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

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

People

Lieutenant Arthur S. Waldron of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, November 1943. Passed for publication 22 Nov 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'Crashed Into Balloon Barrage Cable: Survived To Tell The Tale. Associated Press Photo Shows:- Lt. Arthur S. Waldron of 1595, Arthur Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, a photographic reconnaissance pilot, having struck a balloon barrage cable with coming home from a bombing mission, survived to tell the tale. With the aid of instructions raidoed by a British direc
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-792556
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17033454
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
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"
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-754570
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-758131
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Photo Reconnaissance Pilot
Captain JS Wright of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group with an F-5 Lightning. Image stamped on reverse: 'Esten Illustrated.' [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 8 Jul 1943.' [stamp] and '273519.' [Censor no.]. Printed caption on reverse: 'Esten (Illus). Modern "Cyclops" of the USAAF. OPS 19: Capt JS Wright. 8.7.43'
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-885555
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Role/Job: Pilot/Base Operations Officer

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: Spitfire
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: Spitfire
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
Spitfires including (serial number PL841) and (PL914) of the 14th Photographic Squadron, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group at Mount Farm. Image by Robert Astrella, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. Handwritten on slide case:"Spitfire Cluster Astrella"
  • Aircraft Type: Spitfire
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
Spitfires including (serial number PL841) and (PL914) of the 14th Photographic Squadron, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group at Mount Farm. Image by Robert Astrella, 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. Handwritten on slide case:"Spitfire Cluster Astrella"
  • Aircraft Type: Spitfire
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: Spitfire
  • Unit: 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group 14th 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)