RAF Blakehill Farm
History
The station was originally allocated to the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force but not used. 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
| Unit | From | To | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 233 Squadron RAF | 5 March 194 | 8 June 1945 | Douglas Dakota | ||
| No. 271 Squadron RAF | 26 February 1944 | 10 August 1945 | Douglas Dakota Harrow |
Detachment from RAF Down Ampney | |
| No. 437 Squadron RCAF | 1 September 1944 | 7 May 1945 | Douglas Dakota | Formed here | |
| No. 575 Squadron RAF | 24 November 1945 | 31 January 1946 | Douglas Dakota | ||
| No. 22 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit RAF | 1945 | 1945 | Waco 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 240-foot (73 m) 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.