RAF Mount Farm
Encyclopedia
RAF Mount Farm is a former World War II
airfield in England
. The field is located three miles north of Dorchester, Oxfordshire
.
at RAF Benson
. The airfield was originally a grass field, but concrete was laid for runway and aircraft parking purposes and for taxiways. All hangars were the blister type. The airfield became associated with the United States Army Air Force when, in February 1943 it was used by the Eighth Air Force
as a photo recon
station. Mount Farm was given USAAF designation Station 234 (MF).
photographic aircraft which moved in for tutorage in March 1943 under the experienced RAF establishment. This was the 13th Photographic Squadron. The need for more photographic reconnaissance of targets by the Eighth Air Force led to other American photo/recon squadrons being assigned to the station and on 7 July 1943, the 7th Photographic Group was established at Mount Farm, the group being transferred from Peterson AAF
Colorado
and absorbing the assets of the 13th photo squadron.
The group consisted of the following:
The group flew a combination of F-5 (P-38), P-51 and Spitfire
IX photo/recon aircraft to obtain information about bombardment targets and damage inflicted by bombardment operations. The group also provided mapping service for air and ground units; observed and reported on enemy transportation, installations, and positions; and obtained data on weather conditions.
Prior to June 1944, the group photographed airfields, cities, industrial establishments, and ports in France
, the Low Countries
, and Germany
. Following the Berlin
raid in March 1944, Major Walter L Weitner flew the first Eighth Spitfire photo sortie to Berlin on 6 March and by 11 April the Group had chalked up its 1,000th sortie.
The 7th received a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations during the period, 31 May - 30 June 1944, when its coverage of bridges, marshalling yards, canals, highways, rivers, and other targets contributed much to the success of the Normandy campaign
.
The group covered missile sites in France during July, and in August carried out photographic mapping missions for ground forces advancing across France. Provided reconnaissance support for the airborne attack on Holland in September and for the Battle of the Bulge
, December 1944-January 1945.
The 7th used P-51's to escort its own reconnaissance planes during the last months of the war as the group supported the Allied drive across the Rhine and into Germany
. Took part in the final bomb damage assessment
following V-E Day.
The 7th Recon Group took over three million photographs during the course of its 4,251 sorties. It was transferred to RAF Chalgrove
in March 1945, and was later deactivated at the 4th Strategic Air Depot (Hitcham)
on 21 November 1945.
for ex-War Department
vehicle sales, was sold by the Air Ministry
in 1957.
. The rest of the airfield was almost completely restored to agricultural use, with little evidence of its wartime past.
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...
airfield in 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...
. The field is located three miles north of Dorchester, Oxfordshire
Dorchester, Oxfordshire
Dorchester-on-Thames is a village and civil parish on the River Thame in Oxfordshire, about northwest of Wallingford and southeast of Oxford. Despite its name, Dorchester is not on the River Thames, but just above the Thame's confluence with it...
.
USAAF use
Mount Farm was originally a satellite airfield for the RAF Photographic Reconnaissance UnitNo. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF
No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit was a flying unit of the Royal Air Force, first formed in 1940.-History:The origins of 1 PRU date to the "Heston Flight" formed on 24 September 1939, when the Royal Air Force took over Sidney Cotton's Aircraft Operating Company, based at Heston Aerodrome...
at RAF Benson
RAF Benson
RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England. It is home to the Royal Air Force's support helicopters, the Aérospatiale Puma and the EH-101 Merlin, known as the Puma HC.Mk 1 and the Merlin HC.Mk 3 and Mk 3a....
. The airfield was originally a grass field, but concrete was laid for runway and aircraft parking purposes and for taxiways. All hangars were the blister type. The airfield became associated with the United States Army Air Force when, in February 1943 it was used by the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
as a photo recon
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
station. Mount Farm was given USAAF designation Station 234 (MF).
7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance)
The first USAAF unit to use the airfield was the 13th Photographic Squadron of Lockheed F-5 (P-38) LightningP-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
photographic aircraft which moved in for tutorage in March 1943 under the experienced RAF establishment. This was the 13th Photographic Squadron. The need for more photographic reconnaissance of targets by the Eighth Air Force led to other American photo/recon squadrons being assigned to the station and on 7 July 1943, the 7th Photographic Group was established at Mount Farm, the group being transferred from Peterson AAF
Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States and it provides runways for the adjacent City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport under a shared joint civil-military airport arrangement...
Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and absorbing the assets of the 13th photo squadron.
The group consisted of the following:
- 13th Photographic Squadron13th Reconnaissance SquadronThe 13th Reconnaissance Squadron is part of the 940th Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California. It operates RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft conducting reconnaissance and surveillance missions.-Mission:...
(red rudder) - 14th Photographic Squadron14th Fighter SquadronThe 14th Fighter Squadron is part of the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan. It operates the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting air superiority missions.-History:...
(green rudder) - 22nd Photographic Squadron22nd Reconnaissance SquadronThe 22nd Reconnaissance Squadron was a part of the 8th Air Force 7th Photographic Group that was activated in 1942 and based at Mount Farm England between 1943 and 1945.-Peterson Field:...
(white rudder) - 27th Photographic Squadron (blue rudder)
The group flew a combination of F-5 (P-38), P-51 and Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
IX photo/recon aircraft to obtain information about bombardment targets and damage inflicted by bombardment operations. The group also provided mapping service for air and ground units; observed and reported on enemy transportation, installations, and positions; and obtained data on weather conditions.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Following the Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
raid in March 1944, Major Walter L Weitner flew the first Eighth Spitfire photo sortie to Berlin on 6 March and by 11 April the Group had chalked up its 1,000th sortie.
The 7th received a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations during the period, 31 May - 30 June 1944, when its coverage of bridges, marshalling yards, canals, highways, rivers, and other targets contributed much to the success of the Normandy campaign
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
.
The group covered missile sites in France during July, and in August carried out photographic mapping missions for ground forces advancing across France. Provided reconnaissance support for the airborne attack on Holland in September and for the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, December 1944-January 1945.
The 7th used P-51's to escort its own reconnaissance planes during the last months of the war as the group supported the Allied drive across the Rhine and into Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Took part in the final bomb damage assessment
Bomb damage assessment
Bomb, or battle damage assessment, often referred to as BDA, is the practice of assessing damage inflicted on a target by an air campaign. It is part of the larger discipline of combat assessment...
following V-E Day.
The 7th Recon Group took over three million photographs during the course of its 4,251 sorties. It was transferred to RAF Chalgrove
Chalgrove Airfield
Chalgrove Airfield is a former World War II airfield in Oxfordshire, England. The airfield is located approximately north-northeast of Benson; about north-northwest of London....
in March 1945, and was later deactivated at the 4th Strategic Air Depot (Hitcham)
RAF Wattisham
RAF Wattisham was a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front-line air force base...
on 21 November 1945.
Postwar Governmental use
The airfield was transferred back to the RAF on 1 May 1945, and became inactive, after being used for a time by the Ministry of SupplyMinistry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
for ex-War Department
War Department (UK)
The War Department was the United Kingdom government department responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the pursuance of military activity. In 1857 it became the War Office...
vehicle sales, was sold by the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
in 1957.
Civil use
After the end of military control the then Bullingdon Rural District Council redeveloped the site of the RAF and USAAF buildings to build the new village of BerinsfieldBerinsfield
Berinsfield is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, about southeast of Oxford.-History:Palaeolithic and Roman artefacts were found during 20th century excavations to build the village. The Roman road between Dorchester-on-Thames and Alchester runs through the centre of Berinsfield...
. The rest of the airfield was almost completely restored to agricultural use, with little evidence of its wartime past.