Mount Farm

Airfield
media-28841.jpeg UPL 28841 RAF Mount Farm

aaf accident report

Object Number - UPL 28841 - RAF Mount Farm

Originally a grass airfield satellite for the RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit at nearby RAF Benson, Mount Farm was built in 1940-1941. It had three concrete runways, 49 dispersals (24 concrete pan type plus 25 PSP squares), and eight blister hangars. The 13th Photographic Squadron of the Eighth Air Force moved in during February 1943, and its parent 7th Photographic Group was established at Mount Farm in July 1943. Handed back to the RAF in May 1945, the station was inactive and used temporarily by the Ministry of Supply for ex-War Department vehicle sales. The return to agriculture began in 1949 and the airfield was sold for farming in 1957. Part of the site was then bought for gravel extraction in 1961, and most of the concrete was lifted for hardcore. During 1960-62, the new village of Berinsfield was built on the western end of the site, where RAF and USAAF wartime buildings had been located.

Connections

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People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 27th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Role/Job: Commanding Officer/Engineering Officer/Photo Recon Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-726564
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 27th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 39610621
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Parachute Rigger
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17152091 / O-769716
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

A B-25 Mitchell aircraft (serial number 253357) nicknamed "Miss Nashville" (prior to the stripping of her black paintwork) of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance at Mount Farm. Image by Robert Astrella, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. Handwritten on slide case:"7PG Mount Farm R. Astrella"
  • Aircraft Type: B-25 Mitchell
  • Nicknames: Miss Nashville
  • Unit: 25th Bomb Group 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group
An F-5 Lightning of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group take off from the snowy runway at Mount Farm.
  • Aircraft Type: F-5 Lightning
  • Nicknames: Maxine
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
A shark mouth F-5 Lightning nicknamed "The Florida Gator" of the 22nd Photographic Squadron, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group at Mount Farm. Image by Robert Astrella, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. Handwritten on slide case:"The Florida Gator Mount Farm R. Astrella"
  • Aircraft Type: F-5 Lightning
  • Nicknames: The Florida Gator
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: F-5 Lightning
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
Jim Wicker and Lawson of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group with an F-5 Lightning, 22 April 1944. Image by Robert Astrella, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. A variant of the P-38 Lightning aircraft, termed F-5, of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group at Mount Farm. Handwritten on slide:"F-5 122 22/4/1944 Jim Wicker/Lawson R.Astrella"
  • Aircraft Type: F-5 Lightning
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron

Revisions

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978)

Roger Freeman, Mighty Eighth War Manual (2nd edn, London, 2001)

Michael Bowyer, Action Stations 1: Wartime Military Airfields of East Anglia 1939-1945 (Cambridge, 1979)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Mount_Farm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berinsfield

Mount Farm: Gallery (318 items)