No. 5 Group RAF effective squadrons of Bomber Command, personified by No 617 Squadron the "Dambusters", formed from 5 Group aircrew in March 1943. Most of the group's main airfields were around Lincoln, including RAF Scampton. By the end of the war the group had grown to 15 squadrons. The group was noted for its high accuracy bombing, being involved the sinking of the "Tirpitz" in November 1944 and the shattering of the strategic Bielefeld railway viaduct in March 1945. The Group introduced new weapons operationally, including Barnes Wallis's "bouncing" and his Tallboy and Grand Slam "earthquake" bombs. The group was disbanded on 15
RAF Down Ampney also active in Operation Market Garden (Arnhem) and the Rhine crossing. A memorial has been erected at the southern end of what was the main runway. which reads: RAF Down Ampney RAF Down Ampney was a Royal Air Force station located north east of Cricklade, Wiltshire and south west of RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire. The airfield operated during World War II from February 1944 until February 1947. Down Ampney was part of a group of airfields dedicated to air transportation, alongside RAF Broadwell and RAF Blakehill Farm. No. 48 Squadron RAF and No. 271 Squadron RAF flew Douglas Dakotas on major