Caerwent

**Thompson** · 08-12-2011, 03:59

Originally Posted by canberra

Seeing a post on Welford I thought Id ask about this place. What exactly did the RAF and the USAF use it for? And when did it close?

The US Army, not the US Air Forced used Caerwent to store ammunition. The RAF was the British host service for American visiting forces and, as such was the "landlord" while the Army used the facility. It closed in 1993.

**PETERTHEEATER** · 08-12-2011, 07:07

Welcome to AiX Thompson,

Point taken, thanks. It was probably the RAF's association with Caerwent that caused the assumption that it was used by the USAF.

**canberra** · 09-12-2011, 21:27

All the American facilities in the UK were/are RAF, confusingly including the US Army maritime facility at Hythe.

**buccaneer66** · 09-12-2011, 21:29

Hmm I associate Caerwent more with the Romans than the RAF.

**PETERTHEEATER** · 10-12-2011, 04:22

Quite right! The Romans stored ammunition for their ballistae there

**mw0sec** · 10-12-2011, 11:13

Caerwent started life (1936) as the Royal Naval Propellant factory, a successor to the RNCF Holton Heath. In 1965 it was decided to move cordite manufacture to Bishopton in Scotland. Final closure was in 1967.
I visited the site in 1987 when it was a joint RAF/USA site and remember a great deal of the original buildings now empty of plant, but full of various types of missile. The C.O. at the time was a S/L Chadwick.
A later visit sometime in the 90's showed the site to be deserted and overgrown, with occasional use for police riot training.

If a more detail is required, I would suggest contacting Mr. Medwyn Parry of the Royal Historical Commission of Monuments (Wales), as he has made a detailed study of the site and its history.

Les.

**PETERTHEEATER** · 11-12-2011, 05:43

http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/96...RNPF+CAERWENT/

**ColinBa** · 11-12-2011, 09:41

I know its obvious but see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_N...tory,_Caerwent and the links from it.

**Hawkkeeper** · 06-02-2012, 22:52

I've been to cearwent numerous times since 1996, for soth wakles car rallies, it's a huge site, loads of buildings & some have been disassembled, a fair bit of the railway system is still intact & there are stories of steam & diesel shunters on site, hiding in a big shed, haven't found them yet, google earth gives a good overhead view of this site.