MOD St Athan
The station officially opened as RAF (Royal Air Force) St Athan on 1 September 1938 and the first unit to take up residence was No.It was unclear to the newly appointed bomb disposal team led by Colonel Stuart Archer GC whether they were dealing with delayed action fuses -then causing major disruptions to vital buildings and airfields or more likely booby-trapped devices.Following the demise of the Boy Entrant scheme in 1965, airman training returned to St Athan for the vehicle and general and Airframe, Engine aircraft maintenance trades.Highly specialised major servicing of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Avro Lancaster bomber was also conducted at RAF St Athan.1 Engineering Squadron, RAF St Athan was opened by the Permanent Under Secretary of State, MoD, Sir Michael Quinlan during January 1991.Project Red Dragon would replace RAF St Athan's existing repair centre – spread out across the 1,000-acre (400 ha) site – and create a new, state-of-the-art facility.In March 2004, however, DARA announced the loss of 550 jobs at St Athan as part of streamlining to make DARA more efficient and better able to compete with the private sector for lucrative aircraft repair contracts, but also because they lost out to a direct RAF bid for a contract to upgrade the air force's fleet of ageing Harrier jump jet aircraft.A large swathe of land was acquired by the Welsh Government and commercial aircraft companies such as ATC Lasham started to operate from buildings such as the former VC10 hangars.DARA steadily drew down their 'fast jet' and engines operations, closing both by April 2007; the 'large aircraft' business continued as part of the Defence Support Group (DSG) until its closure in 2012.The Welsh Government then reintroduced its original plans to create an aviation business park, including the site in the St Athan and Cardiff Airport Enterprise Zone.[28] The new academy was expected to create up to 5,000 jobs at St Athan, with a £14 billion investment over 25 years and an estimated £57.4 million spent into the local economy.A public inquiry into compulsory purchase of land opened in January 2009 gave opportunity for local communities and Welsh organisations (Cynefin y Werin; Friends of the Earth, Cymdeithas y Cymod, Green Party) to challenge the development.[32] On 23 February 2016, Aston Martin announced that their new factory to build its DBX crossover model would be built on the airfield at St Athan.[38] In December 2020, the last ever flight of a British Airways Boeing 747-400, registration G-BYGC, landed at St Athan, having departed nearby Cardiff Airport, where it had been stored.[43] On 26 August 1993 an ATC civilian instructor was seriously injured and the RAF Volunteer Reserve pilot, Group Captain Roger Sweatman, was killed when their Chipmunk trainer, on an air experience flight, crashed after encountering difficulties during a simulated emergency low-height manoeuvre on take-off.[44] Just before 1100 GMT on 11 February 2009, two Grob Tutor aircraft flying out of St Athan were involved in a mid-air collision in which two Air Training Corps cadets and their instructors, both RAF pilots, died.[46] The proximity of the BBC production facility at Roath Lock (and previously Upper Boat Studios) makes St. Athan a popular choice for location shooting, and it has appeared in such TV programmes as Torchwood, Doctor Who and Sherlock, and also in the films The Killer Elite and Mr Nice.
St AthanVale of GlamorganMinistry of DefenceAsphaltBritish Army1st Battalion, Welsh GuardsUniversities of Wales Air SquadronUniversity Air SquadronsGrob TutorsAir Training CorpsWelsh Governmentaircraft interception radarBawdsey ManorPerth Airport (Scotland)DundeeWorth MatraversRAF HurnSecond World WarRAF LlandowJasper MaskelyneColonel Stuart Archer GCNo. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAFNo. 12 Radio School RAFNo. 14 Radio School RAFNo. 19 Maintenance Unit RAFNo. 32 Maintenance Unit RAFNo. 68 Gliding School RAFNo. 417 (General Reconnaissance) Flight RAFNo. 1417 (General Reconnaissance) Flight RAFNo. 634 Gliding School RAFNo. 2850 Squadron RAF RegimentNo. 2955 Squadron RAF RegimentRAF KirkhamRAF WeetonRAF PoliceMorris MinorsDefence Aviation Repair AgencyBattle of Britain Memorial FlightRAF MarhamBattalionWelsh GuardsAldershotSpecial Forces Support GroupDefence Support GroupDefence Training ReviewMetrixBruce DickinsonAeronautical EngineeringElectro-Mechanical EngineeringCommunications and Information SystemsLand Securities TrilliumSodexoMoD LynehamVickers VC10Aston MartinAlabamaSouth Wales Aviation MuseumBoeing 747-400Dunsfold AerodromeCotswold AirportRAF CosfordMichael FallonRAF Volunteer ReserveChipmunkGrob TutorAir Accidents Investigation BranchFlying OfficerFlight LieutenantRoath LockUpper Boat StudiosTorchwoodDoctor WhoSherlockThe Killer EliteMr NiceList of Royal Air Force stationsAirfields of Britain Conservation TrustWayback MachineBBC NewsBob AinsworthParliamentary Debates (Hansard)The GuardianWellesbourneFairfordCardiffAberporthAngleseyCaernarfonCardiff HeliportHaverfordwestHawardenLlanbedrRAF MonaPembreySwanseaRAF ValleyWelshpoolAirportsUnited KingdomBritish Crown DependenciesBritish Overseas TerritoriesGatwickHeathrowSouthendStanstedBiggin HillLydd/AshfordOxfordBirminghamBournemouthBristolEast MidlandsExeterHumbersideLeeds/BradfordLiverpoolManchesterNewcastleNewquayNorwichSouthamptonTeessideBlackpoolBrighton CityCambridgeCarlisle