LOST AIRFIELDS | EPISODE 11 • BRITAIN'S SECRET AIRFIELD RAF TEMPSFORD SOE AGENTS 138 & 161 SQUADRONS

Ladies, gents and teddy bears, tucked away in Bedfordshire is a secret place that even high ranking officers during WW2 didn’t know about, a place where Hitler knew of its existence but was never successful to locate it. What looked like some farmlands with a few barns with an appearance to look as if it is nothing of importance, a place where a secret war was going on.

This was a place where our own and allied spies were picked up and dropped off from. Built beside a Roman road and linked to a main railway line to Peterborough, known as Gibralter Farm, this barn, now serving today as a memorial, was one of last buildings a secret agent would have seen before departing for their undercover, clandestine missions.The stories this barn could tell and the stories that the barn even today, cannot speak of. It would lead to a court martial if spoken about, even to your own high ranking officer (Officers and ground crews, if they knew) would have to lie.

This was the very barn where SOE (Special Operations Executive) agents got their papers of their new identity, maps and other top secret paperwork. The very place our secret agents flew from for sabotage missions, to gain intelligence and radio back what they have discovered in code, sending supplies to the “other war” “the resistance groups”. Special containers were sent to varies resistance groups including armament , food and equipment. Both brave men and women of various nationalities, set off and were dropped off over enemy lines to work as allied spies. The risks were extremely high, capture meant the worst outcome. Many were never seen again.

This rustic barn was the final staging post for many of the extraordinary acts of bravery that took place from Tempsford Airfield between 1942 and 1945. SOE (Special Operations Executive) agents were initially taken to the once adjoining farmhouse where they received their final instructions and some of their equipment before being brought into this barn which still serves as a memorial today. In this barn, they waited to collect their parachutes and and remaining kit.

Search and checks were thoroughly carried out for any British items in their possession before being driven to the awaiting aircraft. Any British items would expose their true identity and items upon their person of such had to be removed from them. The only member of the aircrew they met was the dispatcher who had the responsibility of getting them into position in the aircraft and giving them their final instructions for jumping into enemy occupied territory.

Forming out 1419 Flight In March 1941, 138 squadron was established as the first squadron of RAF Special Duty Service. In 1942, 138 (SD) Special Duty Squadron arrived with their Whitley and Westland Lysander aircraft. Their role was to carry out covert supply drop and delivering SOE agents. SOE (Special Operations Executive) and SIS (Secret Intelligence Service). A secure communications was established with intelligence in Baker Street, London. There were container packing facilities and holding centres set up nearby. The first covert supply mission took place on the 18th March 1942 and the drop zone was in Northern France. Just like 138 reformed out of 1419 flight, 161 (SD) Squadron did the same and reformed out of 138 squadron’s Lysander flight and arrived at RAF Tempsoford to become another SD squadron.138 began to operated specially modified HP Halifax’s. They were modified to carry special containers and personnel and to do this they removed turrets and guns, they fit external panniers in place of the bomb bay.

In 1942 alone, 458 sorties were flown comprising 536 operations of which 276 were successful.

In the month of August of 1943, it is recorded that 66 agents and a total of 184 supply containers were cropped in 18 operations. Short Stirlings also arrived with 149 Squadron in February 1944. The Short Stirlings capable total payload of 14,000lbs along with its long fuselage meant that it could carry more special containers than the Halifax and eventually replaced them.

REFERENCE
Handley Page Halifax
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
WC Edward Fielden
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...

Official Ted Coningsby Merchandise
https://tedconingsby.co.uk/shop/
noTEDS
https://tedconingsby.co.uk/noteds/
Ted Social stuff
Instagram
  / ted_coningsby  
Facebook
  / tedconingsbyuk  
X
https://x.com/tedconingsby
www.tedconingsby.co.uk

Ted Coningsby Membership:
Join our channel to get access to members only perks. In reality, we rely on your subscriptions to keep our channel growing, so this is a MASSIVE help and thank you to ALL of you who have subscribed. We go all over the country to get the footage we need for you to enjoy but this comes at a cost. Your membership will help fund us with the fuel and the equipment we need...
   / tedconingsby