RAF Blakehill Farm

The airfield was constructed as a temporary base for World War II operations. With the end of the war in 1945, it became surplus to the peacetime requirements of the Royal Air Force. Like many other temporary wartime airfields across the UK, it was closed as part of the widespread post-war military demobilization and reduction of infrastructure.

The former airfield site is now the Blakehill Farm Nature Reserve, a flagship reserve managed by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. It is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its large expanse of unimproved neutral grassland, a rare habitat in the UK. After the war, the land was returned to agriculture, and in 2000, the Trust purchased the site to restore it as a traditional hay meadow. While most of the concrete runways and buildings have been removed, the faint outlines of the three runways and perimeter track are still visible from the air and parts of the track are used as footpaths. A memorial stone dedicated to the men and women who served at RAF Blakehill Farm is located at the entrance to the reserve.

RAF Blakehill Farm holds significant historical importance as a key departure airfield for major Allied airborne operations during World War II. Opened in February 1944, it was a base for No. 46 Group, RAF Transport Command. The station primarily operated Douglas Dakota aircraft, which were used to transport paratroopers and tow Airspeed Horsa and Waco Hadrian gliders. Its most crucial role was during the D-Day Normandy landings; on the eve of June 5, 1944, aircraft from Blakehill Farm carried the main force of the British 6th Airborne Division into France. The station was also heavily involved in subsequent major operations, including Operation Market Garden (Arnhem) in September 1944, the Rhine Crossing (Operation Varsity) in March 1945, and resupply and casualty evacuation missions throughout the final stages of the war in Europe. The user-provided ICAO code 'GB-0123' is a non-standard identifier, likely used in flight simulators or unofficial databases; as a temporary wartime airfield, it did not have a permanent ICAO code.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening RAF Blakehill Farm as an airport. Its current status as a protected nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) makes any future aviation development legally and environmentally unfeasible. The site's value is now centered on its ecological importance and historical heritage.