Royal Air Force Blakehill Farm or more simply RAF Blakehill Farm is a former Royal Air Force station southwest of Cricklade in Wiltshire, England, operational between 1944 and 1952.

History The station was originally allocated to the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force but not used.American Museum in Britain – Blakehill Farm It opened in 1944 and was home for transport aircraft of No. 46 Group RAF Transport Command. In 1948 the airfield was a satellite of RAF South Cerney, and was used by training aircraft until the airfield closed in 1952 and was returned to agricultural use. The site is now a Wiltshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve.

Units and aircraft UnitFromToAircraftVariantNotesNo. 233 Squadron RAF5 March 19448 June 1945Douglas DakotaNo. 271 Squadron RAF26 February 194410 August 1945Douglas DakotaHarrowDetachment from RAF Down AmpneyNo. 437 Squadron RCAF1 September 19447 May 1945Douglas Dakota Formed hereNo. 575 Squadron RAF24 November 194531 January 1946Douglas Dakota No. 22 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit RAF19451945Waco Hadrian I No. 2 Flying Training School RAF No. 109 (Transport) OTU RAF No. 1528 (Radio Aids Training) Flight RAF Became No. 1555 (Radio Aids Training) Flight RAF No. 1555 (Radio Aids Training) Flight RAF

The following units were also here at some point: No. 18 Terminal Staging Post No. 19 Terminal Staging Post No. 92 (Forward) Staging Post No. 93 (Forward) Staging Post No. 123 (Major) Staging Post No. 2748 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 2835 Squadron RAF Regiment

Post-war intelligence role In 1967, GCHQ set up an "experimental radio station", a secret research facility, on the site. The site was still active in some capacity until the mid-1990s, and traces of the former communications mast bases can still be seen on aerial photographs. The most remarkable object of the facility was a tall wooden lattice tower, which was one of the tallest objects in the United Kingdom built of wood. It is possible that this tower was a relic of the wartime Chain Home network, although its lattice pattern is of another type. The tower was demolished on 26 January 2000.

See also List of former Royal Air Force stations

References Citations

Bibliography

External links

Povey, Vince (2018) From War To Wildlife – the complete history of the airfield