(Image: Chris Lowe, cc-sa-3.0)
Finmere was one of hundreds of military bases hurriedly constructed across Britain at the outset of World War Two. Commissioned in July 1942 as a satellite to nearby RAF Bicester, Finmere soon eclipsed its parent station thanks to its three concrete runways. But its tenure was shortlived; the base closed in 1945, leaving only an overgrown runway and various abandoned buildings as crumbling reminders of its wartime past.
(Image: Chris Lowe, cc-sa-3.0)
The Oxfordshire base housed a variety of aircraft during its operational days, including the Bristol Blenheim, American-built Douglas A-20 Boston and North American B-25 Mitchell. RAF Finmere was also equipped with a special unit training pilots how to ferry aircraft to Northwest Africa.
(Image: Chris Lowe, cc-sa-3.0)
Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Tempests made occasional visits. In 1944, the base re-equipped with the de Havilland Mosquito, sending 30 newly qualified crew each month to the Far East combat theatre. But the end of World War Two brought the closure of RAF Finmere and, like many other bases, the land slowly reverted to agriculture.
(Image: Today, the hangars have been re-purposed and the main runway survives intact. The base is dotted with abandoned buildings, including the deserted control tower, Nissen huts and former blast pens consumed by trees. Like other abandoned UK airfields hiding in the long grass of farmland, RAF Finmere is a lonely monument to the crews of dozens of fighter-bombers once stationed there.
