sandy,

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and south of St. Neots,

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, England. The airfield 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 Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE). 138 (SD) Squadron handled most 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

* Andrée Borrel and Lise de Baissac (''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 Guerre for his work with the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

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 Hodges was the Commander of 161 Squadron from May 1943 to 1944. *Group Captain Percy Charles Pickard was awarded a second bar to his DSO in March 1943 for his outstanding leadership in command of 161 Squadron. *Group Captain Hugh Verity, author of ''We Landed by Moonlight''. * Violette Szabo GC of the SOE flew on her first mission into France from RAF Tempsford. *Wing Commander F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas, otherwise known as the White Rabbit, was dropped into France on 27 February 1943 having been flown out from RAF Tempsford by Pilot Officer Foster.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Clark, F. ''Agents by Moonlight: The Secret History of RAF Tempsford during the Second World War''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd., 1999. * Clark, F. ''Peter Five''. Bromley: Independent Books, 1993. * * Griffiths, Frank "Winged Hours". London: William Kimber, 1981. . * * O'Connor, B. ''Tempsford Airfield: Now the story can be told…'' 1998. * Verity, H., ''We Landed By Moonlight'' (revised edition). Manchester: Crecy Publishing, 2000. .

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
- The secret wartime activities of this airfield
Final Flight of Hudson FK790
- In memory of F/Lt J W Menzies DFC, his crew and agents.

- Recollections from the war years.

- A chronology of some of the main events at RAF Tempsford.

A walking tour of the Airfield and Gibraltar Farm in 2002

A look at the memorials in Tempsford Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tempsford Royal Air Force stations in Bedfordshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Special Operations Executive